MANITOWOC INVITATIONAL 2011
This was a great meet for us at the end of a very tough week of practice. After our poor performance last week it was good to see our guys bounce back with a good effort. We had 60 guys complete the big ladder on Tuesday and had outstanding practices on Monday and Thursday as well. Tired legs, getting up at 4:30, a long bus ride, Homecoming week, and the fact that many of our guys stayed up late to watch the Brewers clinch the Central Division title added to the challenge. This was a test for our young team and I’m proud of how well they handled it. There was no whining, no complaining, just guys giving their best effort and trying to build a better team. Outside of many of our little guys drinking too much A&W root beer on the way home it was a perfect day.
This is our 32nd year at this meet and our 20th team title. Our average time of 16:40 is one of our best ever. Our 1985 team average was 16:36, in 2008 we averaged 16:40, and last year we averaged 16:43. Larson’s time of 15:57 makes him just the 5th runner to go sub 16 on the “new” Manitowoc course. Milkowski ran 15:54 in ‘88, Krause (Appleton North), 15:53 in ‘07, Mroczynski(Pulaski), 15:49 in ’05, and Brice(Kaukauna), 15:49 in ‘08. All were pretty good runners, and three of them went on to be state champs. Solinsky ran 16:08 on this course as a sophomore but didn’t race here as a junior or senior. On the “old” Branch River course Hanson ‘81 and Anderson ‘82 each ran 15:45 and our ‘83 team averaged 16:18.
Our varsity guys did a much better job getting off the line and getting involved in the race early. Team competition was not quite as good as we expected as Brookfield East and Pewaukee did not return after finishing 2nd and 3rd here last year. Larson closed a large gap in the last quarter to overtake Selner who had beaten him at the Neenah meet by 8 seconds. Anderson ran a smart, well positioned race. Sheibley had another great effort and Hodsdon ran well despite having a pretty bad cold. Our young guys, Cruz, Weisbrod, and Hatton were outstanding, especially considering the intense workload of the week. Hansen was close to his P.R and did a great job of leading these guys through the first half of the race. Today was a step in the right direction. We became a better team and are closer to being the team we would like to be.
The J.V. race was a little puzzling. At the quarter mile, only Juan was in the top 60. At the mile we were probably in 3rd or 4th as a team. We are not known as a team that starts fast, but this was unusual. The leader was 5:07 while our pack was in the 5:20’s. On a course known for its fast first mile it was pretty odd. We did a good job of moving up in the second mile and running some pretty good times, but we need to be a little more aggressive in future races. Byers ran a great race, earned his varsity spot back, and looked strong. Many of our guys ran 30 seconds or faster than last week. Suehring, -24, Scott -30, Franz -31, Yonash -30, Tanko -37, Negaard -46, Hladky -47, Palmgren -29, Bernsteen -38, Stephfano -40, K. Chojnacki -31, Eron -1:40 and Xiong -1:45.
Participation in the Junior High race was a little down this year with our guys representing almost half the field. Many Junior High programs only race on weekdays, so that explains some of it. I know this is a long way to take our little guys, but they really are a part of our team and I know they benefit from being around our older guys. They are just a smaller, nosier, crazier version of our high school team and one day it will be their turn to carry on our traditions. Judging by today we have little to worry about. Thimmesch and Brady K. were once again fearless competitors and did a great job of nearly running down the big 8th grader from Sheboygan. Brocken had a huge improvement running1:43 faster than last year. Great races by Lesar, Hardy, Williams, Kiefer, Hincliffe, Aschenbrenner, and Bernstein. This group is turning into one of the best junior high groups we have ever had, and if they stick together the future of SPASH cross country looks very good.
This is not the toughest meet on our schedule but it is, in my opinion, the most fun. The long trip to the exotic western shore of Lake Michigan, a challenging, fairly fast course, and the chance for the guys to slightly exceed their recommended daily calorie intake in the Wal-Mart parking lot. For a distance runner it doesn’t get much better than this. As I heard Hansen say, “It’s a great day to be a SPASH cross country runner”.