Varsity Highlights
 
Today yielded a bit of a contrast to yesterday afternoon.  The sky cloudy and the temperature well down, it dropped more than 15 degrees to give a cool, crisp day for racing.  The Pioneer Varsity squad went out with determination, and it was a day for lots of excitement and personal satisfaction.  Pinckneys team won, with 34 points, Grand Blanc was second with 64 points, Saline came in third with 89 points, and the Pioneer squad was 8th with 235 points.

David Torres again led the Pioneers, chasing the frontrunners from Grand Blanc, Saline, and Pinckney while keeping focused on his own pacing.  David came in with a fantastic 13th place finish overall, in 16:30.  A huge PR for David, he took almost a minute off his last best times, and just keeps running better and better.  So exciting to see him break seventeen minutes, and decisively with a 30 second cushion  well, it was a day to celebrate.  Good job, David!  Eddie came in 46th overall, second for the Pioneers and his time was 17:18  PR!  Tyler was next, he, Eddie and Galen had run together trading back and forth through the race, encouraging each other with their pacing and passing.  Tyler was just behind Eddie, with a time of 17:19  PR? Galen Burrell ran the course in 17:25  PR! DeanBrigham in 17:34  PR!, Max Shpilband in 17:34  PR!, Boris Burman in 18:14  PR!  Nice to see these new records for the Pioneers.

Coach Sleeman, while pleased with the effort put forth here today, would like to see the improvement not only individually, but as a team across the competition.  Many other teams had good races here today; hed like to see improvement in the standings, as well as individual performances.
In all, a day for personal celebration but with some opportunity to improve as a team.
 

JV Highlights
 
Gusty winds marked the weather reports as the Pioneer JV squad competed in the Jackson Invitational in Jackson, MI.  However, Ann Arbors high winds were not a big factor for the race today.  Mildly warm temperatures and bright sunshine prevailed.  Held at Ella Sharp Memorial Park, the course is favored for fast times, being open, wide and rolling.  The Pioneer team didnt disappoint: the guys were justifiably pleased with their efforts here today.

The runners charged off at the starting gun, and forerunners were Robert Finkiewicz,  Stephen Doll and Lee Criso. Two runners from Dexter set the pace early and Robert stuck with them diligently, in third position and Stephen and Lee roughly twelfth and fifteenth.  By the start of mile two, some runners from Saline had edged ahead, leaving our guys in seventh and eighth place.  The third mile starts with the runners emerging from an area blind to spectators, along a small stand of trees.  At this point, all sorts of passing had occurred.  Robert had dropped back, possibly going out too strong early.  Stephen and Lee kept fervently on,  Matt Flamme began moving up in the ranks, Rob Frakes, Dan Fonte, and Charlie Geronimus were staying focused and trading places in the traffic.   It was reported later that there was some elbowing and pushing during some of this activity.  The runners are familiar with this, and responded by simply moving ahead and away from the sharp elbows.

The last half of this course is truly exciting as the runners take a second loop around the rotunda at the top of a gentle rise.  They come down a wide grassy slope, and the ranks were narrowed nearly to single file at this point in the race.  Stephen Doll made spectacular use of the downhill slope; one could clearly sense the decision he made to let gravity help him charge up toward the front of the line.  Stephen looked strong and able, and his patience paid off at the last corner.  As he put his sprint on in the last 100 meters, the other runners tried to respond, but had nothing left in their tanks.  Stephen soared to the finish, winning the race in 17:59.  Congratulations on a race well run, Stephen!

Soon after, more Pioneers were rounding the bend to the finish chute:  Matt Flamme called on his sprinters legs to do his bidding, charging past several competitors in the last couple hundred meters, one being Lee Criso.  Matt finished eleventh overall in 18:35 and Lee fifteenth in 18:41.  Rob Frakes had en exciting finish, next over the line for the Pioneers.  Rob had to dig deep in his reserves to pull up in the last mile, and his resolve paid off, he came in 23rd overall in 19:00, just a couple seconds off his best time.  Robert Finkiewicz held his composure very well, staying focused even as he dropped back from the frontrunners.  His overall finish was 24th and his time 19:01.  Dan Fonte had a great day at the races!  He looked comparatively relaxed and steady all throughout the race, and finished 29th overall, breaking 20:00 for the first time, coming in 19:09 PR! Oh what a feeling. Congratulationhs, Dan!  Charlie came in 38th and his 5K time was 19:32 PR!

Just a couple other notables for JV: Ancel Kalakailo lopped off three quarters of a minute for a new PR.  Josh Bender took off even more, breaking twenty-three AND twenty-two minutes in one swoop.  James Oh took off OVER a minute and a half, coming in under twenty-three for the first time, and Philipp Nassua performed impressively by reducing his time almost three minutes.  Your hard work is really showing results, Men!  We welcome two new runners to the team, Ahmad Abu-Ashtayyah and Maro Roh.  Maro just moved here from Boston, and ran his first 5k ever.  He held strong, and pushed through to the end with his entire team cheering him across the line.  Welcome to Cross Country, Maro!