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What we did well and where we can improve
Notes from State Finals, Nov 5, 2011
The team did quite well yesterday in the finals by finishing 10th out of 27 schools.
In 2010 the team was 23rd so that's quite an improvement. Jr Galen Burrelll was 31st (one place out of All State)
in 16:03. In 2010 Galen was 116th in 16:56. Soph Eddie Codrington was 37th in 16:09 while in 2010 he was 99th
in 16:45. Soph Costa Willets was 48th in 16:16 while in 2010 he was 144th in 17:13. Jr Max Shpilband was 130th
in 16:51 while in 2010 he was 133 in 17:08. Jr Nick Aukerman was 145th in 16:56 while in 2010 he was not in the top
7 and did not run the finals. Frosh Lucas Arrivo was 173rd in 17:11 which was 52 seconds faster than in the Regional
and 30 seconds faster than his previous best. Dean Brigham was 218th in 17:41 and just had a bad day.
With
everyone returning we can certainly improve on this for next year. However, it will not be easy to win next year since
the winning team only had one sr, the 2nd team had 4 srs but also 3 sophs, the 3rd place team had 2 frosh in the top 5 along
with 1 sr, the 6th team had 4 jrs, the 7th team 5 jrs in the top 7, the 9th team only 1 sr and their 2nd runner was a frosh,
and .... one can see we need to train very well over the next year. We also have another frosh doing very well as well
as some jrs and sophs who are beginning to realize how much more they can do and should be vastly improved in 2012.
One can only hope!
Notes from Regional Meet, Oct 29, 2011
The Regional meet went very well yesterday in many respects.
First the weather was great. No wind! A bit chilly with some sun and the course was a bit more like cross country
with some mud here and there.
The team ran it's best performance of the year and qualified to the State
Finals next week at MIS near Brooklyn MIch. Based on what I have seen from the other Regionals the team has an excellent
chance to join the top ten list of former Pioneer teams, and maybe the top 5. The team had 57 points while Dexter had
54 for first and Pinckney had 59 for 3rd. We were actually in 3rd place with 300 to go but sophomore Costa Willets moved
up to 2nd place with his best performance of his career in 16:14. Junior Galen Burrell also moved up over the last 300
to finish 3rd with his best performance of his career in 16:17. Our third runner was sophomore Eddie Codrington 16:34
for 3 in the top 10 for the first time this year. Juniors Max Shpilband and Nick Aukerman were then 20th and 25th respectively
in 16:55 and 17:11. Junior Dean Brigham was our 6th man with a 42nd place in 17:33 that was a solid effort after losing
some training days due to a very sore hip. He will do better next week at the Finals. Freshman, Lucas Arrivo,
had another very solid effort by placing 60th in 18:01 and getting great experience for the future. The team came together
very well while competing against some of the best teams in the state. All four of the 1 - 4 teams in the regional race
have been ranked in or near the top ten in the state this season. The state finals will see some large scores and team
scores that are very close to one another and the best teams will be the ones who can see their runners continue to run strong
all the way thru the finish and having a strong 4th and 5th runner. All those who can make it should come to MIS and
see a great cross country race on Nov 5th at the Michigan International Speedway. Pioneer boys run at 3:00 pm.
Notes from Jamboree #3, Oct 20, 2011
Notes from Gabriel Richard , Oct 15, 2011
...
Notes from Portage, Oct 8, 2011
We are better in some ways and not so good in others. We have 5 guys who can do the job but so far only 3
or maybe 4 have come thru on the day of the meet. It's been a bit frustrating since I know we can do it if everyone
would step up on the day of the meet and run to their potential.
Notes from Jamboree #2, Sept 27, 2011
We
ran very well but came up a bit short. If we ever get everyone on the same page in the same book on the same paragraph
there's no telling how well we would do.
Notes from Jackson, Sept 23
& 24, 2011
..
Notes from Holly, Sept 17, 2011
The team
was 3rd of 19 and did very well. We have a group that is running very close to one another and that results in a top
place finish. We do not have anyone in the top ten, however, while the teams ahead of us do. We also need the
guys running at 30th plus or minus to get under 20th. Our 5th man ran better than the fifth man on the winning and 2nd
place teams so we are doing well there. Hopefully our freshmen will continue to run well as they did on Sat with Lucas
and Jacob running close together with their best performances ever. They are currently 8th and 9th on the team so perhaps
they can put some pressure on the top 7 to run better. The winner of the meet on Sat was a freshman with a time under
16:00 minutes so freshman can run very fast. Saline also has a freshman running 16:20 and is in the top 5 on the team.
It seems the younger runners in the state are doing very well so far this year. If everyone continues to respond
strongly and positively to the training we can be more competive with the better teams in the state. Right now we are
about the 10 or 12th best team in the state.
Notes from Jamboree #1, Sept 13, 2011
We ran better than last Sat but we are still too spread out. Saline and Dexter top 5 runners are
running more as a group (at least in close proximity to one another) whereas we are not. In addition they are running
their top runners closer to the front as they maintain the group. We only have Galen in the top ten. Saline and
Dexter are reaping the benefits of their summer running where they put in many quality miles. We are still in the process
of getting our training up to a level where we will be able to more effectively compete against them. We were fourth
but could have easily been third if everyone on the team had competed. Hopefully the runners will become more focused
and determined as we continue working hard to develop a strong group that will measure up to their abilities.
We really appreciate the strong support of all the parents that come to the meet. I would
like to ask parents, however, to not intermingle with the team so much. I want the team to interact and focus on one
another as they wait or get ready to compete. I have found out over the years that many athlete develop a degree of
anxiety trying to meet the expectations of parents and other relatives. I want them to be more self reliant and accustomed
to taking care of themselves. Once the gun goes off for the race no one but themselves can run the race.
Notes from Kensington, Sept 10, 2011
The team did quite well today in the W Bloomfield / Brother Rice
Invitational with a 3rd place finish. We could just as well been 2nd with stronger efforts from the team as a whole.
Galen ran his best race ever and the team gave him good support that demonstrates how well they can do as the season progresses.
Attached are the places and times for the varsity. NIck Aukerman ran his best cross country race ever to be 7th
man on the team. As you can see our 7th man was much better than the winning teams 7th man. They were stronger
up front and in the middle of the team. Their 6th man is very strong too but if they had to go to the 7th man
they would be in trouble. Danny Fonte was our first runner in the JV meet with a fine effort. Jacob Johnson
had an excellent first race for a freshman and finished fairly close to Danny. With better training both of them will
improve a lot.
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