Recent News and Updates - E-mail cquick@d211.org

November 27, 2005 - Finley Advances to Foot Locker Final!

On Saturday, Steve Finley became the first boys athlete in school history to qualify to the Foot Locker National Championship race.  Steve placed 7th in the tough Midwest Regional, running 15:10 for 5K on the snowy Wisconsin-Parkside course.  The top 10 boys and girls finishers in the seeded races advanced to the December 10th final in San Diego's Balboa Park.  Steve's finish was part of a banner day for Illinois, which qualified four individuals - Ryan Craven (4th), Jeremy Stevens (5th), Finley (7th), and Evan Jager (9th).  Making it to Foot Locker is an incredible achievement considering that only 40 boys and girls runners from throughout the nation are invited to run for the national title.  Congratulations go to Steve and his dad, who have been pointing toward this goal for a long time.  To watch it come true for them was an honor for me as a coach. 

November 6, 2005 - Finley Wins State Title as Boys Finish Second

Championship Standards = Championship Results

In a banner day for the Palatine cross country programs, Steve Finley captured the 2nd ever state title in school history!!  He made a dramatic charge in the last 300 meters to nip Prospect's Ryan Craven by one step for the state championship.  Steven found some kind of unbelievable gear about 50 meters out and won the closest state championship race in meet history.  There are three versions of the finish now available. 

To top it off, the rest of the boys all ran the races of their lives to nab a third consecutive state trophy.  Elmhurst York took the title with 49 points while we scored 132 to outdistance third-place St. Charles North (176).  The icing on the cake was that our girls finished third despite not having their best race of the season.  What a day for all Palatine runners, alums, coaches, and staff!  We finished this season with a combined record of 208-4, running our three year record to 627-10.  WOW!

I'll get to the Final Word to my Seniors some other day so just enjoy all these great pictures for now.  Mary Finley took a ton of great pictures.  I am looking for any and all digital pictures from the meet, especially the ones with Mark Visk.  E-mail all photos to cquick@d211.org.  Thanks!

Site Updates - I updated a ton of things.  Check out the History section with all of the state updates, the two new picture galleries from Sectional and State, and the updates on the Coaches page.

I have also updated all of the weekly mileage totals as well as the Mileage Progression for 2005.

Boys Race Recap - Finley Shocks the Illinois CC World

Where do I start with this one?  So many dreams came true yesterday that I still can't calm down.  We faced a ton of adversity this year due to injuries and inexperience, but we ended up running one of the greatest team races I have ever seen.  Each guy ran his best race of the season in the state finals.  No coach can ever ask more of his athletes than to have them perform their best under the most pressure.  Steven ran the race of a lifetime while Glenn Morris proved that he is one of the greatest team athletes in Palatine history, pulling Mat Smoody through the race to All-State glory even as he narrowly missed the individual glory he wanted.  Sagar Patel ran his best race of the year, and Kevin O'Brien shrugged off a dismal race in the sectional to deliver an unbelievable gutsy performance as our fifth man.  With Esberaldo Gonzalez and Danny Holbach both out with stress fractures, Alex Mourousias and Mike McCain stepped in and ran their lifetime PRs.  A total team effort and absolute execution of the race plan led to a lot of happy boys and coaches.  Way to go!

In the last two years, we have broken from the far outside and the far inside.  This year we were dead in the middle in Box 17.  We preached all week to the boys that we needed to execute perfectly in the first mile.  The boys carried a "risk it all" attitude into the meet.  We felt that we had nothing to lose and our plan was to be aggressive and in finishing position at the 1 1/2 mile mark.  The last half of the race is for competitors anyway, and we have those in spades.

We got a great start off the line, establishing position but staying under control down the incline.  I ran over to the 800 mark to check the splits.  We practiced hitting specific 800 meter times four times during the week, and we ran the first half to perfection.  Steve hit at 2:15 followed by Smoody and Morris (2:18-2:19), Sagar (2:20), and OB (2:23).  We established inside position and ran the shortest distance.  The goal from the 800 was to move aggressively to the mile and hammer the back loop.

Steven went into the back loop leading the race after going through the mile in 4:42 (our magic number).  Ryan Craven began his usual surge in the back loop, and he started to run away from Steve.  Behind Steve, Morris and Smoody were locked together right on the heels of a three man York pack.  They came by me in 24th and 25th at the 1 1/2 mark.  Sagar was in the 40s, and I knew that we were good because OB was in great position right off Addante from Prospect and at the mark in 7:29, which is 15:00 pace.  I was with Tim Brodeur, and I knew that we were running out of our minds.  The two of us ran down the road to catch the action coming out of the loop.  Craven at this point was blowing the race wide open, and the Dettmans and Jager had hooked up with Steven.  I was just hoping that Steve could hang in there with them.  Morris was still in 25th with Smoody in tow.

I couldn't see what happened up the incline to the two mile, but the above picture gives you a good idea.  Both Dettmans were making their bid for a top three finish with Luciano and Popejoy right off of them.  Craven hit the two mile at a blistering 9:24 while Steve and his group came through at 9:34-9:36.  At this point, it looked like Craven had it in the bag.  We had seen him enough times to know that he usually holds on when he breaks people.

I caught the race again just before the 2 1/2 mark.  Craven was just crushing everyone.  I got over the rope and started cheering for him.  He is a great person, and I wanted an MSL guy to win.  I guess that is a bit ironic.  Steve was fighting hard with Luciano and Jager at this point, but it looked like Craven was out of reach.  Morris had slipped a bit in here back into 30th place while Smoodle continued right ahead of him.  Glenn said later that he tightened up a bit going by the two mile (9:46-9:47).  At this point though, he had done his job in guiding Smoody through the first two miles.  It was now up to Smoodle to kick for that All-State glory.  Sagar started going backwards a little after hitting the two mile in 9:55, but he was still fighting hard and keeping that humongous stride open.  Brodeur, Larson, and I saw OB in here fighting hard, and I ran to the line certain that we would hang on.

I booked it up to the final straight and struggled to find a spot.  They were talking all about Craven and the Dettmans on the loudspeakers, and I was afraid that Steve had been dropped just past the 2 1/2 mark.  I managed to get about four deep, and I saw him charging up the inside just like we had discussed.  The race plan all along was to be aggressive in the first mile, try to hang around when Craven or someone else surged in mile two, and then kick if he was close.  As he kept building steam, I just went balistic.  I started jumping up and down, annoying these high school girls enough that I got right in on the rope.  He went by me in second just blazing, but I didn't think there was enough time to catch Craven.  I saw him throw in a desperate lean, but I had no idea that it was for the state title.  He won by one footstep in a three mile race.  Unbelievable.  Ridiculous.

I of course did not know that he had won, and I turned to find the rest of the team.  Smoody and Glenn were still close, and Smoo was kicking exactly how we planned it.  He nabbed 25th just before me, and he turned on the jets to go grab David Montgomery from York for 24th.  At this point Glenn was closing as hard as he could, but I knew that he wasn't going to make All-State.  He finished in 30th though and again was the glue that held everything together.  Sagar came by me just flying.  He beat a ton of guys who he hadn't touched all season.  What a day to unload your greatest race!  I searched through everyone then, desperately looking for OB.  Again, he came thundering up the inside line just like he was taught.  I knew we had a trophy, and I was so proud of OB.  Everything depended on Kevin not having a repeat of the week before, and he ran 55 seconds better in relation to Addante than at sectional. 

Sorry, Alex and Mike, but after seeing OB finish I just took off running toward the line.  I just lost it.  I was crying and just so filled with pride in our boys.  A lot of "Internet experts" had doubted us all year, but we proved them all wrong with a great race under the biggest of lights.  We believe in each other, and the rest of the world doesn't need to rank us high or give us acclaim.  The success these last three years has been about us working hard and achieving for each other.  There is not greater feeling than to be part of a pure and honest effort that is much bigger than yourself.  People would die to feel how we felt yesterday, and I can tell you right now that seeing the boys run the way they did was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life.  Wild dreams.  Wild success.

Girls Close Hard to Nab a Third Place Trophy

Congratulations ladies on winning your second trophy in three years!  You guys worked hard all summer and all season, and you deserve the success.  Special congratulations are in order for Amy Laskowske, Kaitlin Millin, and Carly Bates.  None of them had the total race they wanted, but each of them demonstrated their senior pride by kicking hard the last 800 meters of the race to carry us to a trophy finish.  Amy placed top ten for the third straight year, Carly came back from two weeks off to lay it on the line for the team, and Kaitlin went from a DNF as a junior to passing the girls we needed to win her team a trophy.  I'm proud of all of you girls and coaches!