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March 29, 2006 - Manderson and Proviso Invite Results

Only on the Palatine distance crew can the sweet results of a Friday night invite be trumped by the heated action of an intra-squad CC meet, but the Manderson delivers every year.  In the closest finish in meet history, Gasolina took the title by virtue of the 6th man tie-break over The Fellowship of the Bean.  Those two tied with 55 points, but freshman newb Eric Blyth saved the day with his 24th place finish, beating Hussam by ten seconds to serve as the tiebreaker.  Behind them, Thug Nasty placed 3rd with 56 pts, Finoody Knights 4th with 68 pts, and Manderson Mafia 5th with 93 pts.  Check the full Manderson 2006 Results to see how the race went down.  I'll post a full race review along with pictures in the next couple of days. 

Mileage and Performance List Update - Check the Week 8 miles as well as the updates to all of the Performance Lists.

Proviso Invite Results - 4 x 800 relay sets school record

The varsity boys came ready to run on Friday night after a couple of weeks off from big meets.  The boys placed 3rd overall in the big invite and won numerous events.  Mat Smoody (600), Steve Finley (800), and Tim Williams (Long Jump) took home titles.  Smoody, Finley, Mike Ducore, and Glenn Morris combined to set a new indoor school record in the 4 x 800 meter relay, running 8:02.17.  Tim Williams also set the varsity indoor long jump record with his winning leap of 21'11 1/2" inches.

4 x 800 meter relay - York came solely to run this relay and attempted to set both a national best and a national record.  They succeeded in the former, dropping an impressive 7:46.  We hoped to stick with a bit longer, but missed Alex Soto, who is out temporarily with a foot injury.  The boys ran fast, but definitely left some seconds out there.  Mat Smoody got us the lead, but did not put the York leadoff guy away.  He ran 1:57.4, but his splits of 59.1 and 58.3 show he could've gone much faster with a quicker opening split.  Mike Ducore then unloaded a 2:03.5 season and indoor best, but he couldn't hang with York's Matt Dettman.  Finley then blasted off way too fast (26.6 first 200, 55.4 at the 400) trying to catch Eric Dettman.  He ran 1:58.8, but left some time out there.  Morris then valiantly anchored us against a couple of blistering anchor legs from Glenbard South's Dan Kuhlman (sub 2:00) and Jacobs' Evan Jager (1:53.x).  Glenn ran a lifetime best of 2:02 and burst real hard in the last 50 meters to secure us second place and a school record time.  Congrats boys!

3200 meter run - Both Matt Dettloff and Sagar Patel had aspirations of qualifying to the IPTT meet, but both fell just a bit short.  Sagar ran a season best time of 9:54, but has been slowed lately by nagging injuries.  Dettloff, meanwhile, attacked hard through the 1600 in 4:52, but couldn't hold the pace.  He did though drop his indoor PR from 10:14 to 9:55.  More importantly, he dropped his indoor best from 11:14 as a sophomore to 9:55 as a junior.  His improvement has been tremendous.

800 meter run - Finley came back on pretty short rest in this one for a workout and was lucky that the field was not as stacked as usual.  He ran a 2:02.3 to take the win.  Ulises Reynoso looked a bit sluggish in his race, but still ran a 2:10.7 indoor PR and competed hard.

400 meter dash - Danny Holbach needs to get some speed work in, and his 55.6 was a good step toward returning to 400-800 meter form.  He attacked hard and competed well.

600 meter run - Mat Smoody won this one in a near school record of 1:25.1 to take the win, but Terrence Thigpen's 1:29.8 may have been the surprise of the night.  I was looking for T2 to drop his PR from 1:33 to 1:31 or so, but he went out hard and absolutely crushed the field to finish 4th overall.  Halfway through his race, the PA announcer said, "Well, it looks like a race for second place in this one."  I bet Terrence hasn't gotten that too many times before.  Great job boys!

1600 meter run - Mike McCain and Glenn Morris had good opportunities to improve in this one, and both of them took advantage.  McCain ran one of the scariest looking races to set a lifetime best of 4:48.  I swear that he made a face at about the 700 meter mark that indicated that his heart was exploding.  Holbach and I both saw it.  It was scary.  Somehow, McCain continues to run fast despite form that resembles an abstract art piece or a piece of mangled steel.  Thank god he is so tough. 

In Glenn's race, Havel and Jager took it out on even splits and Glenn looked good and strong running in their wake.  Jager looked phenomenal in running a 4:18 to Havel's fresh 4:20.  Glenn, meanwhile, is starting to race again in the same league he was in before his ankle injury.  He recorded a solid 4:27.9 to near his lifetime best, which is impressive considering he had a 2:02.1 800 in his legs as well.  We all know that speed acquisition is Morris' biggest goal, and we really took a great step forward with this 3rd place finish.

March 23, 2006 - Manderson Classic Preview

Yeah, yeah, I know that we are racing in a pretty stacked varsity meet at Proviso on Friday night, but the real action happening this weekend is the Manderson on Saturday morning.  Five fine teams will line up in an epic battle to decide supremacy within the Palatine distance crew.  Five fine teams will vie for the title of Manderson Champion 2006.  As the defending champion, I decided to sit this one out and give everyone else a chance to share in the glory.  Actually, I couldn't beat OB, Fast Eddie, or McCain with a team of sled dogs pulling me through the course.  In case you want in on the action, here are the early lines from the expert himself:

Thug Nasty (Captains Glenn Morris and Matt Dettloff)

Two-milers know little about the universe of speed, but they are usually smart, level-headed, and in tune with the rhythm of the long distance runner.  These guys stole OB when he fell all the way to the third pick, and he should be the favorite with the varsity credentials to back him up.  We know OB runs well under the bright lights, but this team will lean on Kwak, Bethke, and Compton as a solid pack.  I can hear it now...Kwak, KwAK, KWAK!!  Bethke the Bleeder is easy to overestimate since he runs on just a little less blood than the rest of us, but his late races have been solid.  Glennard and Dett got a steal with Killer Kyle in the 4th slot, but will need help from Juan "Gone in 61.5 seconds" Perez.  The factor that will put them over the top: Timmy power.  The smart money starts and ends here.  Odds: 5:2

Gasolina (Captains Mike Ducore and Tom Barsella)

Fellow seniors Bars and Dookie snagged McCain with the #1 overall pick so the onus is on the senior to  perform.  This a deep team though with both the power of the founder (Manderson himself) and Kevin "Pepe" LeClair to back up its frontrunner.  The burden of victory will fall though on Cepuran and Lew Dog, who must stick tight together to keep victory in reach.  Colish and Blyth also come as a nice freshman package with the potential to bump 5th men on other teams.  Some of the loose money might fall here, but smart handicappers see this as the second best.  Only time will tell...Odds: 4-1

Finoody Knights (Captains Steve Finley and Mat Smoody)

This team hopes to carry the cocky swagger of its "we are better than you and ready to tell you about it" captains.  They banked on Fast Eddie Lopez as their rock while throwing down big trust on an ailing Donny Mac (rumor on the street is that it's diarrhea) and Wojdyla the Gorilla.  Dyla starred on a winner last year, but this team needs Terrence the Gladiator to show up rather than Thigpen the Intimidated by the 2.5 Mile Distance.  These guys also got Morlock and Murph on the cheap in the late rounds and will get leadership from everyone's favorite tall drink of water, Andrew Haney.  In the end, the cocky act only carries you so far in life before some gasoline carrying thugs call you out.  Odds: 8-1

The Fellowship of the Bean (Captains Ulises Reynoso, Sagar Patel, and Dan Rakaric)

Someone put these three in charge of a team, and I'm not sure if they knew that they were supposed to try to "win" the race.  Give them points for creativity and for their faith in the beans.  Esbo Gonzalez, the Palatine Man of Mystery, has grown a sort-of-beard and sort-of-rehabbed from a stress fracture.  He's a wild pick, but a total baller if in form.  Behind him, they snagged solid as they come CP and sophomore Omar Herrera.  What Omar lacks in experience, he could make up in guts though.  If these guys want the W, then it will fall on the shoulders of the Killer B's: Bollman and Baran.  We'll just call them the Ninja and the Priest, and they hope to preach some gospel to their unbelieving teammates.  Hussam Sehwail is the total X-factor here - he's a senior, a chess man, and a mathlete so his intangible powers may come in handy.  Still, these rookie managers will be the Cubs of the 2006 Manderson - just wait til next year.  Odds: 10-1

Manderson Mafia (Captains Alex Soto and Dan Holbach)

First of all, no one should ever let half-milers pick a team, decide the pace, or act rational in any way shape or form.  Their simple animalistic, speed-based natures prevent clear decision making and, at times, rational thought.  They nailed an ailing Kevin "Eye of the Tiger" Yee with their #1 (rumor is that it is either malaria or a stomach ulcer) and then proceeded to pick Phil Conley who was so sick on Thursday that he could hardly run.  Perhaps they are using their top picks to spread disease among the others.  No, probably not.  After all, they're half-milers.  This team will have to lean on solid pack running and the strong leadership of the Dankowski Burst and Kretsch, both of whom are on a roll lately.  Jacob Stars promises to give it all and they could receive some 6th man help from BP, who is much improved lately.  In the end, though, picking the Mafia is like Michael Corleone kissin' Fredo in Godfather Part II: "I thought it was you boys, but you broke my heart."  Odds: 13:1

Above: Check out what happens to normal, hard-working kids when their team isn't selected for NTN.  I'm not sure if Smoody looks tough, but I would not mess with Morris.