Despite some strong individual performances, I know the coaches and athletes were unhappy with our collective result at this meet.  It was nowhere near indicative of our potential as a group and served as a wake-up call for quite a few guys.  We will need to be more attuned to details and event-by-event performances if we are going to be the team we all know we can be.  Highlights:
 

Alec's victory in the 1600 meter run was certainly the highlight of the meet.  He tagged along on a windy night through a 2:14 opening half, built on the leaders by the 1000 mark, and then launched the best kick of his career to run 4:23.8 and win.  His last quarter was 62. Chano and Morlock both placed in their flights.  Morlock ran a valiant race, taking the lead hard at the 1000 mark, but getting kicked down in the last 100 to finish third.  Chano ended up fifth on the back end of a solid double. Our 3200 meter runners all scored.  Laskowske and Chano both placed 4th while Larson finished 3rd in the C flight.  The wind killed the times for all of the 3200 guys - few people ran anywhere near their PRs. Jolson and Kierys scored well in the C and B flights of the 800.  I think Kierys was third while Jolson finished 2nd.

F/S Libertyville Relays - 4 x 800 Gets a Big Win

We went after a fourth straight win in this meet, but we met up with a motivated, deep, and talented Lake Zurich team that went out and took it away from us.  We scored more than 100 points, but they won all but one track event en route to a dominating team victory.  Our guys competed hard, though, and I really enjoyed seeing our F/S bond as a group and go after a team title.

4 x 1600 meter relay - I wanted to win this one in the worst way, especially after Lake Zurich jumped us last year.  All four of our guys broke 5:00, but a 4:38 anchor leg by their anchor leg proved too much.  Gates ran a big PR 4:53 to try and bring us home, but it wasn't enough.  Reuben Frey finally broke 5:00, running 4:55 to bring us to the lead.  We placed third overall.

1600 medley - We ended up one-tenth of a second out of the win in this one because the first heat beat us.  Ryan McGough ran a sweet 2:04 PR to bring us from behind.  The anchor leg he ran against tried to push him out toward lane 2 or 3 (which is clearly illegal), and he cut McGough off pretty bad about 40 meters out.  Ryan rallied, though, and came back inside to run right by the guy.

4 x 800 meter relay - This relay was our only win and proved to be a nice showcase of our depth.  We brought back four separate guys while other teams had to double their distance runners.  Our freshman tandem of Meincke and Johnson failed to run near their bests with each guy clocking a 2:16, but Kuerschner and Roehrborn ran with great heart to bring us all the way back.  Roehborn ran a 2:10 PR to dominate the anchor leg and run away with the win.

April 18, 2009 - Results from Five Star Invite

We had what I consider to be our best day of the year as a team on Saturday, and it was good to feel the warm weather and the good vibes of solid performances from so many kids.  The throw guys had a ton of PRs, the sprinters dropped time on the track, and nearly half of the distance crew ran a lifetime best in their respective events.  It was good to feel some momentum, and I hope it carries through to our bigger meets coming up in the next two weeks.

Upcoming Meets - Our F/S guys have meets on Monday and Wednesday while the varsity is in action on Tuesday and Friday.  The highlight meet of this week is the Wheaton Warrenville South ABC meet where we face the host team, Naperville North, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton North, Prospect, Evanston, and a host of other strong schools.  The weather is supposed to be great and the competition will be hot.

Performance List Updates - I put in all of the times for the last two meets.  We are now up to 28 guys under 5:00 and both of those final times toward our 30 could come on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Reuben Frey should get it this week (with two chances), and I am hoping that Peter Tomkiewicz will get it as well on Tuesday after running a 5:02 on Saturday.  I am also hoping that our 3200 list continues to drop with more guys under 10:00 and 10:30.  A ton of guys are running it this week, some for the last time. 

Five Star Invite - Open Milers, Bollman Excel in First Varsity Invite

This unscored invite is always a nice opener for us, and this year more than others we needed to see some good performances from our varsity guys.  The jumps lagged behind a bit, but most of the other event areas advanced on Saturday.  Highlights:

Open 1600 meter run - The open 1600 is one of the features that I like best about this meet because it allows every distance guy to be involved in the meet.  I always like it when they try to split the heats into sub-5:15 and over 5:15 and nearly our entire contingent steps forward to run in the fast heat.  Not only do most of the teams not even have more than a token open 1600 guy, but the guys we do run usually run fast and dominate.  This year's story was no different.  We took the top nine spots behind Ryan Wojdyla's 4:51.9 clocking.  It was his first race win ever and featured a great kick for the victory.  Congrats Dyla!  Behind him, Adam Bethke (4:52.7), Starcevich (4:53.5), Blyth (4:54.0), Larson (4:54.5), Novikov (4:54.9), Smith (4:55.3), Rodriguez (4:57.7), and Patel (4:58.1) put on a dominating competition.  After two years of struggle, Tirth finally did it!  I was really proud of him as well as Starcevich.  Jake was sitting on a soft 4:59.9 number that I rounded down from 4:59.94.  Way to break the barrier like a man! 

In the over 5:00 crowd, we also had a ton of great runs.  Kendall Cox made a valiant run at the barrier to finish in 5:04.1 (a 17 second career best), and Eddie Kovach (5:17.0) and John Pasowicz (5:18.1) shattered their personal bests.  Freshmen Noah Yosif (5:25.1) and Ryan Blihovde (5:39.6) also established new bests.

3200 meter run - Of all the events on the day, this was the only one full of mixed results.  Our F/S placed 2-3-4, but the times were pretty slow and the effort to try and win the race was non-existent.  All three of our guys encountered the decision moment where they could have tried to go with the leader's pace, but none stepped up and tried it.  Hopefully, we'll run with more courage next time.

In the varsity, I tried to get Alec to go out in 4:45 and see what happens.  He came through the 1600 in 4:49, but faded back a bit by the 2400 mark and got caught from behind by Alvarez from Crystal Lake Central.  He rallied admirably, though, and drew away to a big win with a 67 second last 400.  The 9:43.4 clocking was near his personal best, and I was proud that he put the race away.  Alvarez beat him by 20 seconds in the Palatine Invite last fall so that shows the measure of Alec's improvement.  Behind Alec, the run-off for next Friday's 3200 spot went to Tom Laskowske.  Tom competed hard and dropped his season best down to 10:16.4.  I hope that he can keep improving and become a solid scorer for us in upcoming meets.  Colin Morlock was in at the beginning, but faded late to a 10:36.

800 meter run - This race was Matt Wiggen's first one back from bronchitis, and I was not sure what to expect.  He had performed poorly in Thursday's workout so I just hoped for a solid effort.  He delivered a 2:02.8 clocking to finish in third place.  He still looks sluggish, but his form will continue to improve for the big meets as he starts to feel better.  Ryan McGough ran a sweet 2:06.6 PR in his first varsity fast heat ever, and I am hoping he continues to drop time and compete for a varsity MSL spot.

Our other four guys competed well to record lifetime PRs: Matt Baran (2:12.8), Zach Gates (2:11.4), Erich Kuerschner (2:12.3), and Matt Baumgartner (2:27.7).  Gates' race was particularly impressive as he fought hard in the last 200 to nearly come from behind and win the F/S race.  Kuersch also did a great job of putting it out in 62 and being aggressive.

400 meter dash - Outside of watching Glenbrook South's crazy fast sprint guy Hepburn run 10.5 and 21.3, this was the highlight of the day.  Alex Roark from Fremd and Chris Norman have started a friendly but intense rivalry, and each one is pulling the best from the other.  Chris ran 50.1 to put himself at #5 on the all-time PHS list, but he lost by about 1 inch at the tape.  The officials declared the race a tie, but Roark got him in all fairness.  Dan Schweikert and Alfonso Butera also improved to 52.6 and 54.5, respectively, which shows that our quarter depth is developing nicely.

1600 meter run - I scratched Chano from this one because he had some pain in his arch after Thursday's workout so the task of representing our crew fell to our two senior 800 guys, Luke Kierys and Justin Olson.  Both ran lifetime bests to place 2nd and 5th in the race.  Olson got out front, taking the early pace through in 64 before relaxing to a 2:16 (72).  Kierys bided his time before striking at the 1200 and going for the win.  Alvarez from CLC drew away for the win in 4:34, but Luke ran a 4:38 PR.  Olson hung on to finish in 4:42.  Both of these guys are running well, and I couldn't be prouder of their senior seasons.  In the F/S, Roehrborn, Gregorio, and Tomkiewicz all ran at or near season bests, but they weren't competitive at the front early.  I'd like to see more racing and less pacing to a time.  Racing leads to great times, not pacing.  Let it be lesson learned.

4 x 400 meter relay - We weren't sure when we would get to run for a seed time with our best crew so we went for it against BG on Saturday.  Norman was a bit tired from his open 400, but he opened in 51.6 to get us into second.  Kyle Marrison ran a great leg of 52.4 to keep us close to the lead.  Bollman then unloaded a huge lifetime best of 51.1 to keep us in it, but Wiggen didn't have the energy in the tank to bring it home.  His 53 and change took us to a second place 3:28.6 clocking.  I hope that holds up as a seed time through the rest of the season because we have a good chance of getting downstate in this event if we choose to do it.

April 16, 2009 - First Outdoor Results, Upcoming Meets

I know that it has been awhile since my last update, but we have been in the beginning of the outdoor season, training hard, and not racing all that much.  The distance group is starting to turn the page in practice, and I am betting that we will get a ton of great results in the next week.  Our sick guys are getting healthy and upcoming tough competition is going to draw the best out of our boys. 

On Saturday, we start an unprecedented run of five meets in seven days culminating in the Wheaton Warrenville South ABC meet.  Not everyone is running in all of these meets, but the number of strong competitions will surely get our times rolling faster.  It drives you crazy to see others getting after it in big outdoor meets so it will be nice to get the competitive juices flowing.

Performance List Updates - I put up all of the new season PR's from the Fremd/Hoffman Tri and the Schaumburg/Elk Grove Tri.  The team lost both of these meets to Fremd and Schaumburg respectively, but there were a lot of great performances to build on.  Our guys are improving in all of the distance races, but we have a ton of work to do to get up to our pre-season expectations.  It is time for the varsity CC guys and top F/S to step up and compete better with the guys they ran with during CC season.  The certain highlight so far is the 25 guys we have under 5:00 in the 1600.  Now if only we could get some more of these guys down under 4:30 and 4:40...it's time to step it up.

Schaumburg, Elk Grove Triangular - Bollman Breaks 2:00 for the First Time

Rather than going race by race, I'll just go with the highlights:
 

	I have been challenging Alec to be more assertive in both practices and races.  He certainly did that on Tuesday, rolling through the first 400 in 56 seconds and continuing on alone to run 1:59.3 and set a career best.  He's only 1.8 seconds off of state qualifying and his run was even more impressive considering the mid-40s temps.
	Ryan Wojdyla may have had the race of the day for our group.  He had never broken 11:00 before cracking off a sweet 10:33.  Those are the kind of big PR jumps that keep me going to track meets.
	Tim Meincke and Lucas Roehrborn dueled in the F/S open 800 with both running 2:14s.  Meincke looked like his speed is starting to come around.
	Ryan McGough and Peter Tomkiewicz recorded a 10:48 and a 10:51 in their first 3200s ever.  Peter ran great in only his second race of the track season and should be able to crack the 10:30 barrier as a freshman.
	Chano continues to improve his speed, dropping down to 2:05 for the first time ever in our 4 x 800 and then finishing off his day with a 2:08 and a 60 flat.
	Bogdanowicz brought a ton to this meet.  He was enthusiastic and excited about everyone's races and then went out and ran a 5:26 season best time.
	We ran our number of guys under 5:00 to 25 as Larson, Perez, Blyth, Smith, and Johnson all broke the barrier for the first time.  Juan actually ran his first outdoor track race since freshman year.  He endured two years of indoor track stress fractures before I pulled him off of indoor racing this year to give him an outdoor season.  Hopefully he holds up to the stress of racing.  His 4:48 was promising to say the least.
	Gates broke 60 seconds in the 400 for the first time and Kendall Cox managed to finish the 300 hurdles without crashing and burning, taking the F/S victory in 46 or 47 seconds.  His hurdling has improved a great deal so far this season.
	Tim Johnson had another solid race.  He hung around the back of our pack in the F/S mile before deciding to blaze the last 200.  As he gains confidence in his fitness, his times are going to drop like a rock.  That 4:59 will turn into a 4:45 really quick.

Fremd, Hoffman Estates Triangular - 3200 Team Race Takes Center Stage

This meet was not a high point for our team as several mental mistakes cost us points and will need to be corrected.  Fremd got the win, and we got some motivation to get better for the more important meets.
 

	I ran 25 guys in the 3200 meter run, and it yielded a ton of season and lifetime bests.  Alec was out front cruising and relaxed too much, and it cost him the win.  Fremd's Andy Mack kicked by him in the last 50 meters and got enough of a lead that Alec couldn't react.  Hopefully the lesson was learned.  The 10:05 time was way off of Alec's 9:38 season best, and the mental error will help him learn to put races away in the future.  The nice story here was Kierys and Baran pairing up for a couple of 10:19 clockings and then seeing 5-6 guys clump together in the low 10:30s.  Not bad for a mid-week meet.  The group of Larson, Meincke, Gregorio, Frey, and Smith will be the core of our CC team next year, and all of them look like they can continue to drop time as the year goes on.  Check the 3200 list to see all of the great times run on 4-9-2009.
	Chano lowered his lifetime best in the 800 down to 2:06 as he led off our 4 x 800 meter relay.  We lost to Fremd, but our two milers ran solid in this one.
	I challenged Chano and Alec to go out and get the points in the 1600 meter run, and they did just that, finishing in 4:36 and 4:38.  Chano's 4:36 was another lifetime best for him and bodes well for his recovery from knee tendonitis.  His speed is coming around and he will be dangerous in that 3200 by the end of the year.  Alec manned-up in his first ever 3200-1600 double after his mental slip in the former.  He raced hard and scored the points, and I was proud of his effort in this one.
	Tim Johnson opened his high school career with a sweet 2:13.8 clocking in the 800 where he went wire to wire for the F/S win.  It was great to see him get back from injury and perform well.  He obviously has a lot of speed and will be an exciting track runner if he stays healthy the rest of the way.
	Erik Bethke rebounded from some recent struggles to run 4:56 and take the win in the F/S 1600 meter run.  He looked relaxed and strong, and I hope that this bodes well for his races coming up.