2022 Coach's Comments

November 8, 2022

In 2010 I made my first trip to the state meet as a coach. That spring in track and field, our 4X800 team qualified to run at the state meet at EIU. We were hoping to make it to Saturday and be in the finals, but it wasn’t meant to be. I don’t think I was ‘embarrassed’ out of that, but I did feel a bit inferior, or questioned my abilities as a coach, albeit a very young one. The rest of the weekend, it was taking it all in and enjoying watching more veteran coaches do their thing all weekend. That fall, we qualified for the cross country meet as a team and I felt more of the same. There was a ‘happy to be there’ vibe. I didn’t walk away feeling inferior or embarrassed, but I made sure to again observe others and see the ‘old guard’ and how they were handling the weekend.

This past Friday we arrived at Detweiller Park for the state finals, and walking to the staging area, I felt like one of the veterans. I felt like the Nazareth activity bus was a familiar sight for the regular attendees to Detweiller Park on the last weekend of the season. This was our 4th consecutive trip as a team (the 2020 meet was held as a ‘club championship’ but we earned qualification laid out by the IHSA even though there was no IHSA meet). So the historian and statistician in me did a little research and found this nugget; Only 10 teams in 2A qualified for the state meet each of the previous 4 seasons, we were only of them. Our friends from St. Ignatius were the only ones with us to be from Chicagoland (this is relevant for some complex reasons that I won’t get into here). We have built something great here and we have been able to consistently excel as a team.

Given our spot in sectionals and given the landscape of the season, we were probably looking at a finish in the low 20s as a team. There is no reason to be embarrassed or inferior by this finish, any team would relish the chance to end their season here, and no one is guaranteed to make it (another historical break here, the York men’s team missed out on the state meet for the first time since 1964, another reminder that it’s never guaranteed). But as we trended upward through October, could we peak in November? The forecasts weren’t looking promising, could a sloppy day and tough conditions be what we needed? There was one way to find out. As we rolled into Detweiller, the 1A girls race was off and running and at about the 2 mile mark in the, the skies opened up and a deluge of rain came down. It didn’t look fun to run in, but our question was: how will this impact the course for the later races? Similar circumstances in the boys 1A race led to more course deterioration. While the rain seemed done, we headed to box 19 for our 11am race. At about 10:40, the sun came out and it was pretty pleasant. The course however was not. We put in longer sprigs and talked about what lines to take, but it was mostly going to be a survival of the fittest out there. Box 19 is in the middle which has its pros and cons, but with this seasoned crew, I didn’t feel a need to dwell on any specific tactic. We got out surprisingly aggressive given our three previous weeks and I was thrilled with our positions after a half mile. Coach Gonzalez gave me updates at the mile and things were looking real solid. I took my spot right before the athletes entered the triangle. Colette Kinsella was sitting with a pack that consisted of runners slotted 7-12th place. We knew that Colette had a chance at top 10 and she was making a case for it early. Running at this level for 4 years is an incredible accomplishment; injuries and illness are usually the robbers of a season or two from elite runners. For girls, puberty is often a big culprit. It is not unusual to see the all state list littered with freshman and sophomores, some of these runners never attain this status again. After doing some research, Colette was entering this race as one of two members of the class of 2023 in 2A having earned all state the three previous years (including the 2021 Shazam Championships). Her 3 previous iterations saw her take 13th place each time, could she break that ‘unlucky’ streak this year? It was looking promising coming in and out of the triangle. Jane Mcnamara was next heading in, and she looked as strong on this day as any other this season. Her commitment to the grind and ability to hold places was one of the top revelations of this season. Our ‘chase’ pack was also cruising, keeping their gap under 30 seconds for most of the day. Hannah McCarthy was their pace setter and super sophs Sarah Owen and Alayna Plahm were nipping at her heels. Sarah began the year in a rough place, and we had questions if she would even be part of our postseason squad. But she kept pushing and doing all the small things to get herself back into shape and became a crucial piece that we needed to qualify for the state meet. In fact, at our September trip to Detweiller, Sarah was outside the top 10 and ran the open race, now she was our #4 runners at the state meet. Alyana also found herself running open/JV races for the first half of the invite calendar, now she was our door slammer, keeping pace with Sarah and keeping Hannah within view to keep our score low. Could this get us in the top 20? Were we FINALLY realizing our potential? Could we be a trophy contending team if this season was a few weeks longer? Not to be left out, Sam Rozmus and Neeve Olson ran their best races of the season. The course on this day wasn’t going to yield many personal bests (there was 1 personal best and 1 seasonal best out of 234 runners, last year 28 of the top 30 had a PR/SR), but these two were battling hard and both of them came in before some teams #5 runners, helping us push a couple more points.

As the runners cut across the field into the horseshoe one last time, Colette was sitting just outside of the 10 spot, could she cut the difference? Could she get 13th again? As much as I was focused on her racing, it was a bittersweet moment to watch her slice up Detweiller for the last time. Seeing this program over the last 15 years, this was our first state medalist, all-time mileage leader and just raised the bar for our program. We are 1 of 10 teams to make it here for the last 4 years, large in part to what Colette has meant for us. I would find out her fate later on, I know what Jane confidently would hold her spots when I saw her cut across. Given the data from the race mats at mile 1, mile 2 and half way, Jane did not lose a single spot in the final mile and picked up at least 3. This is the stability and dedication that Jane gave us all year. And while nothing is guaranteed, Jane will become our de facto #1 in August of 2023. Jane’s 64th place finish marks the 9th best finish in Naz XC history. Our 3-5 pack was up next and they kept things real tight; 22 seconds from Hannah to Alayna (with Sarah in the middle) was a great situation heading into the scoring. I confirmed this time on my watch and watched Sam and Neeve grind up the closing straight away that forced runners to stay on the outside as the middle was essentially a mudslide.

As I walked back to the finishing area, Coach Gonzalez texted me that Natalie Ereio was a listed finisher on the live results board in 13th place. Did her bib tag set off the sensor near the finish line? Did we mess up a bib that could get us DQ’d? This took a bit off the moment, but I was able to find the team and dole out end of the season hugs to these 7 amazing racers. Live results are a fickle thing and we quickly learned that many names were off on the leaderboard, so it wasn’t just us. Coach G also told me that it had us slotted as 17th place. I knew we had a good day, but this even seemed too much. We found a clear place to have some post race pictures and revel in the season. This is always one of my favorites moments of the season. Nothing to plan for next, no need to assess ourselves for the next round/race, just a chance to revel in an accomplished season and take pride in the journey traveled. While we talked and hugged and posed for pics, the resulting situation was being hashed out. Top 20 was real, some teams had off days and we had a good one. We were set at 16th place (technically tied for 16th). We took 18th at the ‘Peoria meet’ in September with several top teams not there, another reminder of how this sport and this season can play out; it’s not how you start it’s how you finish. We also had another awards ceremony to attend as Colette ended her career with one more state medal -- 13th place in 2022, to go with 13th place in 2021, 13th place in 2020, and you guessed it 13th place in 2019. She is unequivocally the GOAT of Nazareth Cross Country.

We hit the road after the girls 3A race, we left with a race well run and another piece to the legacy of our program. Coach and I had numerous conversations about how this year felt different, we felt like we were becoming part of the new guard of coaches that were a fixture at this meet. Only 3 schools leave with a trophy in each class, but there are other ways to measure success. We didn’t leave as just the 16th place team, we left cementing ourselves as one of the top programs in class 2A. I have always felt that the Roadrunners is the best team name for our sport, we now have the success to match it. We remind the team nothing is guaranteed next year, but the expectation that we established in 2010 is still real; get back to the state meet, only 54 more years to match the York boy’s team.

And that’s a wrap on the 2022 season, thanks for reading and enjoying the journey. Every year is special, but this year was one that Coach and I had to reach into our bag of tricks numerous times to reach the top of the mountain. I will not hesitate to look back on this log when things are hard in future seasons.

Coach Wejman

November 1, 2022

A rite of passage for a coach in Illinois is feeling as if their school got slighted when the IHSA releases regional and sectional assignments. This can make or break a school's postseason hopes and can dictate how they train in the weeks leading up to it. An ‘easier’ draw can allow a team some comfort or flexibility with their training and even the roster they run in the regional meet (and perhaps sectionals too in extreme cases). I have dabbled in these debates and there certainly are ways to create more parity, but ultimately if you want to be considered one of the top teams in the state you have to beat some of the top teams to get there. In September the regional/sectional postings were released, but a bit of a curveball was tossed into 2A a few days prior (This is a bit ‘inside baseball’ so bear with me). The Hinsdale South regional (that was likely to be our destination) was heading to Deerfield for sectionals and Lakes Regional was going to Kaneland. In an unprecedented move, the IHSA swapped these two regionals; Hinsdale to Kaneland, Lakes to Deerfield. In my humble opinion, this was the right move. It made sense geographically, but it also made sense competitively. The IHSA claims to not factor competition into their postseason pairings, and in this case I can certainly believe it. But it did create more competitive sectionals, including a more challenging path for us to make the state meet. Had we gone to Deerfield (and Lakes going to Kaneland). Making the state meet would’ve been a foregone conclusion. At Kaneland however, we were going to be joined by some elite competition and a top 7 spot was going to be a tough road.

Once these pairings got shared, it was time to see how we stacked up. Our first 3 races that followed saw us consistently behind sectional rivals that would be gunning for one of the spots. To be perfectly clear, we were looking at 9th or 10th place. We never broke faith, we just kept working and improving and however things were going to be in mid October, we just had to accept that. I kept liking what I was seeing and started to see the gap close between us, Trinity, Riverside Brookfield, and St. Francis. At regionals, we were picked second by some publications, but I felt that we had done enough to grab the top spot. After our best race of the season, we took home the hardware. But as I said last week, a regional plaque doesn’t help you at all the following week, we had to run another top notch race.

Kaneland is situated a good distance from the comfort of our suburban existence, but it is a beautiful campus surrounded by farmland. We have run here before and they host a top notch operation. The weather was perfect, the course was impeccably maintained, all that was left was for the gun to go off. Once again, the team asked for a more ‘passive’ start and we allowed it again, especially given that we had a box on the outside. A big difference today would be that this was going to be a bigger field and a faster race. After 600 meters in, I got antsy and demanded the pack begin to move up. The response was met and after a 1000 meters, the race had begun to take shape. The mile marker at Kaneland is on their prairie path, a relatively isolated part of an otherwise open course. I skipped this portion and headed to the west road. The race was playing out as expected with the race favorite from Prairie Ridge leading the way. Colette Kinsella was in the next grouping, looking strong. Pre race projections had her in the top 5, and on this day, I had little doubt she would attain that spot. Jane McNamara was next up and I was hoping that Jane would be able to get in the top 25, but this was going to be a thick portion of the race, so the difference between 20 - 30 would likely be less than 30 seconds. Jane’s race awareness and commitment to spots has been one of the bigger revelations of the season. While Jane was trailing a foe from St. Francis, she was in lock step with Trinity’s #1, a spot that we targeted pre race. Next came our pack of Hannah McCarthy, Sarah Owen, Alayna Plahm and Sam Rozmus. Races get won lost with the 5 spot, and these 4 ladies were running tight early on with Plahm as the #5 just 15 - 20 seconds off our 3 & 4 (McCarthy and Owen). This tight grouping had me feeling very good about things, but the problem with our sport is that it is a flurry of activity and things happening all at once so counting spots is very challenging. Neeve Olson closed out our 7 on this day, and Neeve was bouncing back tremendously well after a tough outing the previous week. CUtting back across the school, Colette had opened up a gap as the #3 runner, heading into the woods, she had a shot at #2, but 3 looked certain. THis was good news piece number 1 as we headed to the last 1000 meters. Jane was marking the Trinity racers, Hannah and Sarah were right behind Trinity’s #2 and with Alayna less than 20 seconds off them it was apparent we were going to be able to top the blazers. Knowing that we only had to beat Trinity OR St. Francis, this gave me some solace. St. Francis ran a great race and looked to be beating us, but it was certainly tight. Sam and Neeve continued to grind and battle, potentially acting as pushers and in an extreme case as tiebreakers. While I was feeling good heading into the last half mile, what if another team had an epic day? What if my counting was off? The uneasy feeling has been something I’ve reflected on before. When the game is over, we don’t get to look at an instant scoreboard.

I made my way over to the finish and just missed Colette taking the 3rd spot, she closed the gap to 2, but just ran out of time. Jane was next in the mid 20s (24 to be exact), 3 behind Trinity’s #1 and 3 ahead of St. Francis’s #2. Just like at Regionals, Hannah and Sarah came back together grabbing two spots in the top 50. I was hoping to keep those in the high 30s/ low 40s, but falling off just a couple spots is totally fine in a race of this size. Both only lost 5 spots to Trinity’s #2, so it was essentially us and St Francis left for the 6&7 team totals. Not far behind was Plahm who used her track prowess to make several passes in the last 400 meters and drop 43 seconds off her PR. The door was closed on scoring, Sam missed her seasonal best by 1 second coming off an illness and Neeve was just 13 seconds off a personal best. We had been asking the team to give us B+ races, we don’t ‘need’ A or A+, in terms of team racing, and today was exactly what we asked for. After some hugs and a chance to calm down, we addressed the team. How proud we are of them, they battled all year, rode with the ups and downs, handled hard better and ultimately gave what was needed on the most important weekend of the season for most. I was feeling good about our chances, but until the officials posted teh results, there was always that doubt. As we entered the coaches room, the papers were laid out on a desk, Coach Gonzalez was my eyes as I was blocked by a few coaches. He mouthed ‘seventh’, we did it! We made it back to the state meet. I didn’t even look at the times or any of the other details that I normally might have. Relief washed over and then it was time to tell the team. The joy and relief they felt was just as real. Had sectionals been in mid September, no chance we would make it out.

This is our 4th consecutive time qualifying for the state meet, 6th in my 15 years as coach. It never gets old, it never feels different, but the names and faces do. Each group brings its own special flare and persona to the season. We toed the line with some of the top teams in the state and held our own, the postseason assignment shake up that took place in September didn’t play to our favor, but it gave us more motivation to be focused and committed and now we get to enjoy the fact that we earned this spot and didn’t just get out of the ‘easy’ sectional.

Coach Wejman

October 24, 2022

For team sports in Illinois, the only way to get to the Sectional round is to win the Regional. There are typically 32 regionals held, therefore 32 Regional champions in each classification. In our sport, there are only 16 Regional champions, but 72 teams make it to the Sectional round. So 56 teams will make it to the sectional round without the Regional title. Depending on your geographic region, getting through Regionals might be fairly easy. Thus taking the pressure off of having your best race on this day and even making getting first place relatively moot. Resting a top racer, running the meet as a work out or tune-up can be common practice in the opening round of the State series. While there are some aspects about this that can be enticing, we felt a need to keep our sword sharp, especially this season as we really haven’t found our best racing form until the calendar hit October.

In early/mid September, we faced off against Trinity and Riverside Brookfield in consecutive weeks. It wasn’t pretty. Both teams easily dispatched us (technically we beat Trinity at the Bulldog Invite, but they sat their #2 and #3 runner). This happened in line with the IHSA sectionals being posted; We were clearly on the outside looking in. As we started to right the ship, I began to dig into the numbers more closely and our prospects began to improve to snag a top 7 spot at Sectionals and maybe even be in the mix heading for a Regional title.

As the conference meet closed out, I began to break down our chances and felt like we were actually in a spot to take the title. Early in the week, we did learn that Sam Rozmus wouldn’t be available for us on Saturday. Sam has essentially been our #5 runner the last few weeks. I have long talked about the importance of the #5 runner in closing the door on scoring. This would mean someone needed to step up.

Due to the small size of the field, we gave our runners a chance to hold back a little bit in the opening stretch. This can be a risky choice, but we challenged the crew that they had to be aggressive once the race settled in. At about the 300 meter mark, we were way back, but I trusted our pack to organize and attack. Race leader Colette Kinsella wasn’t going to hold back today. Her racing form has never been better and even with warm conditions, we challenged her to push the rate from the gun. Posting a sub 6 mile wasn’t surprising, but it likely wouldn’t be a sub 18 day as she wasn’t challenged super hard, it was warm, and Katherine Legge Park is quite hilly (we run a hill workout here in August). Jane McNamara was running with the chase pack as she is not one to be reserved. Last year, we made our postseason color black. It looks great, but on this day, RB has royal blue and black, Fenwick wears black, and the front side of Trinity’s jersey is dark navy. I figured the next chase pack was a slew of runners from those schools given our casual start, but our 3-5 crew of Hannah McCarthy, Sarah Owen and Alayna Plahm had fulfilled their promise and Neeve Olson wasn’t far off of this crew that was trying to drive the pace and grab any spot possible. Natalie Ereio served valiantly as a replacement runner putting forth a consistent and reliable performance.

We had all five in the top 15 and this was better than projected. Trinity made the choice to rest their #2 runner which took away some of the suspense, but we were running well enough to win this race with them at full strength. Coming into the last mile, Colette was cruising with over a 30 second gap from the top runner from Fenwick. It was clear that Colette was going to win, just by how much would be the question. Jane and RB’s #1 were next and Jane was hunting her second straight regional medal. My pre-race projections had Jane getting 3rd-7th place. She was sitting 3/4 heading into the last 1K of the race. As we watched Jane enter the last one thousand, I didn’t have to wait long to find Hannah and Sarah not far behind, joined at the hip. This tightening of gaps has been the biggest revelation of the last few weeks. Gaps hurt a team, and the bigger the meet, the more it hurts. Seeing these two side by side gave me all I needed to know that we were going to be Regional champs. As Colette rounded the final horseshoe into the stretch, there was no Fenwick runner behind. Jane was now in a race for 2nd. There was too much space to close that gap, but getting us a 3 spot was my best case scenario heading in. Hannah and Sarah stayed side by side across the finish line at 8th and 9th place respectively. My best case scenario pre race was getting 3 in the top 10, we now had 4.

Alyana Plahm made the move to XC after a great freshman campaign on the track team. She had been our #6 runner the last two weeks, but on this day, she held her own, acting as our number 5 and closing the door at 16th place. My pre-race projection had her at 25th. She did some heavy lifting early in the race rolling with Hannah and Sarah. Then it became a mental battle. The 400 meter race in track was Alayna’s speciality, it's a lot of pain packed into a short distance. XC is a little different as it is ‘less’ pain for a longer period of time. The mental shift is never an easy one, but Alayna seemed to have figured out a lot on this day. Natalie took over the 6th spot for us and did a great job grinding early. Neeve closed the day for us and the heat and hills, coupled with a strong mile, left her taxed coming across the finish line. With the course and the conditions, this was not going to be a personal best day for anyone, in fact in scanning the results, only 1 racer out of 71 had their best race time over 3 miles.

We take our Regional title on to the Sectional round. That first place spot doesn’t mean a whole lot; we have won Regionals before only to get shutout the following week. We have barely escaped Regionals only to turn it up the next week and make the State meet. For us, this day wasn’t necessarily about winning the race, but about continuing our upward trend and aiming to peak at the right time.

We learned that Kaneland was our destination on September 9th. Being one of the top 7 teams amongst those listed wasn’t looking great at the time, but we now enter the race doing our best work and trying to reclaim last year's magic. The stakes are the highest, the racers are the best…This is what sport is all about.

Coach Wejman

October 17, 2022

isn’t that long in the coaching world as there have been some doing it twice as long as me, but I do feel as if I qualify as a ‘seasoned veteran’. With that experience comes very few firsts. In early September I was alerted that our conference meet was scheduled to be run on a Sunday. My first reaction was that this must be a mistake; who runs a meet on a Sunday? After speaking to multiple people in the know, this was indeed going to happen. So I can cross ‘run a meet on a Sunday’ off of my coaching bucket list. As frustrating as this was for a few reasons, it really came to a head when the course map was shared with us. It would be held on Benet’s campus, which was half parking lot and half grass.

According to the internet's greatest resource; Wikipedia, cross country is defined as the following:

“Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically 4–12 kilometers (2.5–7.5 mi) long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road and minor obstacles.”

Parking lots, asphalt, and concrete don’t get referenced. I don’t feel a need to carry on, but this was the hand we were dealt so we were going to have to play it.

The frosh soph racers started our day. We started with five runners, and ended with 3 as sophomores Erin Briars and Izzy Cervantes weren't going to be able to finish on this day. These two had amazing seasons, but today wasn’t meant to be for them. It should in no way take away from how far both came as racers. The three remaining racers posted solid outings with Maggie Broderick being our top finisher taking 8th place. Maggie earned herself a spot on the postseason roster with steady gains all season and we look forward to what she will do in the coming years. Next up was Annie Trayser who saved her best race of the season for last, grabbing one of the few PRs on the day. Annie earned medalist status by taking 12th place. Molly McGarry rounded out our day with yet another solid race illustrating her consistency and dedication to the sport, starting the year running in the high 20s to finishing her year at or below 25 minutes.

Varsity was next and throughout the season, it looked as if defending our 2021 title wasn’t going to happen. Even with our team’s fortune improving week to week, Benet had too much strength up front. With that said, anything can happen at a cross country meet. One of my ‘keys to victory’ was for Colette to take the 1 spot from Benet’s top runner. The gap between these two was quite large when they previously raced, but Colette was putting in her best season and I flat out believed that she could win. After mile 1 they were neck and neck. Nearing mile 2 Benet pulled ahead, but the gap was still reasonable to claim back. These two burst away from the field, where the race would really play out. Our start was slow for my liking, but with the thinness of the ESCC field, we would have time and space to course correct. Heading into the back area, we were grouped up in the 10-17 places, coming out of the baseball field at mile one, we had grabbed the spots we needed to grab. The only problem was that Benet was holding their spots too. In our sport we can’t play defense, all we can do is focus on our racing and be at the mercy of our opponents. Benet’s 2-3-4 were looking quite strong but Jane Mcnamara was on the hunt. She would have to make three passes to give us a shot. Jane’s racing form is the best it’s ever been and she continues to be a talisman for our chase pack. Small gaps are crucial and asking Hannah to minimize her gap in 3rd place has been a priority as we head to the postseason. Hannah answered that call for a second straight week, gunning after Jane keeping the gap less than 30 seconds for the entire race. Our 4-5 grouping of Sarah Owen and Sam Rozmus was also tasked with keeping the gap behind Jane to under a minute. Early in the race, these two latched on to each other and grinded together, grabbing some places and keeping their pace up. Alayna Plahm and Neeve Olson closed out the scoring 7 with two solid races. I have a tough time gauging this ‘course’ and how fast it is, but these two had season best races from my eye test. Heading into the last 400, Colette wasn’t going to win the race, but she was going to hit sub 18 again for the 3rd straight week. She is running the best she ever has at just the right time. Jane wasn’t able to grab any of the Benet trio, but she held her spot at 6th place, earning all conference for the 3rd straight season. Hannah was close behind -- 16 seconds -- accomplishing her task and continuing to provide the stability we need in that spot. Sarah and Sam finished within seconds of each other, and most importantly kept the 2-5 split to under a minute. Not far behind were Plahm and Olson. I have a feeling we might be needing a good race out of them in the postseason…

When I first started coaching, our goal tended to be to get 4-5th place as a team. Now getting second place seems normal. This speaks to how talented this group is and the depth that we have.

The open race closed out our day, a bittersweet affair as most if not all of these racers would have ended their season or career in this spot. Natalie Ereio was our top finisher, breaking up Benet’s perfect score. Natalie has been a welcomed addition to our team and elevates our training sessions. She wasn’t far off a season best on this challenging course. Evvy Siffermann closed out her regular season with a great race as she navigated some nagging injuries in the previous weeks. Molly McNamara was our 3rd medalist in this race, closing out her racing career in strong fashion. Closing out their careers on this day as well were Montserrat Rico, Amaris Teran, Isa Ortega, Bridget Boyle, Liana Mikuzis, Itzel Martin, and Liz Selover. These ladies were valuable team members this season especially serving as leaders and examples of what this sport and this team embody; hard work, commitment and of course, enjoy the journey.

The season calendar turns to the post season now and we focus our attention to one race with the ultimate stakes. We also have another first for this veteran coach: a race at the famous Katherine Legge Park.

Coach Wejman

October 10, 2022

Since taking over in 2008, our invite schedule has shifted a bit, but the bookends haven’t; LT to lead off and Elmwood Park to close it out. LT has been kept largely due to proximity, Elmwood has more specific reasons. At this juncture in the season most athletes who are still healthy fall into two camps; those who are nearing the end of their season and those who have a few weeks left through the state series. A common denominator of these two groups is that a good race or a good time at this juncture is important. The JV racer gets to have validation for their hard work, a personal or seasonal best to feel as if the previous months of struggle have paid off. The varsity racer gets to get a confidence boost before the ‘important’ meets. Elmwood Park’s course is flat and open, coupled with good conditions, most runners have their career best race at this point.

Conditions were about as perfect as possible when the varsity race rang out. Perhaps a tad on the cold side, but this chill was gone quickly after the race got underway. We ran our top 10 racers on this day, something we don’t always do here. Everyone was feeling good and we are still needing some cohesion, especially amongst our top pack. We urged mile 1 to be a fast one, but Elmwood’s course gets tight early so we were further back than I was hoping for, but once the race fanned out, things took shape. Colette Kinsella surged to the lead and wasn’t going to relinquish it today. She wanted to run this race and came through mile 2 at 12 minutes. Could she go sub 18 solo? Jane McNamara was next, crushing her first mile. Close behind was Hannah McCarthy. I was really hoping to keep the gap of Jannah low, something that we’ve been needing the last few weeks. Trailing them closely was Sarah Owen and Sam Rozmus. The top runners get the accolades, but the number 5 runner on a team is typically what makes or breaks a team on the scoring end. Coaches cite the 1-5 split as an important factor, but with having Colette as an outlier our 2-5 split is our focus. Ideally this number is in the 40s, but it really needs to be under a minute. Our last four races saw this split be at or near 2 minutes. Could we drop that number today? Our chase pack was looking tough as well, Alayna Plahm and Neeve Olson were pushing hard as well early and it would pay off as both nailed down personal bests on the day. Natalie Ereio, Erin Briars and varsity debutant Maggie Broderick rounded out the team and these three were looking good competing. A rising tide lifts all boats and on a cross country squad this is the case at training as well as races. The depth of our team to have this many runners in the 21s consistently means better training sessions, better races and an overall rising tide. We’ve had years in the past where a runner in the 24s would be top 12, this year being 23 flat is the 16th runner.

At mile two I told Colette to run her last mile how she wanted, a few seconds later coach Gonzalez told her to drop the hammer. So I guess she wanted to drop the hammer. She came through as race winner with a time of 17:50, faster than last week and six seconds off her career best at the state meet last season. This was done at a regular season meet against no competition to push her after the first half mile. Jannah all but secured us a race win after they came in 3-4 with a split of 14 seconds. With the way our next three races look, this number will be important to match. Sarah and Samantha closed the door on scoring, coming in 25 seconds apart. Our 2-5 split was 77 seconds, not where it needs to be, but our best to this point in the season by a long shot. With Trinity and Depaul leaving their top racers out, getting the first place plaque was expected, but most importantly we had our best race of the season and our trend line keeps climbing up.

The Open race closed out our day and whatever chill was present at the first race had left the park and conditions were perfect. A quarter mile in, this was going to be a dual between us and DePaul. Depaul had the first 7 runners at the first checkpoint, but I knew that we were going to break this up. Our pack of Lucy Jucovics, Evvy Siffermann, Mia Baumel, Izzy Cervantes, and Annie Henehan were lurking. Could they climb back in and grab some spots? After mile one, Depaul still had a grip on the race, but I bet Coach Gonzalez a nickel that Lucy was going to win this race. Her form has been amazing lately and after some scheduling struggles early on, her consistent attendance has led to high quality race outcomes. The chase pack had broken up some of Depaul’s dominance, but we were still trailing on points. Lucy went on to cruise to a race win and dropped over a minute and a half off her personal best. Evvy was in 4th and wasn’t quite able to get the gap closed to grab us another 2 points, but she did post her best time of the season as she continues to power through some nagging injuries. Depaul had runners 5-8 securing their team win, but not far behind was senior Mia Baumel who posted another seasonal best time, her 5th consecutive race accomplishing that. Izzy Cervantes broke into sub 23 for the first time in her career, a testament to her determination, same for Annie Henehan, closing her career on a personal record. Montserrat Rico, Clare Worley and Molly McGarry were next up nailing down personal records. I earlier mentioned the athletes who toiled all year, perhaps had moments of doubt on sticking with this sport. This race hopefully helped remove those doubts. Six of our freshmen improved their seasonal best time by over a minute. Two of them; Ally D’Apice and Sofia Arroyo, made gains over 2 and a half minutes. MJ Drabik posted a seasonal best time drop of over 3 minutes. Kate Mangan hit a personal best mark over 100 seconds more than any time from this year or last.

In the opener, I stated that this race served two purposes; validation to the JV racers for all the hard work put into it, and a confidence boost to the varsity squad as we turn our attention to the ‘big’ meets. Mission accomplished on both ends. While our schedule has changed in some ways in the last 15 seasons, the four fixtures that will never change are upon us now; Conference, Regionals, Sectionals and then the State Meet. Let’s have some fun.

Coach Wejman

October 2, 2022

Many years back it was common to have a quote on the back of our yearly spirit wear shirts. One of the suggestions was: ‘Cross Country, finally a good use for a golf course’. It didn’t make much sense for us as we had no races at/on golf courses. This all changed in 2022 as we made our debut appearance at the Solorio Sun Warrior Invite held at Marquette Park Golf Course. It also marked our first meet of October and the smell of cross country season was alive and well on a beautiful fall morning. With good conditions and a well manicured golf course, we were expecting some good times.

The frosh/soph race led off our day and in the wake of a strong workout that saw her achieve a personal best (albeit unofficial), Erin Briars was our top runner out of the gates. After a summer of strong work and big time miles, Erin is really hitting her stride as a racer and gaining more confidence with each week. She was able to post a personal best time on this day. Not far behind Erin was Freshman Maggie Broderick who has really emerged as a top runner for us out of this freshman class. This is the point in the season where freshmen start putting pieces together and making big gains, Maggie was able to drop over a minute off of her personal best. Next across the finish line was Lucy Jucovics who also continues to gain valuable experience as a racer putting herself into the mix for a postseason roster spot. Izzy Cervantes and Macey Pjesky closed out the scoring for us with both girls posting personal best times for 3 miles. As I watched the racers finish I scanned the managers notebooks for times and compared them to their established personal/seasonal bests. What I saw continued to impress. Annie Trayster dropped a minute and a half of her seasonal best mark, her sister Mary over a minute off hers, Sofia Arroyo and Emme Barnes each saw over a minute come off of their best time ever. We had high expectations on the day and after one race, these were being met.

Temps were rising, but still ideal for racing when the varsity kicked off. We challenged Colette Kinsella to go out with the freshman ace from St. Ignatius. Not having seen her race, or having much context, I wasn’t sure how the race would play out. And while Colette was kept at a 15-20 second gap all race, these two girls were cooking. In talking with the Ignatius coach, we had them at about 9 for the halfway point, could they both go sub 18? Jane McNamara was rolling with the next pack and looking taxed, but strong. We challenged her to be aggressive at the start and she responded. In the big chase pack was Hannah McCarthy who still continues to be one of the grittiest racers we have ever seen, the look she gives me in the thick of a race is sheer confidence. I never have doubts about Hannah’s ability to compete when it matters most. Sarah Owen and Samantha Rozmus would close out our scoring pack and both of them were looking at their best for this point in the season. The scoring squad was rounded out by Neeve Olson who is doing the best racing of her career and Mia Buamel who found her freshman year magic for another consecutive week. I was too far from the finish line to see the specifics, but Colette would have a shot at sub 18, but it was going to be close. Her gap to 1 was out of reach and 3rd place was too far back to push her, so what would get her there? Jane was also hunting down a threshold too; 19 minutes. Checking with the managers showed me that Colette did break the 18 minute mark, a non state meet first for our program. Jane was 2 seconds above the 19 minute slot, but knowing Jane this will only serve as fuel going forward. Hannah got her first sub 20 minute race of the season, and I know with a more committed opening mile, this won’t be her last. Sarah and Samantha both posted seasonal bests to give us a 4th place finish on the day. Beyond the scoring 7, it continued to be a banner day for the program. Molly McNamara dropped her top time of the season, she was followed by Annie Henehan, Montserrat Rico, Clare Worley, and Amaris Teran all posted personal best times for their careers. Perhaps most impressive was Senior Marieclaire Popernik slicing 4 minutes off her seasonal best time. Really proud of the way she has dealt with some adversity this season. All in all, we had 31 seasonal bests, so perhaps we did find a good use for a golf course. Yes, the weather was perfect, the course was immaculate, but we came to race. We came to see our hard work pay off and apply the lessons of a challenging season to where it matters most; on the course. The girls were quick to get out of the park as homecoming loomed, instead of doing my hair and nails, I started to scout our postseason opponents and see what lay ahead for us. It’s going to be an uphill climb to make the state meet, but I feel a lot better about our standing today than I did 2-3 weeks ago.

Coach Wejman

September 25, 2022

At our weekly meeting, I referenced a tweet I saw from an XC coach that stated that this point in the cross country season ‘had a smell’ and after doing this sport for 15 years, I knew right away what he was talking about. This smell usually comes in the last stages of September or early October. My math might be off, but I’ve spent about 90 fall Saturday mornings at cross country meets. I can tell what the weather will be like at each race as soon as I walk outside of my house. I can project if this will be favorable or challenging for the runners. And perhaps most importantly, I know what it is going to smell like. This point in the season is when we start to see the gains really shine through. The sweaty summer months (different kind of smell) are past us, and now we get to reap the harvest we have sown. Our seasonal and personal records are starting to get beaten. The pre race anxiety is internalized vs. blatantly visible on the runners faces. The sad reality is that this sport really gets more fun as it starts to wind down.

The Harvest Christian meet signifies the mid way point of Invite competition. The course is a challenging 5K, one some might refer to as a ‘true’ cross country course. In any event it is challenging, but we arrived in Elgin ready for the challenge. The varsity squad kicked things off and it would be a good test for us against some of our postseason foes as we continue to make weekly improvements. As we continue to find our racings legs, we started to elevate the challenges we lay before our top runners. With Colette Kinsella away on a college visit, it would be time for Jane McNamara to be our rabbit and aggressively go after the lead runners. From the gun, Jane attacked and kept herself within respectable distance of runners who comfortably beat her earlier in the season. After Jane came our chase pack of Hannah McCarthy, Sarah Owen, Sam Rozmus and Alayna Plahm. The cohesion these four have been building at meets and in training will be vital as they approach a sectional meet that could be decided by single digit points. As a collective, these four each took turns pushing pace pulling their teammates through. In the end this 2-5 split ended up being under a minute, something that will probably have to tighten up going forward, but it’s the progress we are needing. Jane held on for a 5th place finish, and got a chance to close out against two runners that we will see at Kaneland. Hannah came through next and did a great job of using the downhill to hold her spot. Hannah always exudes a face of calm amidst the challenges of races; we’re going to need to see some more aggression on that face as we work towards minimizing the time gap after Jane. Sarah continues to shake off some early season rust and drop time and spots in our teams finishing order. Not far behind her was Alayna who is no longer an unknown as her transition from the track to the cross country course continues to round into shape. Samantha closed out our scoring five with a solid race and we know that come October we will get the best of Samantha as we did in 2019. After the scoring five it was a tight squad of Erin Briars ,posting a 3 mile personal best, and Neeve Olson putting down a tremendous closing kick. These two will no doubt be in the mix for a starting spot at regionals in a few weeks. Mia Baumel made her return to varsity racing after battling injuries for the last two seasons. Her wisdom and experience continue to propel her to some solid races (despite a look over the shoulder near the end). Varsity debutant Izzy Cervantes closed out the race for us. Izzy has battled to get back to health and to earn a varsity spot, no doubt she was able to savor the experience and how far she has come.

JV was our second race of the day and as the race got underway, the sun started to shine through a little bit. This was going to be an interesting race as we had several freshman and rookie racers competing in their first race of favorable conditions. Freshman Lucy Jucovics dropped an impressive race coming in at 19th place. She continues to show off her impressive racing after missing the first few races of the season. Maggie Olk was not far behind her posting her best race time of the season. Freshman Maggie Broderick came through next with her best race time of the year also (starting to smell a theme here). Upperclasswomen Clare Worley, Montserrat Rico, and Amaris Teran closed out the scoring by finishing within 13 seconds of each other. Seniors Itzel Martin, Bridget Boyle, and Isa Ortega closed out the squad overall that earned a 5th place finish. We are really happy with the way all of these ladies battled and applied their wisdom and experience to their racing. This will certainly yield even better in the coming weeks as we take on some favorable courses.

The open closed out our day and by now the sun was abundant and the racers were raring to go. Sophomore Molly McGarry continues to post PRs with another great effort earning her the weekly belt for athlete of the week. Kate Mangan too ran a great race with another seasonal best race. Mary Trayser grabbed the 3 spot for us, 4th was Liz Selover grabbing another sub 30 race. Riley Grill continues to grind through aches and pains, gutting out some tough races. The freshman quad of Sofia Arroyo, Elena Garcia, Ally D’Apice and Sofia Klinger closed out our day. Taking on this sport is never an easy undertaking, but these 4 have kept a great attitude and are starting to race with more and more confidence.

Our calendar turns to October as we make our first appearance at the Solorio Sun Warrior Invite. The course is known as being flat, the conditions look great (I will confirm when I leave my house Saturday morning) and it’s gonna smell great.

Coach Wejman

September 18, 2022

I’m gonna go into the wayback machine here to recall the RB Invite from 2010. It was my third season and I started to feel as if I knew what I was doing in building team culture and a competitive team. As the meet was wrapping up on Friday evening, the open racers were coming across the finish line. Every team member who wasn’t racing was cheering and screaming for their teammates. As girls came back to camp, it was a collection of smiles, laughter, and bagels being eaten. We left Sundown Meadow as dusk was settling in and I knew that we were heading in the right direction. Eight weeks later we were heading to Detweiller Park as Regional and Sectional champs making our first state meet appearance.

In this 15th season, I still feel like we know what we are doing, but things don’t always go to plan and doubt can creep in. We began the season ranked in the top 10 statewide in several publications; after our first few races, this was no longer the case. There hasn’t been one thing to pin this on, just a confluence of events big and small. I may not be an optimist, but I am a pragmatist and I know that we have a talented squad and plenty of time to turn this thing around. But time is an always dwindling resource and I began to feel like we weren’t making that turn well enough or fast enough.

Due to proximity and postseason matchups, I have always viewed RB as our preeminent rival. The pendulum has always gone back and forth, when one team is down it doesn’t stay that way too long. We have had the upper hand for the last two years, but they have come back real strong this year and will give us a good test everytime we see them, including the postseason. The 61st RB Invite was held at Indian Garden in Riverside on a compact course. This meet would essentially be a triangular with us, the hosts and Trinity. After talking with Trinity’s coach, they were keeping a couple racers out, leading to a head to head with the Bulldogs. Colette Kinsella got out with the top runners from RB and Fenwick, these three seniors have had some great battles over the last four years, with hopefully a few more in the postseason. Colette and Fenwick pulled ahead at the 2 mile mark for a head to head race in the last mile. Behind Colette was the tandem of Jane McNamara and Hannah McCarthy or ‘Jannah’. We asked a lot of these two in pushing our pack pace and limiting the gap behind Colette. These two never break and are always ready to dig in and battle, both of these girls ran season best times and are trending upward. Next came Sam Rozmus whose comeback season continues to make gains as she regains her racing form as she posted another season best time. Not far behind her was Sarah Owen who is on a rebound tour as well after some minor health setbacks early in the season. Natalie Ereio, Neeve Olson, Molly McNamara were our next finishers posting season best times, more indication that we are moving in the right direction.

Kinsella was able to pull ahead in the last half mile, continuing to establish herself as one of the top runners in the state taking this win going away. McNamara and McCarthy held their spots and gained some valuable experience against some individuals that we will see at Regionals as well as sectionals. Rozmus and Owen kept their gap minimal to close out the scoring. On this day, we fell short to our rivals 3 miles down the road, but had our best race of the year to this point.

The open race closed out the day and temps were still comfortable. Sophomore Alayana Plahm finally broke out and took over the race from the gun and never conceded. Plham had a great track season and on this day, she showed that drive that will make her a valuable piece for us come October. Next up for the Roadrunners was Mia Baumel who is having a senior renaissance after a few years of setbacks. Her experience and commitment were on display as took over 3rd place in the last 20 meters. Lucy Jucovics continued the solid day as the freshman made her 3 mile debut in style as she cruised to 5 place finish. Three in the top 10 is always a good sign for the overall scoring, but wins and losses usually come down to the 5th runner on a team. After about a minute's gap, I kept waiting to see who would be our 4th and 5th on the day. Then came a swath of white and navy; Izzy Cervantes, Maggie Olk, Macey Pjesky and Maggie Broderick slammed the door on scoring finishing within 19 seconds of each other. Our depth was once again on display as this squad comfortably took first place scoring an impressive 34 points. As the remainder of the runners kept coming in, our varsity squad was up and cheering/ supporting. As the team knows, I am not a tent guy for our team camp. One reason is that I don’t want athletes to be under the tent, I want them on the course to support their teammates or the boys team. On this day our mighty tarp was beaming white as no one was sitting on it, all were up and supporting. Sophomore Molly McGarry continued to grow and prosper as a runner, posting a personal best time. Senior Liana Mikuzis posted a season best time, 2 minutes faster than the previous week race. Senior Liz Selover broke her season goal of under 30 minutes in grand fashion earning her the belt for athlete of the week. Catie Luzzi posted her second personal best in as many weeks. Freshmen Sofia Arroyo and Ally D’Apice shaved more than 6 minutes of their efforts at Westmost two weeks prior.

This was a team day, all around. We took home some hardware, but we also grew as a team. Seeing the varsity girls mentally dial themselves in, watching the open racers continue to learn to race and see what their bodies and minds are capable of is what we are all about. We aren’t where we thought we’d be at this point, but we are handling hard better. Our mental mood is improving, our performances are getting better. We are improving week to week and are turning things in the direction we need to be going. Will it be enough? Time will tell, but leaving this RB meet felt a bit like we were back in 2010.

Coach Wejman

September 11, 2022

As much as 2021 brought us back to a normal season, there was one key component missing; the Peoria overnight trip before the First to the Finish Meet at historic Detweiller Park. Last season we attended this meet but opted out the overnight portion. Maybe it’s my selfish enjoyment of a country fried steak smothered in sausage gravy at Cracker Barrel, but I missed the tradition we experienced for my first 12 seasons with this team.

Before we left for Peoria, the team enjoyed a fruitful day at the Westmont Quad meet. We easily won the day on points, but more importantly we seemed to utilize this day as a reset after LT a few days prior and a chance to get a training run against live competition. We always stress to not run against a clock, but against teammates/competition. On a day like this, that mindset was crucial. Westmont’s campus course isn’t the fastest, but we used pack running in the first mile as a way to build some cohesion.

On Friday afternoon, we departed 1209 W. Ogden and headed south by southwest to Peoria. The warm bus ride would be a bit of foreshadowing of what would be a warm race day on Saturday. Dinner at Cracker Barrel didn’t disappoint (at least not my refined dining palette) and it was on to the hotel where the team bonding could ensue. Coach and I aren’t privy to any conversations, but we have always been told that this night is a chance for the elders to impart wisdom on the younger runners.

We arrived at Detweiller Park in time for the 1A girls race and with enough of a buffer to get ourselves ready to occupy box 26 and run the varsity race at 10am. In the shade it was a comfortable day, but in the sunny infield of Detweiller it was getting toasty. Probably not a ripe day for personal bests, but it was going to be a fast race as this meet tends to be.

We advised the team to get out strong, but not be reckless as this meet tends to fly early and that can have negative repercussions later in the race. In 2019 at this meet, we got a full glimpse of what Colette Kinsella would be capable of. In her final appearance at this meet, we saw more of what she is still capable of. Colette was cautious early, but by the big evergreen tree she would find herself in the top 10/12 grouping. After Colette, it was going to be a day of pack racing. I wasn’t sure how our groups would shake out this year, but I wasn’t expecting us to be as reliant on packs as we have been. In the first chase pack, Hannah McCarthy, Jane McNamara, and Sam Rozmus were separated by no more than 30 seconds. I regrettably take for granted how stable these three are. I try to read the eyes of runners as they pass by and these three always have faces of confidence on them. They might not always feel this confidence, but I know it’s there. After a gap our next pack of six was separated by less than a minute. Evvy Siffermann, who continues to make strides and begin to find her freshman year form, was our 5th scorer on the day. Immediately following her was Natalie Ereio who was making her return trip to Detweiller after running in the state meet in November, and then came Erin Briars who ran a personal best for 3 miles best despite the conditions. Rookie Alayna Plahm, Neeve Olson and Molly McNamara rounded out our 10 runner varsity team. Only 7 run in the postseason and I look forward to watching these names push each other week to week, rising the tide that will elevate the team. Colette ended up in 6th place in this loaded field running a blazing 18:09 on this warm day. It was the fastest time posted by a Nazareth runner at Detweiller at a non-state meet race. This is how you bounce back from a tough debut the previous week.

While varsity cooled down, our day was not done. The open race would commence at noon, with the sun drifting higher and temps climbing more. It was going to be a tough race. The 2A race was large, but this race was REALLY large with schools across all classes putting forth 10-20 and in some cases over 30 runners. All we ever ask from our runners is an honest effort and do the best they can regardless of conditions or competition. Sarah Owen was our top finisher on the day in this race, running a gutsy race pushing herself hard early as she works herself back into racing shape. Mia Baumel was next to finish and her experience as a senior really shows in her racing as she understands that it will hurt, but that you will get through it. Same goes for four year runners Bridget Boyle, Itzel Martin, Isa Ortega, and MC Popernik who put in real solid races on this day. Special shout outs to Sarah Phillips and Catie Luzzi who posted personal bests. It is always fun to see that this early in the season.

We departed Detweiller Park sweaty and tired embracing some bus driver trivia and Dairy Queen in El Paso. We arrived back home with memories made and some great perspective about this sport that we love. It isn’t always about the medals or a cup in a box or even the caloric surplus enjoyed by this coach. Every race is a chance to learn, grow, and improve upon as the best race of the season shouldn’t be in September… it should be in mid October. Or, if you are one of the lucky ones, it is at this very park in early November.

Coach Wejman

September 4, 2022

At our pre-season parent meeting, I referenced that this was my 14th season as head coach, only to be corrected that it was in fact my 15th season at the helm. So, I have officially been doing this long enough to forget how long I’ve been doing this. Each season has a way of finding its own rhythm, our first two weeks of practice picked up with a great energy and buy-in (every coach's favorite cliche saying). Once school started, we gravitated into some relatively unfamiliar waters with a school day without masks, more rigor/expectations in the classroom, and perhaps more expectations on the 2022 version of the Nazareth Girls Cross Country team. Coming off our first conference title since the early 90s, a Regional championship, 2nd place finish at the Sectional meet, and 14th place at State is mighty impressive. With all seven runners coming back, we were now going to be the hunted as opposed to the hunters. Once school began, perhaps some or all of these factors began to break up the rhythm we had in the first two weeks of the season.

Our first chance to show ourselves was at the Elmwood Park Trial on the Trail, a low stakes 2-mile race. The juniors and seniors led things off. Due to some traffic we didn’t arrive with ample time to warm up, but the ladies did what they had to and were ready when the gun rang out. Senior Colette Kinsella started her senior campaign taking charge of the race and won comfortably, cranking out sub 12 minutes for 2 miles. Jane McNamara and Hannah McCarthy found their way into the top 10; Sam Rozmus and Molly McNamara rounded out the scoring 5 to get us a 1st place finish on the day. Special shoutout to Liz Selover who was the lone debutante in the upper class race.

On the Frosh/ Soph side, we had numerous runners making their Roadrunner debut. For the scoring 5, the team of Erin Briars, Alayna Plahm, Sarah Owen, Lucy Jucovics and Izzy Cervantes finished in 2nd place. Briars and Plahm both earned medalist status. Plahm and Jucovics were joined by Mary Trayser, Molly McGarry, Macey Pjesky, Emme Barnes, Elena Garcia, Sofia Arroyo, Ally D’Apice, and Sofia Klinger in completing their first high school race.

The invite season kicked off as usual at Lyons Township for the Mike Kuharic Invite. JV opened our day bright and early at 8am. ‘Handling hard better’ has become a mantra for our season, and part of that is the approach of ‘hard’ things. The LT course has never been a favorite of the Nazareth Girls Cross Country team. The reality of not liking a course is that everyone runs the same course and it’s not about the course, it’s about the mindset. From the gun, Neeve Olson and Natalie Ereio set the pace for our team with Maggie Olk hanging on their shadow. Izzy Cervantes, Annie Henehan and Moserrat Rico were clustered up in the next pack of Roadrunners. These ladies did a nice job pushing the pace and encouraging each other. In a race of this size, finding some friendly faces, lifting up a struggling runner, or finding that training partner that you know you can hang with might be enough to get you through that rough stretch of a race. As the runners came into the last half mile, Olk had overtaken Olson and Ereio, running a strong race from beginning to end. Cervantes and Henehan were the final scorers that gave us a 6th place finish, with only large 3A schools finishing ahead of us illustrating our depth.

The Varsity were up next and expectations were high as previously mentioned, but this wasn’t really meant to be our day. Through the first half mile, things were looking quite strong and I liked our placements and groupings. The next I saw of the squad, Kinsella and Rozmus stepped off the course and opted to withdraw from the race with minor ‘injuries’. No runner ever wants to drop in a race, but sometimes it has to happen and it is best to be cautious at this point in the season. In most sports, the coach can call a timeout, put in a sub and get on with the game. We don’t get the luxury in our sport. The race must go on. Concerned teammates pressed on, but were clearly rattled. Jane McNamara ran a great race and held her pace confidently and finished 18th in a stacked field of elite 3A runners, not far behind her was McCarthy. These two have been referred to as ‘Jannah’ given their closeness in racing and at training workouts. These two have been staples of our varsity team since their freshman year and their experience has only solidified them as elite runners and teammates. Next up came Erin Briars who, after a committed summer of hardwork and lots of miles, found herself running with the varsity seven for the first time. She had a great showing and will no doubt take the experience and apply it to future races at this level. Molly McNamara and Evvy Sifferman rounded out our scoring 5 and got us to an 8th place finish.

The class of 2026 concluded our day in the rarely seen 3.4K race. Macey Pjeski was our top finisher followed closely by Maggie Broderick, these two have put in solid work thus far and it showed in their race on this day. Mary Trayser was the next finisher stuck in a bit of no woman’s land between the first two Naz finishers and the next pack composed of Elena Garcia, Sofia Arroyo, Ally D’Apice and Sofia Klinger. This sport is never easy and coming out and toeing the line teaches a person a lot about themselves, and the will to continue and compete is what the sport is all about. We look forward to seeing these young ladies grow and improve on their journey.

We put LT behind us and look forward to Detweiller Park for the First to the Finish Invite. Various factors have kept us from finding our rhythm from early August when we began, but in many ways, this Peoria trip was a turning point in our season last year. We hope to make it the same in 2022.

Coach Wejman