2020 XC Coach's Comments

November 1, 2020

Last week I stated that I am appreciating the journey as much as the destination this season. As I write this, we have reached the destination. The 2020 Cross Country season has come to a conclusion and honestly, it’s hard to process. There was going to be no bad result from this past weekend at the IHSA Sectional hosted by The Latin School in Lincoln Park. While we approached it like we would any Sectional week, it felt different, almost relaxed. I was able to keep it together in addressing the team on Friday, I had no race day jitters, I felt nothing but positivity as we arrived on Saturday morning. We had a chance to scope the course on Wednesday evening and enjoyed a walk around Lincoln Park and took some great team pictures amongst a backdrop of Chicago in autumn. We had daily theme days including a costume day on Friday, I also made my pre-race projections and shared them with the team. Long story short; it was going to be very close. But I kept telling myself, close for what? There was no state meet to ‘worry’ about qualifying for. No concern about booking hotel rooms in Peoria early and hoping that doesn’t jinx our chances. I felt really good about things on this day. With all this said, we kept things as normal as possible, because we are a program that is able to balance fun with focus. We come to compete when it matters most. As 9 am was nearing, I still felt calm, but knew that we were going to need an epic day to finish in the top 5 (which was my goal) or even top 7 (which would earn a state qualifying berth). The Coach Wejman Pre-race predictions had us 22 points behind St. Ignatius, 5 points behind Walter Payton and 17 points ahead of Hinsdale South. In a race the size of Sectionals, that could be 5-10 seconds of difference.

Today’s races were going to be yet another format; 1st seeded racers in Heat 1, 2-3 racers in Heat 2, 4-5 racers in Heat 3 and 6-7 in Heat 4. This would put Colette Kinsella as the lone Naz racer in Heat 1. There were plenty of familiar faces in this heat and would prove to live up to the billing. We told Colette to let Latin’s #1 go and do her thing. She is one of the top racers in the country and chasing her would do nothing but lead to a late race breakdown. We urged her to hang back in the second pack with runners from Benet, Northside Prep, Fenwick, St. Ignatius and Riverside Brookfield. A half mile in, she was where she had to be, right in that pack. The top runner from Northside was very aggressive and pushed ahead to a sizable lead heading into mile 2. Parekh from Latin seemed to be smiling as she crossed the halfway mark and no one was even close to her. At mile 2 Colette was still riding with the chase pack and they were also closing in on the runner from Northside like a peloton in a bike race. At about the 2.25 mile juncture in the race, Colette began to make her move. Perhaps this was a tad earlier than expected, but I yelled to her (not sure if she heard) ‘if you feel it, make a move’. Over the next 200 meters, Colette opened up an insurmountable lead over the top runner from Ignatius and Fenwick. The only thing that could stop her was an off-leash dog that ran with and around her for about 50 meters and almost tripped her up. She was able to pull even with the runner from Northside, but lost this spot in the last stretch. Regardless, Kinsella ran a near perfect race and put herself in 4th after 1 heat. She gained points on all the teams we were looking to be challenged by on this day. For her second straight season, Kinsella finished the season on her best race.

As she came across the finish line, it dawned on me; ‘I have to do this three more times’ The mental and physical exhaustion of one of these races is real, four times was going to be daunting. In between the two races, I had a chance to chat with some alum’s who were on our 2010 team that was our first to qualify for state. The symmetry of these two groups assembled seemed like a positive omen. While it was nice to catch up, it was back to business in Heat 2. I gave Sam Rozmus and Jane McNamara some marching orders and updated them on uniforms to look for. This heat rang out with Benet and Latin going at it, these two teams were the favorites to go 1-2 in the state in class 2A. While I had the business of coaching my own team to conduct, it was fun to watch these two go at it. 5th place in this heat was a Fenwick runner going solo. Then came the pack that I was concerned with. Sam was up with two Ignatius runners and close behind was two St. Francis runners and a Payton runner. Jane was close behind with a Payton runner and two Hinsdale South runners. This small glimpse reaffirmed my beliefs that the final team scores were going to be razor thin, but I couldn’t have felt more confident having our two grinders on the course. Sam held her pace like the warrior she is, refusing to back down and finishing on empty like she always does. Most importantly in this race, Sam was able to come in well before Payton’s #2 runner, allowing us to expand our lead on the Grizzlies. Early on, we could see that Jane was not at her best. She avoided looking at me as she passed, but I barked encouragement nonetheless knowing that she would battle and fight for every spot/second. Jane kept a couple of Hinsdale South runners in contact for most of the race. Latching on to these two kept Jane engaged in the race and gave her a carrot to keep chasing after. In the final stretch it was clear that she wasn’t going to catch them, but we yelled at her to finish for the clock as seconds would matter. I was cut off from the finish, but shortly after the race ended, I got a text from one of our runners saying that ‘Jane passed a Payton girl.’ I didn’t even register this as possible when I saw them with 200 meters to go. You never know when a pass will matter (that’s foreshadowing).

No time to celebrate as it was now time for Heat 3 featuring Evvy Siffermann and Hannah McCarthy. This was going to be the pivotal race to decide what was going on. By my count, we were 4 points behind Ignatius, 8 points ahead of Payton, 6-7 points ahead of Hinsdale South, about 10 ahead of St. Francis and about 15 ahead of Fenwick. Knowing Ignatius’s depth, that was going to be tough, but my focus was going to be on Payton in this race. When this race began, yet again it was Latin and Benet taking charge. After that came a steady pack with Hannah amongst them. Hannah has been such a steady racer that I have learned to not worry about her starts moving her further back than she should be. When I saw Hannah come through mile 1, she was where she needed to be. I told her to look for the Payton jerseys and just beat them. Like a metronome, she kept stride with the white jersey that had an orange ‘P’ on it. Evvy was laboring behind her and was committed to grinding out every second and every spot. About halfway through, Colette pointed out that Evvy’s shoe was untied, an unneeded distraction, but it didn’t seem to bother her. Coming up on the last mile, I urged both runners to unleash whatever they had left. Hannah was in an absolute duel with the Payton runner and was able to hold her off in what again would prove to be a vital finish. Evvy was able to grab a couple of spots in the last half mile over St. Francis and Fenwick, two spots that could’ve cost us had she not grabbed them. After a quick pat on the back to Hannah and Evvy it was back to the start line to talk to our 6-7, Molly McNamara and Maddie Bent. I told these two that they can still be a scorer for us if they beat Evvy’s time, or they could potentially push a rival team back a spot or two. Seconds later, the IHSA clerk checked them in and told them they could still make an impact and possibly even push a rival team back. See, I don’t make this stuff up!

The gun rang out and any concerns were lifted. We had 5 runners in and we were looking good, I tried calculating spots, but that would be next to impossible. I had us in 4th or 5th in my mind and from the early going, this race wasn’t going to change that too much. Both Molly and Maddie had been stalwarts all season for us, they could always be counted on to crush a workout at practice and push the tempo if things were lagging at all. They battled valiantly on this day as well, the one constant of these two was their commitment to their team. To think of how far Molly came this year and improved over the course of the last few weeks is so admirable. Maddie finishes her third straight season as a postseason runner. It’s good to know that Maddie will lead this young team to even greater heights in her senior season.

We were now set to play the waiting game. I asked Coach Gonzalez to lead the post race talk, as I didn’t think I had it in me. Walking back to the team camp, I had a moment of relief and exhaustion and didn’t have the words to bring home what we did on this day. When we got off the bus, there was going to be no bad result on this day, but even I didn’t think the result would be this good.

I knew we were top 7 to qualify for ‘state’ but I felt we were top 5 (my lofty goal a few weeks prior). But you never feel great until you see the results. Then the results email hit; 4th place by 2 points! Was it Colette running a near perfect race and earning her second straight Sectional medal? Yes. Was it Sam exhausting herself in the first two miles to keep with the race plan? Yes. Was it Jane’s pass in the last 10 meters over Payton to beat her by 1.01 seconds? Yes. Was it Hannah holding off a challenger from Payton by .87 seconds? Yes. Was it Evvy making two passes in the last quarter mile? Yes. This was a team effort. As we were wrapping up the day, we took team pictures, one of the girls said, “Is this only for top 7?” I replied, “Our whole team is the top 7.” I truly believe it, everyone on our team played a part in this year's success. We were state qualifiers; 4th time in program history, first time going back to back.

So once again the destination is here, the journey is over. But it’s really not. The 2020 season is completed, but the lessons we learned go beyond a 4th place finish, it goes beyond a state berth that won’t have an actual race to attend. You are more than cross country runners, 4 years of running doesn’t define you. Making State isn’t the only objective that matters, it is merely a goal we set for ourselves as a team. Some years we succeed, some years we don’t. Life will go on beyond 2020, life will go on beyond this season, life will go on beyond high school. Appreciate the journey, look back upon it fondly, remember the lessons learned. When you get to be old like me, you likely won’t remember your place individually or as a team on this day, but what we dealt with and overcame in 2020 will make you better people and the insights will serve you in ways that you cannot foresee. Now it’s time to water the bamboo and get ready for 2021.

Coach Wejman

October 20, 2020

On more than one occasion this season I stated, ‘if we make it to October 17th without any stoppage, it will be a successful season.’ I stand by this statement and here we are going past that date with more meets to come. In August, a state series was a giant unknown and the Conference meet was supposed to be the final day on the calendar. Over the course of the last eight weeks, the IHSA added two postseason rounds (Regionals followed by Sectionals) which has been the icing on the cake of a successful season.

For many though, the season did end on October 17th (also kinda the 16th). St. Viator was set to host the conference meet at Arlington Race Course. This is a neat venue, but they had limitations on how many people could be inside the expansive park. This would mean that the JV or ‘Open’ race would be cut from the conference championships. What makes our sport so great is the ability for all athletes to compete at every event. I understand that this year is unique and nothing is like it always is, but to take away this last race for so many is wrong. Much thanks to Benet for putting together an impromptu conference meet on their campus Friday night to accommodate the JV runners who didn’t make the varsity or frosh/soph final roster.

As we pulled onto Benet’s campus, a slight rain began to fall. This triggered flashbacks to our meet there in mid-September. This rain was short lived and the wind died down and by the time of the first race it was a nice night for racing. In the first heat we had two runners: Natalie Rozmus and MC Popernik. Benet’s course is favorable given that much of the surface is pavement, which is faster than grass. Natalie and MC followed the race plan perfectly and latched on to some strong packs. This early effort resulted in both racers putting up personal bests for a 3 mile race. For Rozmus it was her 3rd personal best this season and she dropped over 90 seconds off her effort on this course from a month ago. Popernik dropped over 2 minutes and 40 seconds from her race back in September. (There’s gonna be a lot of numbers in this posting, but it’s always fun to unleash the data when we have much to celebrate.)

In the second heat, we had a bevy of racers ready to build off of what Natalie and MC did. Itzel Martin was our top finisher in this race continuing a string of three-straight personal bests to close out a great sophomore season. Liana Mikuzis was close behind and put in a strong kick to post a seasonal best time, then came Bridget Boyle who might not have had a seasonal or personal best on this day, she did drop almost 3 minutes off her previous time on this course. Bridget battled through some minor injuries to close the season with three strong races down the stretch. Junior Isabella Plescia ended her season on a personal best doing solid work along the way and keeping focus, dropping over 4 minutes of her best time from this season. Francesca Hillman closed off her freshman campaign with a solid race. It is hard to believe that she struggled running 3 miles when we began and has become a consistent racer at that distance now. Rounding out the squad was Freshman Absydee Field, Adalia Suh and Catie Luzzi who all posted personal bests in the last race of their first seasons. As the team broke camp and headed home, I told the frosh/soph and varsity racers who came out to support, “This is how you close out your season.” So glad all these girls got one last chance to compete in this wacky season.

We awoke to cold temps and a fair amount of wind as we set out for Arlington Park on Saturday. The weather would stay this way all morning. Our frosh/soph team would lead off at 9am and would be running as a full squad. Due to the long grass and a very exposed course, the times wouldn’t be as noteworthy as the JV race the night before. However, at this juncture of the season, racing is all about taking/holding spots. As we prep for the postseason, sharpening the racing mentality is what it is all about.

The gun rang out and the race settled in. JCA kept their strong freshman runners in this race instead of opting them into varsity. We have done this move in the past and it has its merit. It would also shake up this race a bit. JCA and Benet went out strong. Evvy Sifferman has established herself as our team’s #5 racer, arguably the most important racer on meet day. We decided to keep her down on frosh/soph to open up some spots on varsity. Evvy found herself early on with Molly McNamara and the two of them finished just outside the top ten and ran a smart and competitive race. Sifferman ended up finishing in 13th place earning medalist status, McNamara also earned medalist status in 16th place. Shortly behind McNamara was Maggie Olk who began to show some amazing racing tenacity of the last couple of weeks. WIth a year under her belt, I foresee her making some massive gains in the coming seasons. Isa Ortega and Neeve Olson rounded out the 4th place squad. These two showed amazing consistency and work ethic while improving themselves week to week. They push the back half of our Columbia group and raise the bar for the team as a whole.

Varsity Heat #1 was the next race. Due to the number of racers and IHSA mandates, the varsity race had two heats. The first heat was each team's 1-4 runners and second was their 5-7. With Benet having one of the best teams in the state, it was going to be a race for second. A few weeks back, Marist beat us up pretty good, but as I stated in those coaches comments, “In the right race circumstances I feel as if we can give Marist a closer fight and we will have another chance in a couple of weeks.” We lost to them by 16 which in a quad meet is a fairly large amount. Marist attacked hard at the gun. From where I was perched I saw red upfront and assumed it was Benet, but this wasn’t the case after 200 meters. The Marist squad ran aggressively from the front. They were followed by a Benet foursome and Colette Kinsella. Despite the aggressive start, Colette looked to be in a good position. She was closely followed by Sam Rozmus who was closely followed by our 3-4 tandem Jane McNamara and Hannah McCarthy or ‘Jannah Mac’ as a nickname I just created. The race began to settle in and Benet asserted themselves at the front. Kinsella hung on to the Benet quad heading into mile 3. At this point the race opened up a bit and Kinsella was with the 3-4 runners from Benet. Rozmus entered a battle with Marist’s number 2 runner, a spot that I thought she had a chance at, but Marist held the gap to the finish. Jannah Mac was caught in a solid pack of racing and battled well to the end, finishing in 15/16 respectively while earning them medalist status. Rozmus came in at 10th and Kinsella was 4th. It was the most ESCC medalists we have had at the varsity level.

Heading into Heat #2 we were a couple points ahead of Marist. Heat #2 would comprise of our captains Maddie Bent, Megan Henehan and Fiona Roach. Racing aside, what these three did this year went above and beyond what any captain group has had to endure. We met with them back in May to plot out an uncertain future. They hit the ground running and set in motion a summer full of group chats, socially distanced workouts, and reached out to incoming freshmen to sell them on our team. The results speak for themselves and our team is in the shape it is in because of their effort. There was still work to be done, though. We, once again, were expecting Benet to take charge of this race. Our goal would be to hold as many spots as possible and keep as close to Marist as possible. This race was a bit thinner than the first heat, so the early spread would stretch out as the race progressed. Bent and Henehan shadowed each other from the end of mile one, putting forth a solid and consistent race with a strong finish, Henehan claimed the only personal best for us on this day. Roach got hit with the injury bug mid year and battled valiantly through this, but the wear and tear began to take a toll. Her commitment to her team and her racing should serve as an inspiration to her teammates.

When the final scores were tabulated, we finished third, tying our best finish in the ESCC (calm down 2014 racers, we know that you also had Fenwick and Providence in the conference). We were just 7 spots behind Marist, a big improvement from our race in early October.

We left Arlington in good spirits; we made it to October 17th intact. We also get to race another week. This whole season has served as a gift, and getting at least one more week is a bonus gift. This might not be the typical season or the typical postseason, but we will proceed with the same approach and focus we would normally and make this successful season even more successful.

Coach Wejman

October 5, 2020

I know I’ve said this in years past, but by the time October hits, we know how our team is trending. It seldom manifests itself in another way once we get into the Conference meet and the state series. In our most accomplished seasons, we are moving in the right direction heading into October. In a twisty-turny year, it might be hard to make this equivalency. We have had multiple races in most of our weeks, which has led us to a broken up training schedule and often racing on tired legs. Whether or not we are ready, October is now upon us.

Our week began with a dual at Joliet Catholic. On a windy day of racing, I didn’t know what to expect. JCA has had some solid runners in the past, but usually a smaller squad. In a season full of dual/smaller races, there has been a lack of direct competition for most runners. When we arrived in Joliet, we saw a large contingency of JCA runners, which was encouraging. The wind slightly subsided when the gun went off and the JCA team got out really quick which was a surprise to us. Things started to settle in and virtually everyone of our runners was paired up with a JCA Angel. Due to a few factors, we kept Sophomore Colette Kinsella out of this race. This meant that Sam Rozmus would be our #1 racer in terms of past performance and she was attached to JCA’s #1 for the entire race. They were seldom more than five seconds apart and finished that way, with Sam taking second place. Even though she would get out kicked, this was a valuable experience. In addition, the way our schedule worked out, we’d see them again on Friday night at Marist. Jane McNamara was our next finisher and she was also engaged in a tight race, taking the 4th spot a few seconds behind the runner from JCA. Hannah McCarthy followed and she was able to hold off the JCA challenger by a mere six seconds. Evvy Sifferman and Molly McNamara rounded out our scoring team on the day. After the scores came in, we fell by one point. But the lessons learned on this day would be a valuable lesson in scoring and how every second matters and every place matters. Rumors of the course being closer to 2.9 miles were circulating around after the race, which may or not have been true, but we saw 11 PR’s on the day and many were over a minute improvement, which would still be a PR even if the .1 was taken off the course.

Our final two-race week would culminate 48 hours later as Marist would host an ESCC Quad featuring us, Marian Catholic, JCA, and the host school. Marist laid out a course that is an out-and-back that would be nice for racing, but not great for coaching/ spectating. We were only allowed to see a bit in the beginning and then about the last 600 meters. Marist told us the course was fast and favorable, and that, coupled with cool temperatures, made for a ripe evening of racing. The gun rang out and once again the JCA team moved out to an aggressive start. I thought we looked a little passive, but given the layout of this course and how we raced a couple of days prior, I wasn’t concerned. The next 15-16 minutes would be in the dark as the racers headed to the far northwest portion of St. Casimir Cemetery. Colette Kinsella would emerge as race leader while opening up a comfortable lead over Marist’s #1 runner. It wasn’t an easy win for Kinsella, but it wasn’t as tight as the race against RB six days prior. Just a solid race and a seasonal best time for 3 miles. Sam Rozmus was our second finisher and she beat out the JCA #1 racer who bested her two days prior. Jane McNamara and Hannah McCarthy grabbed our 3/4 spots, also beating out the JCA #2 runner. These small incremental steps are starting to add up as our young runners find their way into becoming top notch racers heading down the stretch. Evvy Sifferman rounded out the scoring in 5th place. This was Evvy’s third straight personal best race, something we are going to need more of as we head to the postseason. Molly McNamara and Stella Anderson both set personal bests in closing out the team scoring. From spot 1-13, this was a great effort across the board. Following Anderson, our 8-13 (Maddie Bent, Isa Ortega, Maggie Olk, Neeve Olson, Mia Baumel, and Fiona Roach) placers were only 87 seconds off of the 7th spot, showing how tight the competition is to be a postseason racer. Whether it’s the mentality, the pre race focus/strategizing, or the commitment to holding/taking spots, we’ve never had a team with this kind of depth; all 13 racers were under 23 minutes. Last season we never had more than 8 runners break the 23 minute mark in a given meet.

In terms of scoring, we fell to Marist, but defeated JCA two days after narrowly losing to them. In the right race circumstances I feel as if we can give Marist a closer fight and we will have another chance in a couple of weeks.

The JV race capped off the day and temps had fallen quite a bit since we arrived, but it was still comfortable for racing. Junior Natalie Rozmus was our top finisher posting another personal best time of 22:58 (our 14th racer under 23). After a rocky sophomore year, it is great to see Natalie’s hard work paying off. About a minute after Natalie finished, our pack started to come through. Our next six racers: Mc Popernik, Liana MIkuzis, Itzel Martin, Bridget Boyle, Clare Worley, and Erin Howard finished within 34 seconds of each other to round out the scoring seven.

Our regular season meet slate is completed, we now get a couple of weeks off from racing to key in on some training components and get our bodies primed for the ‘Big Races;’ coming our way. When this whole thing began on August 10th, I wasn’t sure we’d make it to October, but we’re here and we’re thriving. I say it with a hint of cautious optimism but I believe that our best races are still ahead of us.

Coach Wejman

September 28, 2020

Our last check-in saw us at the tail end of a grueling stretch of races, culminating with a race against a talented Trinity team in which we saw a combination of fatigue and complacency lead to a less than desired result. After a few days to rest and recover, we were able to get back into a ‘regular’ flow of things. Our week began with a meet at Schiller Woods, a well known XC course on the far Northwest side of Chicago. Walther Christian would be our host, and several other small teams would be joining us. It was a nice day for racing, maybe a tad warm, which brought out some bugs that became a problem in parts of the course. Not knowing the scouting report of our competition, we didn’t lay out a race plan, but we did remind the team that these full team races are a chance to ‘audition’ and compete against each other. As the calendar approaches October, we have to start figuring out who will be on the postseason roster and who will run the postseason races. Every race is a chance to set oneself apart, even these less dramatic races.

I took my place upon the famous hill in the middle of the course to get an elevated perspective. From the first half-mile, another perfect score was in reach, but my focus was going to be on the eye test. How did individuals look? What were they doing to stand out and set themselves apart from their teammates? Our top four runners held form and grabbed the first four spots, but as I alluded to last week, a cross country team’s success often hinges on their #5 runner. Number 5 slams the door on scoring, and being that they are the last scoring finisher, their score is the most punishing one to a team. We have had a revolving door of #5’s this season, which is fine as long as the competition is strong and each person is clearly giving every ounce of their energy. On this day, Evvy Sifferman would be our 5, her 4th time holding this spot for us. She was closely followed by senior Megan Henehan, who would go on to post a personal best for 3 miles. Stella Anderson rounded out the scoring 7 and Molly McNamara was close behind having another strong race. We didn’t score a 15 (settled for 16) but it was a good chance to see some of our racers in the 5-12 spots compete and assert themselves.

About 10 days ago, we got an email from the coaches at Riverside-Brookfield offering us a Saturday morning tilt at their course. We ran at Indian Gardens before, but this would be three miles (last time was 2 mile) and Willows Academy would be included. RB is always a good test and while we bested them before, in an odd season, anything can happen. In the two-mile contest a few weeks back, Colette Kinsella was beaten by RB’s top runner. We were caught off guard by this a little bit and knew we’d have to adjust some tactics for Colette this time around. We stressed to get out fast and force the issue from the gun. Kinsella and RB’s #1 were all tied up heading into the last half mile, Kinsella expressed some pre race concerns about being in a sprint race in the last 200 meters, so we told her to attack at the half mile. I was positioned at a quarter-mile to go and Colette had created her separation and won the race going away. It was by far her best race of the season and we once again saw the form that she showed late in 2019 on her way to a State medal. Our fab frosh trio of Sam Rozmus, Hannah McCarthy, and Jane McNamara held suit and showed some top notch grittiness in their racing. It is fun to watch these three grow, evolve, and learn as racers. On Friday, I stressed that I wanted to see racers, not runners, on Saturday morning. Once again our big question would be; who is our number five going to be? And perhaps more importantly, would this person show the desired tenacity needed to be a #5? After the first mile, we had a solid chunk of runners in the mix. At the final stretch, Mia Baumel would too be finding her 2019 form and closed the door on our scoring, closing off the RB 4&5 runners. This gave us 29 total points and a first place team finish on the day. Not far behind Baumel was Freshman Maggie Olk who shaved 2 minutes off her personal best time. Seventh and Eight place for us went to Maddie Bent and Molly McNamara who weren’t far off Baumel and Olk, this closeness of runners makes my job more difficult in selecting a postseason side, but that’s why I get the big money.

Across all races, we had 11 seasonal or personal bests. A day like this gives us confidence and momentum heading into October. We now see our schedule ease up a little and we get to get back to consistent training heading into our last two regular season competitions this week (Joliet Catholic on Weds and Marist on Friday). Fatigue will no doubt be lingering as it is for all competitors at this point in the season, but we were able to shake the label of complacency and can call ourselves racers. This mentality will be vital as we head towards the postseason. On Friday afternoon the IHSA State Series assignments were posted and we’ve got a doozy of a Regional happening on October 24th. These next 4 weeks should be fun to watch and give us plenty of chances to water the bamboo.

Coach Wejman

September 22, 2020

In a world where days feel like weeks and weeks feel like months, I had to ask myself; do I need to write comments for this week? Our last race was only 5 days ago, but it felt like it was two weeks since we battled with Trinity. Early/mid September in a ‘normal’ season does typically see a congested schedule, but nothing like this. Coming off our race at Benet on Saturday, there wasn’t much turnaround to our Monday tilt against Marian Catholic. Another new variable was the fact that our team would be at home doing E-Learning and then coming to school to board the bus. As an educator, E-Learning poses some physical and mental differentiations from the normal in school grind; sitting all day looking at a screen with little to no change of scenery isn’t as glamorous as it sounds. After coming to school, we sat on a bus for 45 more minutes, only to have a mere 25-30 minutes to warm up and then race. The old line of our geographically spread out conference is that you spend more time on the bus than on the playing field. Nazareth is fairly centrally located, but this axiom does apply when we go to Marian Catholic. The starter gave us an extra five minutes to warm up, with a 4:35pm gun to open the race. Marian Catholic’s team isn’t terribly large and we knew we’d be primed for a victor, and with our packed schedule, we told our top runners to hold back a little early and then be more aggressive later in the race. Heading into mile 1, we had 9 in the top 10. Sophomore Colette Kinsella cruised to an easy victory running a solid solo time on this slow course. Our next three were freshmen Sam Rozmus, Hannah McCarthy, and Jane McNamara. These three are forging a formidable core to our team, Coach Gonzalez and I love the way they push each other in meets and in training. The question that is usually the most pressing for XC coaches as the season unfolds is: who is our #5 runner? In cross country, the top 5 get scored. Coaches cite their 1-5 or 2-5 split as what will make or break them as a team. Right now, we have an open and heavily congested competition for our #5. This is exciting to watch unfold and it does make whoever is the ‘winner’ for that race work hard to earn it. On this day it would be another freshman, Evelyn Sifferman, to close out our scoring. And on this day, she would earn it, passing Marian’s #1 runner to earn us a perfect score of 15 points, which like manager Taylor Lester said, ‘That’s really good.’ Taylor was accurate in her assessment, 15 is good, and seeing Sifferman fight for that position made it more satisfying. Our captain trio of Maddie Bent, Megan Henehan and Fiona Roach were our next three, and I made a point of sharing with the team their times from the last two trips when we headed down to Marian Catholic. All improved themselves at least 3 minutes from their last race here, a testament to their growing knowledge as races and their commitment to hard work.

Fifteen points wasn’t our goal against Marian Catholic, but we felt a win was going to be attainable. Our real test this week was going to be against Trinity just two days later. Trinity is a solid program coached by our friend Johann Gonzalez (second best coach Gonzalez in the state). Trinity boasts a strong team with a tight 2-7 pack. The JV race was first and Sophomore Molly McNamara was our top finisher after a two week hiatus. It was great seeing her get back into racing shape. She was followed by Erin Howard, Liana MIkuzis, Clare Worley and MC Popernik. We opted to run 12 at the Varsity level, so we fell short in the JV race, but seeing these racers grow and develop is what this sport is all about. In the Varsity contest, this would be our biggest test since Fenwick in week one. It would be the first race for Trinity’s top runner who was a grade school rival of Kinsella. These two battled it out pretty well, but Kinsella would get the better of her, opening up a fairly comfortable lead. With the 1-2 spots settled, the rest of the scoring would be a see saw event. Our 2-4 runners were mixed amongst Trinity’s 2-7 runners. Our 5-10 grouping was back a bit and looking way too comfortable. By the second mile, this complacency seemed to still be happening and the team race was more or less over, just a matter of what margin we would lose by. By my count, we got as close as 27-28, but this gap would increase. For a short stretch, we held the 3-4 spot with Sam Rozmus and Hannah McCarthy, but Trinity’s #2 would separate from them, and then in the final straightaway, Trinity’s #3 would surge past McCarthy and Rozmus to take two key spots. This was a valuable lesson for these two freshmen, it is not lost on me that a senior was the one to pass our runners who are still learning about finishing strong and keeping the throttle down until the end. Trinity would put their 4th in before our 4th, Jane McNamara. But as I stated earlier, our race got lost in the 5-7 spots. Trinity would put their 5-6-7 ahead of our #5 (Stella Anderson who ran her best race of the season) pushing us three more points back. The final score was 25-32. While it wasn’t the result we wanted, it was the test we needed. There is no doubt we were banged up and sore from two races in the five days prior, but Trinity was the better team on this day.

I told the team on Thursday that I found more value in scoring 32 points against Trinity than scoring 15 points against Marian Catholic on Monday. We now get to return to some consistency and take care of our bodies as we head into another two meet week; a 5 teamer at Schiller Woods on Tuesday and another dual with RB on Saturday. I’m loving the character this team is showing and the experience we are gaining in this odd season. Hard to believe we only have 4 weeks left (five with post-season), but in this season, that might as well be six months away.

Coach Wejman

September 12, 2020

When it became apparent that our season would be happening and the parameters for hosting a meet were laid out. It was rapid fire of emails saying: “The (insert school name) Invite has been canceled.” Our team calendar was looking about as sparse as could be. After weeks of speaking with our athletic department as well as teams that we know, things started to come together, but it wasn’t going to be what we were used to. Our symmetry of a schedule makes training more controlled and manageable; we train through the week and cap it off with a Saturday Invite. There were a couple of mid week meets, but by mid September it was all weekends. With the landscape of reserving parks and forest preserves altered, our schedule now is full of mid week meets and several meets in the same week. This past week and this coming week would be our busiest in my 13 seasons.

Last week, things began at a 2-mile race hosted by Riverside Brookfield. They used the old Boy Scout camp at Indian Gardens. Indian Gardens is held in high regard amongst cross country oldtimers, but hasn’t been used in several years. RB is always a team that I like to measure us against. They have been our most consistent rival, one of our training runs calls for runners to run to the high school and band for a full 6 miles (we offer 3-4-5 mile options, but it’s still called the ‘RB Route’).

The JV race kicked things off and our top runners set themselves up nice through the array of trees 100 meters past the start. Freshman Neeve Olson took charge of the race and led until the last 50 meters. Her finish would be a great lesson about not only racing, but racing from the front. After Olson, it was a floodgate of Nazareth finishers: Junior Erin Howard shaking off an early season ankle injury to make her season debut was next. Natalie Rozmus continued to see a great summer of work pay off with a 3rd place finish. Freshman Clare Worley secured the 5th spot with a solid all around race and MC Popernik closed the scoring to finish with 21 points to RB’s 38.

In the varsity race, it was going to be a great test for our young team. A 2-mile race is different than a 3-mile and not just because of distance; there is less time to maneuver, less time to get your rhythm, less time to bounce back. From the gun, it became a two person race: Sophomore Colette Kinsella and RB Sophomore Bryce Pacourek. These two were neck and neck the entire time with Pacourek edging Colette by one second. In a confusing season, getting intense races like this will serve Colette and our team well going forward. After Kinsella, it was a troika of freshmen: Jane McNamara, Sam Rozmus, and Hannah McCarthy finished 3-4-5, each of them starting to shape into great racers and responding to all the information coming their way in this young season. Evelyn Sifferman was our 5th scorer with a great closing kick. The varsity responded in the same way as the JV, pulling off a 21-38 win. This doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, but to put up a score like this against RB is a promising sign. I love odd stats when pouring over results; my favorite from this race was runners 2-10 were separated by 82 seconds. That is pretty darn good.

Our second meet of the week was a quad hosted by Benet that featured ESCC rivals Carmel and Saint Viator as well. Each day, the forecast for Saturday had the graphic of a cloud, rain, and a lightning bolt. By Friday, the lightning bolt disappeared, but the chance of rain kept showing 100%. When we arrived in Lisle, there was a light drizzle and a good portion of Benet’s course was on asphalt so conditions weren’t too bad. We learned on Friday that defending state champ Benet would be running their top runners Friday night instead of Saturday morning. Regardless, there would still be some solid runners and teams in Viator and Carmel. The varsity led things off and Kinsella wouldn’t have anyone in her midst after the first quarter mile. Every turn, I urged her to take cautiously as there was no reason to be aggressive. Following her was the freshman trio of McNamara, Rozmus and McCarthy. Each of them were able to get tangled up with some good competitive racers and get a good test for 3 miles. My biggest takeaway of these three racers was that they are showing growth not just in the physical aspect of racing, but also the mental approach. Rounding out our varsity squad was Sifferman joined by captains Maddie Bent and Fiona Roach. The guiding force of Roach and Bent have been invaluable to such a young team (same for other captain Megan Henehan who was with us in spirit whilst taking the ACT). In the last half mile, Sifferman showed again some great closing speed making a great finish. Bent and Roach closed the door for the day, and as of this writing we are still waiting on scoring. I have us in first overall, but that is unofficial.

JV was next, and for me these races can be more fun than the varsity race. Varsity racers are confident, focused and have earned their spot. The next crop of runners usually have something to prove and want to be in that varsity roster. The beauty of our sport is that they get a clear chance to ‘compete’ against their teammates. Same course, same conditions. If you want that spot on varsity, go earn it. I mentioned that after the RB race, our 2-10 was separated by 82 seconds, well our 11-16 were separated by a meager 56 seconds. This means we have a closely competitive group nipping the heels of the back end of varsity, and that makes me happy. We would have six racers in this race and the rain was picking up. Our squad was strong and tight heading into the back portion of the course. Due to a lack of lines and supervision, we did have a couple of racers cut off part of the course, but this was adjusted in the timing and honestly wouldn’t have mattered. Stella Anderson and Isa Ortega were running great and comfortably finished 1-2 in this race. Both of these two have made massive leaps in just the last few weeks so we are really eager to see them develop going forward. RB JV winner Neeve Olson would have another strong race finishing in third for us. Juniors Erin Howard and Natalie Rozmus finished 4-5 to close out scoring and posting personal bests each. Liana Mikuzis closed out the race for us, finishing just 56 seconds off the lead which again illustrates the tightness of this second tier group. Again still waiting on final scoring, but this group posted an impressive 20 points. I don’t need to see the score to know that you can’t beat 20 points in a dual, let alone a quad.

The open race would close our day and we were the only team, so a guaranteed 15 points was coming our way. Team baker Itzel Martin was our top finisher nearing her personal best despite very slick conditions. MC Popernik, Bridget Boyle, Francesca Hillman and Claudia Kazupski rounded out our 15 point win. Absydee Field and Catie Luzzi completed the first 3 mile race of their careers and it was great to see that grit on a tough day for racing.

In a week that saw two meets in five days, we now move into a week that will have two meets in three days giving us four contests in eight days. From a barren schedule in mid August to an abundance in mid September, we are happy to go out and compete any chance that we can. We are growing as a team and moving in the right direction. We crushed negative voices this week and are constantly working on positive mentality. Combine that with some great days of physical training and it’s hard not to feel good about where we are at. But the coach in me will always say, “we still have lots of work to do.”

Coach Wejman