2019 XC Coach's Comments

For a variety of reasons, I did not get to the Regional comments so I will do a two-for-one combining in Sectionals.

Rarely does cross country dominate the prep sports coverage in the Chicago papers, but this year was a bit different. Coming off the conference meet we were focused (and a little banged up) for the postseason. We knew that our Regional would not be the most competitive around, but there was expected to be 10 teams there. One of these was Solorio, a talented team that has become one of the more competitive CPS schools over the past five years. In the week of conference and the week leading up to Regionals, Chicago Public Schools were closed due to a teachers strike. This meant that no IHSA events could take place. With no deal in place Friday, our Regional essentially became a triangular with us, Riverside Brookfield and St. Laurence. A 25th hour injunction was sought on Friday evening, but to no avail. All CPS school’s seasons were finished (or were they?). We woke up to warm temps but our race got moved to 1pm to accommodate the ACT. This meant that a massive rain shower heading our way would be arriving just before noon. At the coaches meeting, the decision was made to move up the schedule. Given the conditions, this was the right choice. But it meant a speedy warm up and a rushed pace to getting ready.

Our overall message was the be smart but still race with determination. We decided to run freshman Mia Baumel who was nursing a hamstring injury and let her test it out to see if she would be good for sectionals the following week. We were also getting Melissa Harris back who was in full health after missing out on conference due to a bout of bronchitis. RB’s top runner was sitting out due to illness, so freshman Colette Kinsella was told to run comfortably and with the race without being too aggressive on the wet course. Overall, we were pretty quick going into the woods, especially Ailee Hogan and Melissa Harris. I’m glad they were feeling confident as it would earn them some hardware later. Maddie Bent and Kayla Salerno entered the woods next. With Mia on the mend, both of these two were going to be needed to step up their game. Baumel and Fiona Roach entered the woods next, running at a good pace.

I’ve written so many times about the agony of waiting for the runners to come out at Sundown Meadow, and this day was extra tough given the hard rain coming down. Kinsella was first out and she looked smooth and effortless even though she was about the break a course record for us. She was also well on her way to being the first Regional Champ since Alyssa Levato in 2010. Hogan and Harris were next out, sitting in 4th and 5th place. Holding these spots meant Regional medalist status; first time for Harris, back to back for Hogan. Bent and Salerno came out next close together, followed by Baumel and Roach in close proximity. Seeing Baumel’s face, I had a real concern that she wasn’t going to be able to go at Sectionals, hamstrings are tough to rehab as the only real cure is time, something we don’t have much of. All racers finished well and held spots. A good sign was Salerno making a (in the end) meaningless pass, but you never know which spot is going to be a decider.

We fell 8 points short of RB, which wasn’t a surprise, but I began to have some bad feelings about where we were heading. Especially after the good shape we were in two weeks prior.

After taking a step back and looking at some numbers, I started to calm down a bit, and realized that we actually ran quite well, all things considered. I retreated to my numbers lab and put on my accounting hat to see how we were measuring up in the Sectional round.

When we were assigned our sectional, the odds seem to be in our favor. Benet and Lemont were the top tier. RB seemed to be locked into third. After that it was looking like a four team race for the last two qualifying sports; Naz, Oak Forest, Hinsdale South, and Solorio. With Solorio now out of the competition, it was down to three (or so it seemed). After running numbers the previous weeks, I was starting to come around by Saturday evening. In a text to Coach Gonzalez at 5:50 pm (5 hours after the race) I said; “I’m feeling quite bullish right now” and I felt that way until 10:07 am on the next Saturday.

Our lead up week to sectionals felt great. We had some good workouts and team bonding. Our annual team dinner the night before was emotional and uplifting. As I was about to put my son to bed, I got a text from my dad saying that CPS schools are back in the IHSA state series. Michael O’Brien, one of the top prep reporters was all over this on twitter and we were trying to figure out how were going to pull this off. After AJ had gone to bed, I fired up my research and felt that Solorio wasn’t going to impact us too much, in fact it might help us in some odd ways. But throwing a wrench in the planning and preparation of teenage girls can get challenging.

After large rain storms on regional Saturday, followed by more rain, and snow (yes snow) the course at Thornridge was quite saturated, but we were ready for this. We were able to warm up on the track and things were staying loose. I was feeling especially confident despite having no phone due to a dead battery. I surveyed our team doing their final strides and my watch read 9:42. Why are we doing final strides 18 minutes before the race? I just rolled with it and talked to my former track colleague, Coach Sep. While we were talking the referee gave final instructions, my watch read 9:46. Why is this happening 14 minutes early I thought? Coach Sep assured me it was 9:59. My watch wasn’t working properly! Glad I wasn’t in charge of much on this day.

The gun sounded and we were off. In a thin field, the start wasn’t too chaotic. When I got my first chance to see the leaders, Lemont’s #1 was way out and then came Colette who seemed to be going extra fast. Was this too much for her? Was she going to hit a wall after not being tested too much? As she whizzed by, I started to get a bad feeling. Hogan and Harris came next. They looked solid, but were further back that I would’ve liked. We had talked about this, so I wasn’t worried at this juncture. Bent, Salerno and Baumel came up next and were looking focused and determined and close to each other. I headed over to the mile marker and the race had calmed down a bit. Kinsella was in a pack of 4 Benet girls chasing Lemont. It seemed as if they were hunting her down they way a peloton works together in bike racing. I began to count spots. My goal for this day was to be under 120 to feel good. With Solorio now racing, this number was going to be closer to 135. At 1 Mile, we were at 143, Hinsdale South was at 139, Oak Forest was at 163. On the surface, this was good news, but it didn’t leave much wiggle room. I ran across the field and conferred with Coach, and I knew that we were in decent shape numbers wise, still plenty of work to do. At the 2 mile mark the race had opened up and Lemont had been caught and Colette was in a three runner race. She was looking so strong and smooth. I didn’t feel assured of victory for her, but knew this would be the test to get her ready for state the following weekend. I kept counting as our runners passed and there wasn’t much movement happening. More importantly, I saw the faces of our runners. Hogan and Harris were looking confident that they were going to keep their spots. Bent looked like she was committed to going to the place of suffering that she had been so hesitant to go before. Baumel and Salerno had the face of warriors that were going to grab us more spots. Roach showed the stone faced determination that willed her into this postseason roster. I approached the final 200 meters to see Colette stride for stride with Benet’s #1. Then a switch flipped and Kinsella took off. She didn’t look faster, but she just keep elevating her speed. I felt that after watching her in the first two meets, nothing would surprise me about her racing, but I was speechless watching her close, this is how a champion finishes a race. Hogan and Harris came in next with Harris making a pass for drop our score another point. Then came Bent, Baumel and Salerno, fighting and clawing for spots. Salerno was our 6th finisher and pushed Hinsdale’s 4&5. One of my favorite moments in this sport is when the 6th runner pushes. Roach was the last finisher and a few weeks of hip tightness caught up with her. She sacrificed everything on this day and had to crawl across the finish.

I checked with our talented managers who showed me our raw score: 138. When I saw our finishes and saw this score I knew that we couldn’t have done much more. Had we missed out, we missed out maxing out. The moment of assurance though came when Senior captain Lindsay Degnan said “I got the Oak Forest score” I replied, “Are you sure it’s right,” without missing a beat she said “Oh, it’s right.” The number read 168. Unless she was wrong (never doubt a Degnan) or unless we had a DQ somewhere, we were going to state. I’ve learned to not get excited or too hopeful before you see the results. And while I maintained this feeling, I fell back knowing that we raced about as good as possible. After about an hour and a half of waiting, including the boys race, we saw our scores: 4th place 132 points, we did it! I gave coach a quick thumbs up and we told the team. I tried to play it cool, but began to lose it so I just blurted it out, the tears and hugs that followed was powerful. This group believed in themselves, but perhaps more importantly in each other.

Just a quick note on scoring.

Mile 1 (Raw Score)

Naz (143) Hinsdale (139) OF (163)

3 6 15

29 14 20

30 33 34

42 41 46

44 45 48

Final (Raw Score)

Naz (138) Hinsdale (144) OF (169)(Degnan missed by 1, within the margin of error)

1 6 15

28 14 23

30 31 36

38 46 45

41 47 50

We held our ground and held our spots. That’s racing with confidence and finishing with passion.

We now take our talents to Detweiller Park for the 3rd time in program history as a team. It’s always an honor to be there and always special to see it through the eyes of a group that has never been there before. Don’t think we’ll get any last minute legal drama this week, and if we do, we’ll be prepared to handle it.

Coach Wejman

The days are long but the years are short is an age old adage that at some point becomes a ‘dad saying’. The cycle of being an educator (and perhaps being a dad too) has always reminded me of this. When we began in mid August, the Conference Finals felt like a far off destination. But after thousands of miles of running, numerous hours of bus rides, hundreds of pounds of ice from the training room, we begin to put the 2019 season to rest. Some days it felt like the training runs wouldn’t end or the post race awards ceremonies named every single runner, but sitting here it all seems like a blink of an eye. We ended our season the same way each season, at the ESCC Finals, this year hosted by St. Viator. The word that I used ad nauseum this year was bittersweet. Not sure if it feels more this way than any other year, but it was well on display Saturday.

The frosh-soph got things started on Saturday. The grass was still covered in dew, but it was a great day for racing. We kept our top three frosh soph runners up at Varsity today, so it would be an eclectic crew representing us at this race. At the start line, several schools didn’t have enough to field a full frosh soph roster, a reminder of how strong our program is in terms of numbers. The race got out and we had a couple of runners who we knew would be making a case for themselves on the postseason roster. This included top finisher Sadie Sifuentes, who finished 15th which earned her a race medal. Sifuentes has been on a great trajectory towards being on of our top runners and a name that we will look to rise up further next year. Liana Mikuzis came in next and really found some consistency in the last several weeks, showing some promise as she’ll be an alternate on the postseason roster. MC Popernick came in next and her growth this season was super impressive, we’re really looking forward to what she is capable of with a full summer of training and a year of racing experience under her belt. Molly McNamara, Itzel Martin and Elena Beczkiewicz rounded out the squad. These are three names that I would not be surprised to see in the mix next year. I really can’t say enough about how fully invested the underclassmen were this year. Our program’s foundation is strong, and with these young ladies coming up next, we are in good shape.

Varsity was up next and due to some precautions with illness and injuries we only ran 5 on this day which was just enough to score as a team. We knew that we’d have a race up front with Colette Kinsella competing for the conference title. Our main focus with her was to get a good competitive race as she has either coasted to wins or battled in dicey conditions the last four weeks. Heading in, we knew the Marian Central’s top runner was the highest seed, so our focus was on her, but also keeping tabs on the racers from Benet who is the dominant team in our conference and a Sectional foe. In a few weeks, every point could matter and beating all the Benet runners could be what we need. Senior Ailee Hogan would be in her last conference race and we had made some revelations about her racing style (only took us 4 years) and her racing looked sharp again on this day as she was able to make many strong passes in the last mile. Maddie Bent was our next finisher and she looked to be missing her friends Mia and Melissa who took this race off as a precaution heading into the postseason. Kayla Salerno was next up with a nice surge in mile two, Kayla’s aggression and racing form just continue to grow week to week. I hope it doesn’t come down to her, but if it does, I feel good about our odds. Fiona Roach rounded out the five cementing her spot as rounding out our competing 7 for this week’s regional final. Colette was in the pack of 5 heading into the 3rd and final mile, the Marian Central runner began to take off and no one went with her. As the pack of 2-5 did their thing, Colette seemed to hold back, seemingly broken as we asked her to surge at the mile. However, she had one more trick up her sleeve as she kicked in to grab 4th place into the final stretch and then out kicked Benet’s top racer to take 3rd place, tying Michelle Gajkowski (2006) for our best individual finisher in ESCC history.

The Open race rounded things out and for all of these racers it would be their last race of the season, or for the seniors the last race of their career. There was still some pieces at stake as some of these athletes would be competing for a spot on the postseason roster. And while they may not run in the postseason, joining this group is a great motivator to finish strong. The sun had emerged and it was a comfortable environment for racing. Our senior veterans led the charge on this day. Aaryanna Zapata was our top finisher and we are impressed by how far she came since last year. While we only had her in our program for two years, she was a great addition. Eilleen Harrington, Nancy Martinez and Kimberly Gonzalez were next. These three were battling for spots in the Top 12 and they didn’t make it easy for us, finishing within 4 seconds of each other. These 3 are a testament to hard work and commitment and what every young, inexperienced runner should aspire for upon coming out for cross country. Staci Perez came in next and even though her season won’t carry on to the postseason, much pride can be taken in dropping almost 5 minutes off her personal best time from when she was a freshman. Next in was Ashley Hernandez who drifted away from us for a year, but realized that this team is her home. Rounding out the senior squad was Maggie Torres who showed amazing grit and determination in her sole cross country season at Nazareth. Lindsay Degnan brought up the anchor, which is fitting for a young woman who has been an anchor of stability and consistency. So proud of her growth and a runner over the last three years, definitely deserving to be one of our team captains this year. Fifteen Seniors completed this season with us, eight of them being being four year runners. This is an amazing group that will be missed.

As we put the regular season to bed, post season is now upon us. So much built up excitement (and maybe a little anxiety) will make the wait for Saturday feel like an eternity. We all want race day to be here now, but it’s always about the journey. Each day matters, each piece of what we do matters. The days will always feel long, but the achievement, the satisfaction of our accomplishments is what makes it so worth it and makes the years (also the weeks and months) feel so short.

Coach Wejman

In doing this for 12 seasons, you start to get a feel for how the season is going by this week on the calendar. Sometimes it is concrete and tangible, others it is a feeling or a vibe. After focusing on our training and starting to reach our racing shape, the direction of our season has definitely been great for reasons both tangible and in the ‘vibe’ that I am getting.

Whether it be in the speed workouts or the volume of our long runs, the training sessions have been sharp and we saw this carry over into Saturday as the Varsity group warmed up on a brisk day at Elmwood Park. Temps were in the low 40s and there was a significant wind, but when I checked in with the group after the coaches meeting, they were dialed in. I don’t know if I can recall a group feeling this confident at this juncture in the season. We’ve gone into postseason races like this, but nothing that I can recall for a regular season race. Not implying that the race times or overall accomplishments will surpass past teams, but this group is ready to rock.

A couple teams sat this race out and others rested top runners, so we didn’t know what to expect, but we just wanted to focus on our race plan. Freshman Colette Kinsella would go on to win the race going away and set a new school record for the 3 mile course, but we encouraged her to attack the second mile knowing she would likely be by herself. The lack of direct competition is now a thing of the past as she will have 4-5 runners in her ability group at the ESCC Conference meet. Our next finisher was Ailee Hogan who didn’t get out great in the tight quarters in the first 100-200 meters. She made up for it plenty in miles two and three, establishing a 3-mile personal best time. With having a strong #1 finisher, I’ve challenged the next racers to keep that time gap as close as possible, this is usually what makes or breaks a team in the postseason. Melissa Harris met this challenge and kept her gap between under a minute from Ailee and nearly missed a personal best despite battling a nasty cold. Melissa makes up one of the 3M’s, Maddie Bent and Mia Baumel are the other two and they continue to be a formative shadow to Melissa. Bent and Baumel came in 5 and 16 seconds behind Melissa in what was for both of them, their best races to date. Overall this gave us a 66 second 2-5 split, that makes for one happy coach. For good measure, 6th runner Kayla Salerno finished 11 seconds later, in what was definitely her best race in a three year career for a 77 second 2-6 split. The number 6 runner doesn’t score, but they can ‘push’ which will be helpful in our sectional where margins might be small. Fiona Roach was the 7th finisher dropping almost 5 minutes from her freshman year at this race. The 7th place finisher rarely serves as a pusher, but in seeing our sectional competition, that might be in play in a few weeks as every spot could matter. Sadie Sifuentes, Liana Mikuzis and Megan Henehan rounded out the 10 runners we were allotted in this race. Overall the team took 3rd place.

By the Open race, the sun had risen and the conditions were a bit more favorable. For many racers this might be a last chance at a PR on the season. Next week’s course isn’t a tough one, but Elmwood is known for being a fast track. Freshman Molly McNamara was our top finisher just missing out on medalist status. It has been a year of tremendous growth for McNamara and we know she will play a vital role next season. The next six finishers really embodied a lot about what this 19-20 has stood for; dedicated seniors and inspired freshmen: Eilleen Harrington, Nancy Martinez, MC Popernick, Kimberly Gonzalez, Ashley Hernandez and Itzel Martin. Staci Perez and Emily Rodriguez put forth personal best times in their penultimate race and we also had Elena Beczkiewicz coming back into racing for as she battled injury for the last several weeks. So impressed by her perseverance as many other athletes would have shut it down for the season, she focused her rehab on getting back to finish the season on the course.

This point in the season also involves ‘scoreboard watching’ seeing what our postseason rivals are doing week to week. We know who our main competitors will be at Conference, Regionals, and Sectionals. I’ve seen what they are doing and have some questions that will be answered in time, but right now, I know how I feel about our team heading into the Conference Meet.

A special shoutout to Alejandra Garcia and Bella Brunke who kept the “Manager’s Mile” tradition as they had their season debut and season curtain call both on Saturday in the one-mile open race.

Coach Wejman

Aside from a post-summer recap, I have never had the opportunity to provide the weekly reflection after a meet. Because Coach Wejman was with his former teammates at a Dayton Rugby reunion, I took on the responsibility for a week in hopes that I can continue the reflections as our season continues through its last couple of weeks.

Last weekend we toed the line at the Lisle Mane Event on a perfect fall day. We decided to forego the Frosh/Soph race on Saturday because they always run it as a 4K (2.4 miles) and we prefer to see where our team is at for the full-length 5k instead. Because we didn’t compete in the first race of the day, Varsity had as perfect of a morning start as we could have asked for. Cool air, a gentle breeze, and a strong sun spoiled us for the first time this season as we sent six runners to start our day. Instead of running our 7th with Varsity, we decided to see how things shook out in the Open race to see how everyone performed under the same conditions.

We had a perfect box right in the middle, giving us a good edge as the starting stride weaves through some trees before cutting around the lake. As the gun went off (a new sound to this meet as Ken Jakalski has retired and so did the push-button start sound), our girls used that placement to our advantage with a solid start right from the get-go and I walked with the managers over to “The Hill.” Although we feel the silent, and not-so-silent, shrieks of terror as people discuss the fact they have to run it early in the race, our girls always attack hills well, using them as an opportunity to gain ground and pass those who let the change in angulation defeat them. As our girls conquered that feat and hit the halfway point of the race, Colette Kinsella was stride for stride with another racer who was trying to set the pace of the race. Unfazed, Kinsella stayed with her and used her to pace the race. Not far behind her, Hogan was shadowing a large secondary pack and the 3M’s of Melissa Harris, Maddie Bent, and Mia Baumel were keeping their pack close. Kayla Salerno kept the good times rolling as she fought for positioning early while continuing to push her pace and show her fitness as the post-season nears. As the lead golf cart fired up with 1000 meters to go, Kinsella crossed the bridge alone with a large gap and cruised to win her second race in 3 weeks and set a new school record for the 5K course. She was followed up by Ailee Hogan, Melissa Harris, Mia Baumel, Maddie Bent and Kayla Salerno for a 5th place finish overall.

As the Open Race neared, the weather warmed up a little but race conditions remained ideal. While Lisle can present some excitement for the pep rally after and the exciting spirit surrounding the race, our Open racers were excited to get out there and see where their training had taken them. As our team did their warm up loop and worked through their hip and lunge circuits, I looked around. This is the point of the season where the sidelines are littered with shin splint boots, crutches, and girls who are sad that they will not be racing that day. Our team is no exception to that, but many girls who are counting down the last races in their career still toed the line while feeling far less than 100% while doing so. That competitive drive and desire to work to be their best selves is what makes this sport so great. As the race went off, I rushed over to the hill again because this coed race always produces the cool sound of spikes hitting the small patch of pavement below the hill before they begin their incline. I love listening to the sounds and then seeing the competitive side of the sport drive them over that hill and take them across the street to race without much of a crowd for the second half. The scoring team of Fiona Roach, Molly Mcnamara, Sadie Sifuentes, Liana Mikuzis and MC Popernik finished in 3rd place overall in this event and that was a nice victory for our team. Mikuzis and Popernik have really shown great progress and are learning to race, a deadly combination. Runners like Kimberly Gonzalez and Eilleen Harrington admitted that they weren’t feeling their best but still found a way to compete and finish, demonstrating that tenacity we look for when our strong voice dominates as long as we are in good enough shape to allow it to do so. All in all, as we marched into the gym with face paint and some blue/silver hair, we did so with pride as we left ourselves out on that course on Saturday. As time dwindles down, this is when it gets exciting. Let’s keep the ice baths, track workouts, and team building alive as we approach the mentally tough days ahead.

Coach Gonzalez

One of our proudest traditions as coaches is to tell the runners that if they plan on going to the Homecoming dance that they will be at our team’s race and be there for the duration regardless of conditions. For the most part, this really isn’t a tall order, but because we’re both at the race and the dance there is no getting around it. This year’s race was at Harvest Christian Academy in Elgin which would mean a lengthy bus ride back after a day full of races. And on Wednesday the prospects of rainy/muddy conditions were very likely. From the outside, it looked like us coaches might be the only ones happy with the series of events unfolding but boy would we be wrong. The Frosh/Soph race was first and within seconds of arriving in the starting area, we saw what lay ahead; a 10 inch deep 8 foot wide puddle. This obstacle would have to be endured three times, this would be along with a slick and hilly course. There would be no personal best times today. When the gun rang out, spectators lined the puddle to snap photos & videos or just take in this great moment in sporting greatness. We split up our squad to give some racers a chance to run with different teammates for various reasons. Frequent Varsity racers Mia Baumel and Maddie Bent were asked to come out aggressive and be up front in the early phases of the race. Both met the challenge of the puddle and were up early. We had a strong grouping behind them of Molly McNamara, Sadie Sifuentes, Erin Howard, Bridget Boyle and Mc Popernik. Baumel and Bent remained in the top 10 throughout the race and showed some great racing prowess on the difficult course with Baumel in 5th and Bent in 8th. McNamara, Sifuentes, Howard and Boyle all finished with a gap of less than 40 seconds. These four all showed grit on this day and gained valuable experience in the push to make the postseason roster.

After another boys frosh/soph race the course was getting sloppier even though the rain had completely stopped. We told the varsity racers to be smart out there and that everyone all day is running in the same stuff so your job is to compete against other racers not the clock (we always preach this, but it resonates better when times are guaranteed to be slower). As much fun as the puddle was to watch, there was a bit of nerves making sure all athletes made it safely through. Fortunately all racers emerged fine and the leaders emerged to the front. Freshman Colette Kinsella was in the front pack as the first mile finished up. Next was Ailee Hogan closely followed by Melissa Harris. Melissa has been having her best two week stretch for us in training and it is starting to seep into her racing. Also trending upward was Kayla Salerno who seems to get better every week, her breakthrough as a racer this year has been one of the brightest spots on our team this season. Juniors Fiona Roach and Megan Henehan grabbed our 5th and 6th spots respectively. These two have matched each other in terms of hard work and dedication to improvement as they’ve become upperclassmen leaders. Kinsella finished in second, just .09 off of the leader. It was a great race by two competitors. Harris was our second finisher and I was able to see her as she came across the finish line and she was completely spent. This is something that I haven’t seen from her before. I happened to look at last year's comments from this race and said a lot of similar things about Harris at this point last season, so we are keeping consistent (side note on last years comments, it was reportedly ‘great weather’). Hogan was our third finisher as she continues to fight off a bug. Salerno, Roach, Henehan, and Harrington rounded out the squad that finished 10th place overall.

The open race was last and by this point, the course was a quagmire. With the open race typically having a lighter feel this was going to be more about having fun than a great stopwatch time. Boys and girls were combined so the puddle was going to be a mess and it didn’t disappoint. The smiles on the racers faces as they slogged through the puddle was a reminder of how much fun running can be. Special shout out to Ashley Hernandez who lost her shoe in the mud about 20 meters into the race (she lost it again in the puddle just prior to finishing). Liana Mikuzis was our top finisher, followed by Aaryana Zapata.

We made it back in plenty of time for the girls to clean themselves up and dance the night away at homecoming. In what was originally looking to be a dismal day for numerous reasons in the eyes of our runners. We left covered in mud and tired, but there were smiles on the faces and it wasn’t just on the faces of the coaches.

Coach Wejman

When walking amongst the starting boxes at the RB Invite one of the meet workers painted ‘60th Anniversary’ in front of the boxes. Amidst the chaos of barely making it to the meet on time (bus issues) this was sort of caught me off guard. It was amazing to think that this meet first ran in 1960 and even though the location has probably changed several times and in 2009, the meet was held on a Friday evening, it was still special. This creates a sense of rush as the meet is held on the eve of autumn and daylight is getting shorter, but the day off on Saturday is a nice benefit. Along with change of day and venue, this meet has grown dramatically in size and competition. It does give us a chance to assess where we stack up on a course that we know well.

The varsity kicked things off in a crowded field. As the race entered the woods after the first quarter mile, our front group wasn’t as far up as I would have liked, but again in a crowded field on a tight course, this kind of thing happens. We then entered what I sometimes call ‘the longest 15 minutes in our sport.’ Sundown Meadow has its charms, but having over two thirds of the race in the secluded forest can be frustrating. Before the race, I asked Colette Kinsella to hold back and told her to not try to take control of the race in the woods. She was first out of the woods by a decent margin. In later talking to her, she said that Coach Gonzalez told her to go and she responded quite well, opening up a margin that she would not relinquish becoming our first race champion since 2011. AIlee Hogan was our next finisher, and she expressed frustration with her performance afterwards, but she was dealing with a seasonal bug that many of our team members had been struggling with. Next came the 3M’s; Melissa Harris, Maddie Bent, and Mia Baumel. These three finished within seconds of each other and could be an important factor in our scoring down the road. Not far behind was Kayla Salerno who continues to improve her racing. And while she was our 6th finisher, the 6th runner can be a ‘pusher’ down the road and looking ahead; we will need every point we can get. Fiona Roach was our 7th finisher, posting a personal best by 2 seconds on a difficult course and a warm evening. Erin Howard, Sadie Sifuentes, and Eilleen Harrington finished up our 10 racers, with Sifuentes and Harrington making their varsity debuts. It wasn’t our best race as a team all around thus far, but these are the meets that you build on a grow from.

Next came the open race and it was a chance for some of our harder working under-the-radar racers to show their stuff. Freshman Molly Mcnamara was the top finisher in this race showing her capability of being a varsity runner for us in the future. Nancy Martinez was next and it was hard to believe it was her coming out of the woods at the rate she did. So much improvement and confidence over four years is what this sport is all about. This improvement can also happen over four weeks as its amazing to see how far some of our freshmen have come in that time. MC Popernik and Isabella Ortega posted person bests. Itzel Martin and Sydney Santiago raced with speed and confidence that reflects their work at training.

We left Sundown Meadow as dusk was settling in. It’s safe to say that there weren’t girls racing at the first ever RB Invite in 1960 as girls cross country as the IHSA didn’t run the sport until 1979. Now the girls race the same distance as the boys (girls didn’t run a full three miles at the state finals until the early 2000s). It's a reminder of long this sport as been going on and how far it’s come. This meet also served as another reminder during the season of how far we have to go as we head into autumn and the big meets of October.

Coach Wejman

Nothing reignites the nostalgia of recent alum like the Peoria trip. We seem to get a lot of emails/social media interaction right before and during this weekend because it is a top memory for so many on the team. I suppose there are a lot of reasons for this, but ultimately I think it comes down to sharing such a large amount of time with each other. Whether it be jokes, stories, snacks, or songs, it is 24 hours of bonding with teammates. It is also a chance to run at the famed grounds of Detweiller Park, home to the State Final’s course. While we had all the things listed above, (the snacks were quite healthy and had me mixed: As a coach I was proud of their choices, but as a glutton, I felt let down) we also had a race to run. I don’t think we’ve ever had a group more focused on Saturday morning than this year. Saturday morning went as planned, but to my mild surprise, the conditions were a bit warmer than expected. It was still a beautiful day for racing and the varsity squad seemed nervous, which makes sense given that there were nearly 500 racers on that line. I was concerned they were putting too much on themselves heading into this big race so I threw them some encouraging words as I headed down the opening straight away to watch some early action. The race was fast, as expected. As our runners came by ‘the big tree’ I couldn’t have been happier with how our squad got out through the first half mile. From this point forward, I wasn’t really concerned with how the day was going to go. Our Varsity 10 put themselves out there and ran with aggression and confidence, hard to believe they all seemed to be nervous just ten minutes prior. At mile 1, Colette Kinsella was about 12th place, but she looked controlled. Ailee Hogan put in a great 1st mile and looked strong. Then came our pack of Melissa Harris, Mia Baumel, Maddie Bent, Kayla Salerno and Megan Henehan. We’re gonna need these five to step up big time as we head into the postseason. Keeping their margins could make our break how far we make it in the postseason. Fiona Roach was next, at just over 7 minutes for her first mile. I knew she would pay heavily for this later, but this is the time of year to give this effort. Bridget Boyle and Erin Howard rounded out the squad with a strong effort that proved they belonged in this group today.

My next check-in was when racers were coming out of the woods and heading to the mile two marker and I only saw more of the same. Kinsella was now in 10th place. Hogan looked solid. Harris, Bent and Baumel were all within 20 seconds of each other. I was also trying to spot our newly found sectional foes as IHSA postseason assignments were posted on Friday evening. I moved over to the diagonal cut across the field heading into the last straight away. I was a bad coach on this day as I didn’t have a stopwatch going, so I didn’t know how fast our girls were running, but from what I was seeing, it was going to be a happy occasion seeing final tallies. Kinsella finished in 8th place, posting a time of 18:29, the 4th fastest time by a Roadrunner and the fastest during the regular season. Hogan finished 20 seconds faster than last year at this race. Melissa Harris dropped 20 seconds, Mai Baumel posted an impressive 22:09 for her Detweiller debut, and Maddie Bent rounded out the scoring 5 by dropping almost a minute and a half from 2018. This trend continued all the way down; Salerno shaved almost 2 and a half minutes, Henehan improved by 45 seconds, Roach 3 and a half minutes, and Howard over a minute. With a year of training and knowledge of racing, Bridget Boyle will be able to boast something like this next year. These time improvements reflect a summer of work, a commitment to being stronger mentally and physically, and a focus on this race (see the snack comment above). I knew this years time would be improved from last season, but had no idea it would be this dramatic and this fast, excited for what this group has in store in the coming weeks.

By the time the Open Race went off, Detweiller had gotten quite warm. This race is extra unique because it is the open race for all classes. This means that the volume of runners would be large, in fact 739 girls finished this race. That is about 40 less than our entire enrollment. Earlier I referenced the improvements made by so many runners over the years, this trend saw more of the same in the open race. Our second runner to finish this race was Eilleen Harrington, who finished the race in 25 minutes and 34 seconds. Her freshman year, it took her over 31 minutes. She was preceded by Sadie Sifuentes, a sophomore rookie who has begun to establish herself as a potential varsity runner. We then saw our pack of senior veterans continue the trend of dropping serious time off of their freshman selves at Detweiller:

Kimberly Gonzalez; 6 minutes dropped

Sarah Martin; 5 and a half minutes

Nancy Martinez; 5 and a half minutes

Staci Perez; 6 minutes

This is the model of hard work and the wisdom of learning how to run a race. We are so lucky to have a group of veterans like this to show the runners who may not find running very easy, how they can thrive and achieve consistent improvement. But the race is only part of the annual Peoria trip. Most of our big senior class will not be traveling back to Detweiller as a member of this team, but they will carry with them years of memories and a great sense of camaraderie with their teammates.

With Peoria in our rearview mirror, we head into the middle part of the season. This is where we start to work on our weaknesses and build upon our strengths. Each of the next three meets offer distinct challenges and will give each team member a chance to grow, improve, and make a case for themselves as we start gearing up for the big meets of October.

Coach Wejman

When we train on grass, it’s always fun to watch the grass get matted down created a distinct path. It shows the many times it has been pressed down by runners doing their thing. The LT South campus is large piece of property that is mainly grass and the LT invite runs on the perimeter of this campus. The races start at 8am and the grass is pretty saturated with dew and it is standing up. That begins to stop around 8:05. The JV race begins things off with 260+ runners. We offered this early race for freshmen who wanted to take on 3 miles vs. the freshman two-mile race. After the customary wave of "LT yellow and blue", we began to see some Roadrunners with freshmen Mia Baumel and Bridget Boyle leading the way. These two had good showings at Elmwood Park, but the three mile race is a bit of a different beast and these young women answered the call and made a strong case for themselves as varsity runners. Erin Howard was next posting a career-best time for three miles despite battling some health issues. Additionally, many personal bests were posted in this first large race of the young season; Lindsay Degnan, Eilleen Harrington, Ashley Hernandez being some of the standouts of that list. As varsity got warmed up, the grass was flattening out and the sun was beginning to cover the open course. At the starting box, it had been a long time since we had a group feel this confident and poised. We knew the race would begin fast and we demanded that our runners go with that. Ailee Hogan and Colette Kinsella took this to heart as they were up front at the first tight turn. Kinsella was asked to hang with the lead and Hogan with the next pack. About a half mile in, this was the case. The 3-7 were still intact at this same spot. Maddie Bent Kayla Salerno, and Melissa Harris led this pack and Megan Henehan and Fiona Roach were asked to keep contact as long as possible. This early work would definitely take a toll, but this is how one learns to run at the varsity level. At mile one, Kinsella was in the 8th spot. I sort of figured this might be where she might end up, little did I know, and the next six were keeping with what we wanted. One thing I did notice early was the fire in Kayla Salerno’s eyes; she looked like a different runner on this day. Through two miles Kinsella had moved into the Top 5 and didn’t show much sign of tiring. The next time we would see all the runners would be with a half mile to go. Kinsella was in a group that comprised of 4-6. We had yet to see her compete like this, so we really had no perspective on what might happen. Hogan continued to battle, her stride and her racing acumen has improved so much over the years. Two years ago she might have faded, but this is a different racer. She wasn’t ecstatic with her time on this day, but her racing was very good. Bent, Salerno and Harris rounded out the scoring squad with Bent and Salerno posting career bests, Salerno’s being over a minute improvement. Henehan and Roach came in strong, with Roach making a massive jump (over three minutes) in her personal best in her first varsity race. Keeping count up front became difficult and we couldn’t see the end of the race, but when the dust settled, Kinsella grabbed 3rd place and beat Michelle Gajkowski’s time from 18:41 as the best in Nazareth History. It was an impressive race and hopefully a sign of things to come. The freshmen closed out the day with the 2.2 mile run. Four of our rookies partook in this race and all four showed grit and dedication, being light years from when we began on August 12th. The training wheels come off now as all races henceforth will be 3 miles, these girls shouldn’t have a problem. As we left the fieldhouse after awards, the grass seemed permanently matted down after close to a thousand racers did their thing on this true opening weekend of XC invites. Just a reminder of how many athletes partake in this sport, pushing themselves week after week. Whether you go home with a medal and a t-shirt or a feeling of satisfaction, this sport highlights what is great about high school athletics. Coach Wejman

My dad is an avid reader of these posts as well as a follower of our Twitter account. After seeing some of our pictures posted in the first weeks, he commented that we have a lot of ‘teeny tiny’ girls. This observation is accurate as we have our biggest freshman class to date. Beyond just large numbers in the freshman class, they have shown that they have a great attitude and mentality thus far, but more on them in a little while.

The first meet of the season has always been at Elmwood Park, and the last 5 years it has been the ‘Trial on the Trail’, a 2-mile time trial divided into two races (one for junior/ senior, one for frosh/soph). This format is a nice way to get things going with little in terms of expectations or pressure. In the Junior/Senior race, Ailee Hogan ran her last, first meet in an accomplished career adding another Top Ten finish in a competitive race. Melissa Harris and Megan Henehan came in as our 2nd/3rd finishers, with Henehan dropping over 80 seconds from last year’s race. Kayla Salerno and Fiona Roach rounded out the scoring team with Salerno dropping 30 seconds off of her time last year and Roachdr more than 2 and a half minutes. Amazing what a summer of hard work can do for a runner. Instead of using words to explain the remainder of our junior/senior race standouts, I feel it more appropriate to list the time improvements from last year:

These are veterans who might never make a post season squad, or a varsity race, but they’ve committed themselves to becoming better runners. This is what this sport is all about.

In the Frosh/Soph race, we were excited to see what this new, large crop of runners would produce. For the last four years, our team was graced with Gigi Kinsella: both a team leader and committed, but from her earliest days she told us of her younger sister. We got a chance to see Colette at our Junior High meet and knew she was a special runner. Nothing we saw in the first two weeks changed our minds. When the gun rang out, Kinsella was aggressively on the heels of three girls who finished in the top 10 at the state meet (1 from 2A, 2 from 1A). Kinsella held that 4th spot and broke the Nazareth record set in 2015 on the two mile course. While Kinsella was a known entity for us, what surprises would be in store? Our second finisher wasn’t much of a surprise to us as Sophomore Maddie Bent grabbed a 16th place finish and we know that she will be a key piece for our team as the year unfolds. Our third finisher was Freshman Mia Baumel who made her Naz XC debut with an impressive 19th place finish and there is clearly more in her tank as she grows as a runner. Freshmen Taylor Lester and Bridget Boyle rounded out the scoring squad showing awesome grit. These two don’t have a running background, but have worked hard from day one and we look forward to their growth over the season. The depth these freshmen provide will certainly make for some tough decisions as the season progresses as to who will be on our postseason roster. All told, nine freshmen toed the line for us and two others will do so this weekend.

No team should ever feel satisfied where they are at in August and we are no exception. There is much to be happy with from our season debut, but there are many things that need work. But that’s what makes this journey so enjoyable.

Coach Wejman