UpdatesUnfortunately these got few and far between as the season progressed and free time became scarce. Stats at right are updated though!
See you all in XC season! Prospect 4.28.17After a very cold night at Grant on Thursday, we traveled to the prestigious Wanner-Knight Invitational at Prospect on Friday. The weather threatened rain but remained generally pleasant and better than expected for racing! We took fourth place at the end of the night!
Alex opened up the meet in the first heat of the 3200m. He had a very assertive first 800, and was still pacing well at 5:20 at the halfway point. He grew tired in the second half and finished at 11:54. Our 4x8 ran not long after. Nate led off with the competition with a solid 1:56 split, handing off to Josh who ran a fast first lap then lost all the color in his face. He struggled to the line, still with a nice 2:03 split, and promptly got sick. Michael ran third for 2:07, a little slower than his norm, and Louie closed with 2:11. We ran 8:19 over all; while it was a decent time, we didn't quite capitalize on the competition for the breakthrough we were hoping for. Collin was up next in the 3200, fast heat. He followed his plan on holding with the pack but had two setbacks: he was spiked in the first lap and had to stop and pull his shoe back on; he also was boxed into lane three for the first 1600 meters. He looked upset but he did not let these setbacks keep him from a solid race. He expended more energy than planned in the first mile, but made some great ground in the latter half. He kicked hard and was on empty when he crossed the line to tie his 9:41 PR and earn a 6th place medal out of 37 competitors! Our milers raced later in the evening. Freddy was in the first heat and took early control of the pack. It was great to see this pay off for him--while he was caught by a couple runners in the second half, he competed well and his kick was a thing of beauty. He finished for a PR 4:52, dropping four seconds! Michael ran in the second heat and was also boxed into the second lane for much of the race. He looked a little tight and rolled through at 4:40. It was overall a good meet for the ZeeBees with some nice races. We need to get up early in the morning, however, and do it all again at Rockford! Stevenson 4.24.17It was a short day off before we traveled to Stevenson Monday to square off against Stevenson and Mundelein. Our men certainly showed up to race and enjoyed the warm weather that made for ideal racing conditions. We achieved many PRs tonight in our victory against both teams.
We had three 4x8 relays going this evening. Nate (1:56), Josh (2:07), Michael (2:03), and Louie (2:09) ran a combined 8:16 to edge the Stevenson team from the lead; Michael tied his PR and Louie earned his! Nathan (2:24), KD (2:24), Gerardo (2:32), and Andrew (2:36) ran well for a F/S time of 9:54, and Freddy (2:13), Alex (2:20 PR!), Gunnar (2:16 PR) and Avedis (2:12) ran a great race for 9:02. These were great opening relays! The 3200m was a small pack but a well-run race. Collin settled in with a pair of Mundelein runners and a pair of Stevenson competitors. He paced well with this pack and wore down the Mundelein runners with 800m to go, then stuck with the Stevenson leader until the final 400m--at this point he opened up his stride and won the race handily with 9:42, just one second off of his PR! Victor (12:33), Charles (12:39) and Jason (11:44) had gutsy races as well, with Kamrin running his PR in 12:55! In the following 800, Alex set his second 800m PR of the night with a time of 2:19! Alex Judd did the same at 2:28 and Zarate PR'd with 12:54. Jason ran a nice 2:24, and Charles came back from the 2-mile for a 400m PR of 68.6! We had a great pack of 300m hurdlers as well! It is really neat to see these men take on the hurdle challenge like no team before them. Our fastest distance runner would be Andrew at 51.2, with Kamrin at 51.4 and KD at 54.5. Judd logged 56.1 and Gunnar 64.5 after a big fall. Our milers went out in great form today in two heats. Andrew (6:05), Gerardo (6:15), Judd (6:12) and Zarate (6:44 PR) ran first, with Avedis taking and early lead. He led the final 800m with strength and ran a huge 5:02 PR, just barely coming up short of a sub-5 time! Michael led the upperclassmen race but he was forced to run most of the race in lane three due to Stevenson runners throwing elbows and blocking him from moving inward. He still finished with 4:36 but was visibly mad as the way the race went. Gunnar (6:39), Louie (5:15), Freddy (4:56) and Jesus (6:47) also ran nice races! This is the first of four meets this week and weather is supposed to tank for the latter half of the week. We need to stay strong and keep up the good racing! We have only lost to LZ in our conference so far, and next Monday we will square off against Lake Forest for our final dual meet of the season at home! Lake Forest 4.22.17We showed up fresh and ready to compete today at the Lake Forest Invite, and I could not be more pleased with the progress made today. The shift in mindset to one of competition and success was evident, and the sunshine certainly helped. The Bees came out blazing and went home with the first place trophy!
The 4x8s looked pretty good in the beginning of the meet. Avedis led with 2:17 and Jason matched it for a PR time! Kamrin ran third at 2:31 and Kevin anchored at 2:24, bringing the total time to 9:28 and a third place finish. The Varsity was still missing Josh but ran very well. Nate led with a substantial lead and 1:59 split, with Victor pacing 2:14 in the second leg. Freddy tied his PR 2:12 time as the third man and Louie ran his PR 2:10 to round off the time at 8:36. It was a nice start to the meet. Charlie and T-Bone represented us in the F/S 3200m. T-Bone got out a little more conservatively, but Charlie got a very aggressive start and this helped set him up for success. By the last lap both were on a great PR pace, and T-Bone overtook Charles--undeterred, Charlie matched T-Bone's final sprint to bring them both through at PR 12:03 times! Alex and Collin ran next at the Varsity level. Alex set off on a nice pace and split his first mile at 5:50. Collin took the lead in the first 100m and never let of the throttle. He split between 65 and 67 the while way, running himself to a huge PR 9:41 time and a first place medal! Alex followed soon after at 11:25 for a great finish as well! Jaime jumped in at the F/S level for the 800 and ran a nice 2:34! Collin and Nate were at the Varsity level, with Nate winning at 1:57 and Collin running a fantastic 2:12! Our 300 hurdlers also had a great meet! Kamrin and Alex Judd ran at the F/S level, for a 50.5 second place and 56.6 respectively! The milers finished the day with some nice races. We ran a true mile instead of a 1600 here. Jason and KD went out and ran well against the pack. Jason come through at 5:23 and Kevin at 5:35. While Michael was unable to make it down for his race, Freddy ran a fantastic 4:58 in his mile; had it been a 1600 he would have run a PR! Overall it was a great racing day! I'm proud that the team showed up in strength and am very pleased to see it pay off with a first place award. This next week we have four meets scheduled and will need to bring the same stamina to our racing! Congratulations Bees! Lyons Relays 4.21.17It is always fun to run in the Lyons Relays because it is a meet of a different format. There are varying distances but many opportunities for our men to race together, relaying on each other to achieve together. Also, Lyons provides a neat opportunity before the meet for underclassmen to run open mile time trials! Tonight we somehow wound up with just one bus for the meet and were packed in like the proverbial sardine, but we had a pretty nice racing night once we got down there.
The weather chilled out quickly with the wind but the open mile crew warmed up and ended up being the true highlight of the evening! Our F/S and JV men who weren't in any other events took to the blue track and, from the gun, proved their worth. ALL RAN PRs TONIGHT! At the freshman level, Jaime ran 5:52, Zarate 6:41, Andrew 5:41, Alex 5:58, and Charles 5:44. In the sophomore race, Gerardo ran 6:08 and Tristan 5:32. They ended up canceling the last open race, but Jesus and two other runners opted to run it together! Jesus was nursing a sore heel, but he ran arguably the best race I have ever seen from him, racing solo for 6:09! Congratulations on all these mile achievements! The 4xmile was next and it is usually a race in which we get left far behind. Tonight was not the case. Michael led off with a 4:40 and kept us in the mix, with Collin matching his PR to run 4:40 as well. I mis-split the next two legs, but Freddy and Alex both ran gutsy races against the wind and logged a team time of 19:40, which actually beat our time from last year by a second. The F/S 4x8 was next, with Nathan leading off with 2:19. Kamrin was our second man at 2:36, followed by Kevin (2:31) and Jason (2:25) for a total time of 9:52. The Varsity featured Louie in the lead, in which he race a strong 2:14, with Victor next at 2:15, Avedis third at 2:19, and Joseph racing anchor at 2:27. They logged 9:16. The Varsity distance men returned for the DMR. Michael paced off 68/lap for the 1200m, racing 3:26. Victor took the baton for the 400m leg and ran a great 59 time; Freddy looked great for 2:17 in the 800m, and Collin finished up as the mile anchor. He had run 4:40 earlier to tie his PR, and he just as consistently paced this race too. He ran his PR 4:39! There were only six teams this year so the meet flew by, and we packed back on the bus at 8:30 with many medals and ribbons. Tomorrow we need to get up early and do it again--at Lake Forest! Home 4.17.17We squared off in our first home meet of the season against Lake Zurich and Waukegan tonight at Horizon Stadium, and the mid-40s temps and driving wind ended up being a challenging factor. Our team also seemed sluggish and tired when they showed up, and this unfortunately translated into less-than-spectacular racing and results. The high point of the night came with a trio of nice PRs in the two-mile, with Judd pacing for 13:43, Pancho for 12:20, and Charlie at 12:34. These were the only PR times of the night, and the effort tonight led to a bitter loss against LZ, though we did beat Waukegan. This team showed great promise on Saturday, but I am confident that they can retool and re-calibrate this week to run with greater success this next weekend.
springfield 4.15.17We traveled again this year south to Springfield for the Capitol City Classic. It was an early morning and a long bus ride, but the Bees arrived ready to compete. After taking third last year in our first down-state appearance at this meet, we had our sights set on a higher rank this year. The weather spiked to 85 degrees and stayed sunny, but with a constant wind that made the back stretch challenging at times. When we tallied the results at the end of the day, the Bees went home with the second place trophy out of 22 competing teams--losing out on first by just two points.
The F/S 4x800 came out ready to run. Avedis led off in fantastic form, competing very well with the pack to split a PR 2:11 and hand the baton off to Jason. Jason surged around the track to run 2:20, with Nathan then hitting 2:18 in the third leg for his PR! Kevin anchored with a gutsy 2:25 to run a total of 9:15. The Varsity 4x8 was up next, and we had our fastest run of the year! Nate led off with a strong 1:57 split, with Josh springing for 2:03 next. Michael matched this with a PR 2:03 and Victor finished with 2:10 to tie his PR and bring the relay to a 8:15 PR! Nice job relays! Alex stepped in for the first heat of the two-mile and started off with strength. He split 5:30 and was on track for a strong time, but faded a little in the second half against the tough wind. He finished well with 11:45. Collin had a similar experience against the wind and ran in the lead the first part of race. He split 4:50 at the mile as the pack accelerated and finished just under 10 at 9:59 in a gutsy race for a fifth place medal. In the mile, Freddy and Michael both ran well. Frederick nearly tied his PR on the windy track, running 4:57, and Michael ran a fantastic 4:33 and took home a fifth place medal too! It was a fantastic racing day and exactly the kind of progress we were hoping to make today. While such a close loss was disappointing, we showed great drive and a hunger for high-level competition. Libertyville/Warren 4.12.17We had a nice showing at our first dual meet of the season at Libertyville. We also ran against Warren. This meet saw the entire team take the field for the first time this year, and I was very impressed with the effort put forth. In this meet very few runners reported their time back to my clipboard after their events, which unfortunately means these were not recorded!
Some of the highlights were a nice 4x800 relay with Gunnar making his season debut with a 2:23, Victor running a nice 2:12, Freddy 2:14, and Michael running a steady 2:05. T-Bone and Jaime ran to PRs in the 3200m, with Tristan logging 12:00 and Jaime 12:59. We had a large crew in the 800, with great PRs by Charles (2:39), Zarate (2:59), Alex Judd (2:43), Nathan (2:21), Andrew (2:35), and Louie (2:12). This was followed by three strong PRs in the mile: Panch (5:44), Charles (5:59), and Zarate (6:54). We had a fun time in the exhibition 4x400 at the end of the meet and went home with a solid victory over both Libertyville and Warren! schaumburg 4.8.17The Bees wearily boarded the bus after a few hours of sleep and headed south to Schaumburg High School on Saturday morning. We were missing many runners to ACT testing, and even some who chose not to come. The day warmed into the 50s, and the coaches urged the team to put last night's soreness aside and come back to compete at the same level.
The F/S 4x800m relay led off with a new lineup today. Victor ran first, logging a PR 2:10 and beating last night's time by a second! Kamrin took the baton second and also ran a PR 2:24, with Francisco running 2:27 as the third man. Nathan ran as the anchor for 2:26, with our overall time coming in at 9:30. The Varsity were led by Nate with a flying 1:58 split that gained an early lead. Josh shook off a sore foot for 2:07, with Micahel beating his last night's time with a great 2:05 that tied his PR. Tyler ran anchor for 2:18. The Varsity logged 8:31, beating the Deerfield time by a second from the night before. Freddy and Joseph represented in the 3200m, running 11:11 and 12:07 respectively. Gerardo (2:33) and Kevin (2:22) did a nice job in the open 800 on the F/S level. Josh ran the open 800 at 2:06 in a gritty race to gain some points for the team. Alex J. made a great appearance in the open 400m for 69.3, and our milers went next. Victor ran his lifetime best 5:16 and T-Bone ran a great PR at 5:35 as well. Alex dropped his to 5:10 at the Varsity level and Michael ran a great race at 4:43. It was a challenging day as the weather warmed and energy sapped, but it was an invaluable experience and preparation for the back-to-back weekends to come. We have our first dual meet this coming week and a journey to Springfield this next weekend. In the meantime, we will be training particularly on our closing strides. Deerfield 4.7.17The Bees opened the outdoor season in style Friday night at the Deerfield Invite. This meet was canceled last year due to weather, but this year the temperatures were in the mid 40s before the sun went down though the wind made the atmosphere considerably colder. The Bees went out competitively and took first place!
The F/S 3200m relay went first. Victor led off in great form, running his lifetime PR 2:11 and keeping up with the field. Avedis ran the second leg, also earning a PR, with a fantastic split of 2:16, followed by Jason's PR 2:19! Kevin ran anchor for his PR, 2:23 and an overall time of 9:12.67. The relay took second in a fast field! The Varsity 3200m relay was up next and ran against a tough field. Joshua led off, running a nice 2:06, followed by Nate at 2:01. Michael took the baton for the third leg and rolled through at 2:09; Freddy followed to tie his PR at 2:15. The relay took third with a season best 8:32.59--their first time breaking 9 minutes this season. Jaime and Kamrin were up next for the Distance Crew in the 3200m. They both looked good, with Kamrin taking early control of the race with a gutsy first half and Jaime working well toward the back. This was their first outdoor 3200m and they performed well in the conditions to both log PR times. Kamrin finished at 12:58 and Jaime at 13:09. Alex and Collin represented in the Varsity race, and by this time it was starting to get a little chilly. Collin took an early lead and held it until the last lap, working hard for a second place finish and 9:55 time. Alex ran a great 11:27. Nathan and Francisco were in the F/S 800m a couple of events later. Both ran in the pack and were very evenly matched the whole way. Nathan barely edged Francisco for 2:23, with Francisco logging 2:24. These were both PRs! Jason and Avedis returned for the F/S 1600m in the cool darkness in the latter part of the race. They both ran very well despite the chill--both achieved PR times! Avedis ran as our fastest F/S miler at 5:05, and Jason bested his previous time by a second for 5:16! Freddy represented us in the Varsity section, staying warm and running with great consistency. He ran to tie his PR at 4:56! At the end of the night came one of the best races I have ever seen from the ZeeBee Distance Crew. For the first time in many years, the F/S 4x400m relay had three distance men on it: Avedis, Victor, and Nathan, joining Rikki from the sprinting side. They ran out with incredible skill and drive, with Victor leading with a 56.9; Rikki answered with a 60.3, handing off to Nathan for 61.1. Avedis literally ran away from the field as the anchor, passing the leaders and sweeping into first place with 57.8, establishing a time of 3:56.02. Congratulations! We took first place, a title Deerfield typically takes for themselves! There were numerous PRs tonight, with the real test of resilience will come tomorrow at Schaumburg. Nice work, Bees! Proviso 3.25.17Our final indoor meet of the season took us again to Proviso on a rainy Saturday. It also marked the first weekend of our Spring Break this year, which unfortunately took many of our athletes away. With a little bit of last-minute seeding, we still brought a strong group to Proviso West Midwest Classic.
This meet has a F-S 4x800m, and it was great to see our young pack race for the first time this season! Avedis led with a PR 2:20, handing off to Victor who narrowly beat him with a 2:19 split! Nathan made his 800m season debut at 2:32, and Tristan anchored with a lifetime best 2:31 despite a week of injury remediation. They logged 9:42 for a nice early season time! The Varsity was up next, and Anthony stepped in for his first career race with needed, and anchored the squad. Josh led with a 2:11 split, and handed off to Michael who opened up beautifully for a 2:07. Tyler ran his season-best 2:12, and Anthony anchored with 2:32. They ran 9:04, a second faster than Carthage and a pretty nice race considering the chaos of the lineup changes leading up to it! Alex and Collin represented us in the 3200m. They both looked good from the start, and from the gun it was apparent that Collin was going to dictate the terms of the race. He took an early and easy lead, then focused on consistent splits. He split the mile at 4:48 and then ran an excellent half, coming through the finish at 9:51 for a season PR and 1st place medal! Alex rolled hard in his second half but came just short of a PR in this race, running 11:24. Nice job men! Our milers warmed up well and were ready in the fast heat. Once more Michael and Nate Mosley represented the ZeeBees and went out in good form. Prospect took a commanding lead that we couldn't quite crack, but both runners did a nice job of competing. Michael ran 4:41 and Nate was just behind him at 4:44 for scoring positions at 5th and 6th place finishes. Overall it was a challenging meet, and we ended up narrowly taking fourth place (we took 3rd last year), but we did so with a smaller team than we had originally intended. The men did a great job of volunteering to step up when they were needed, and they put themselves outside their comfort zones. This is what will lead to success farther down the road when we hit the outdoor season in the coming weeks! Carthage 3.18.17We stayed close to home this week and traveled up to Carthage for the Lake Michigan Invite. This is a nice indoor facility with a 200m track, and we also traditionally have many fans come up to support us. This meet represented a nice progression in the racing this season as the Bees took advantage of the high level of competition truly showed up to compete.
The 4x800m crew went out well in the second heat. Josh led with a season-best 2:05 split that set things in motion very well, handing off to Tyler who threw down his season-best 2:13. Alex followed with a PR 2:21, followed by Jalan at 2:24. While the overall time was 9:05 and technically a season PR, we were disqualified because our uniform variety did not meet the Wisconsin expectations. No matter the ruling, it was a nicely run race on our part! The milers were up next, because that is the order of things on this side of the border. Michael and Nate Mosley represented us here, both together in the fast heat. They worked well with the pack from the gun, with Michael edging out Nate by the halfway point. He split very consistently and earned a season PR 4:38, with Nate following closely at 4:42! It was great progress from these two runners. Our two-milers ran toward the end of the meet. Collin and Frederick were seeded here, though in separate heats. Collin raced first. From the gun his friendly Waukegan rival took control of the race and distanced himself from the pack; Collin held well and maintained his pacing and very even splits as per our racing strategy. Collin held a consistent second place position for most of the race, rounding the mile at 4:48. A Mundelein runner broke away and took second, and Collin maintained well at third for a season-best 9:52.5 and a third place finish! Freddy went to the line next, intent on breaking 11 for the first time in his life. From his resolve, I knew that this feat was not only possible, but inevitable today. He split the mile at 5:13, then surged through this last to finish with a lifetime PR 10:28 and 5th place in his heat! Congratulations to all the runners and to the many great achievements earned today! This represents nice season progress, and we have one more indoor meet to test our skills before we hit the outdoor tracks! Keep up the good work, Bees! Evanston 3.10.17Our second meet of the year was an old favorite--the Dan Philips Invite at Evanston. With a handful of distance runners we set out for the indoor meet on the 160m track, and ended up having a great night and seeing excellent distance progress.
The 4x800m relay went out in great form. After running 9:23 last week, they competed well in the slower heat for a total time of 9:12 this time around. Freddy tied his PR at 2:12 in an excellent leg, and Michael ran a very strong 2:11. Josh made his racing debut at 2:07 in the anchor leg and Jalan rounded off the pack as the ZeeBees took 6th. It was a nice drop in time from last week! Josh would then enter the open 800 and match his 2:07 with the same time. Collin and Michael represented the team in the 1600 later in the evening. Both looked sharp in the warm-up, and showed up to the track ready to take on the field. They both looked smart as they surged around the track, with Collin taking a second-place spot behind the leading Waukegan runner and working well. Michael managed very well in the pack, and kicked in well in his second half, overtaking Collin in the last meters and pushing them both across the line to nice times. Michael ran 4:44 and Collin 4:45--season bests for both! It was a challenging meet and one that our men rose to work hard in. We were short several teammates due to eligibility and availability, but the distance crew ran hard and is excited to leave the short tracks behind as we head to Carthage next weekend. Niles West 3.3.17We had a great season opener at Niles West at the second annual running of the Ron Campbell Indoor Invitational. This was our first year running on their 160m track, and it allowed for many great opportunities at the freshman, sophomore, and varsity levels. The men performed very well in this first meet!
The F/S 3200m run was first and got off to a great start. Victor aggressively led in his first race until the final laps, and then gamely hung on with a hard kick for a second place medal and 11:29.30 finish--a great start to his Track career! T-Bone worked solidly in the mid-pack range, eventually taking 6th place and running a lifetime PR 11:29.30! The Varsity 3200m later saw success just as great. Collin, back from his long bout of illness, ran a great 10:10.82 and took third, splitting his first mile at 4:57. It was a great comeback. Alex ran very well as our second Varsity man. He took seventh with a PR 11:18.39! It was a lot of laps on the small track, but these runners performed admirably! Our 4x800 ran a solid race, with Jalan leading at 2:26, Tyler rolling well at 2:22, Freddy dropping a negative leg to 2:17, and Michael finishing with a great 2:14 kick. Overall the team took fourth at 9:23.24. The 800s were next, and it was great to see the younger men step up! Charles ran a great 2:51 PR in the freshman race, with Gerardo and Pancho running dual PRs in the sophomore race, 2:36 and 2:29 respectively. The miles at the end of the evening were some of the best season opening races I have seen. Nathan and Jaime raced hard in the freshman race, each earning huge PRs! Nathan took 5th at 5:51 with a very aggressive kick, and Jaime 9th at 6:04! Jason and Avedis raced well together in the sophomore race. Avedis made a great move at the midpoint to sweep to the lead, and this gave him a great edge going in to the final lap. Both worked well in the finish with Avedis narrowly missing a 3rd place medal by a hair (5:12), and Jason taking 5th right behind him (5:16) for twin PRs! The final heat was the varsity, with Michael and Freddy representing the ZeeBees. Both ran incredible races, with Freddy breaking 5 for the first time in his life (4:56) for a 6th place finish! Michael ran very well with the pack, earning a 3rd place medal in his fastest mile of the season, 4:51. It was a great showing on the track, but what was also wonderful was the overwhelming show of support from other teammates. We had many who weren't racing, and many ladies from the team, drive down to cheer on the Bees! Congratulations to all those who ran PRs tonight, and I hope to see this progress continue throughout the season! |
Season Bests4x800m Relay (V)
8:15.84 FAT @Springfield Joshua, Michael, Nate M., Victor 4x800m Relay (F-S) 8:59.79 FAT @Conference Avedis, Victor, Jason, Kevin 800m/Split (V) 1. 1:55.03 FAT Nate @Prospect 2. 2:03 Josh @Springfield 2. 2:03 Michael @Springfield 800m/Split (F-S) 1. 2:10 Victor @Schaumburg 2. 2:11 Avedis @Springfield 3. 2:12 Jason @Conference 3200m (V) 1. 9:34.5 FAT Collin @Conant 2. 10:28.21 FAT Frederick @Carthage 3. 11:18.39 Alex @Niles West 3200m (F-S) 1. 11.28.7 FAT Avesis @Schaumburg 2. 11:29.30 Victor @Niles West 3. 11:35.25 T-Bone @Niles West 1600m (V) 1. 4:30.39 Michael @Conference 2. 4:38 split Collin @Sectionals 3. 4:44.50 FAT Nate M. @Proviso 1600m (F-S) 1. 4:55.30 FAT Avedis @Conant 2. 4:58.57 FAT Jason @Conference 3. 5:16.48 FAT Victor @Schaumburg |
