The Ann Arbor Pioneer Cross Country team braved the elements to bring home the regional championship again this year. Fending off close rival Monroe by 16 points, Pioneer secured their place at the State Finals at M.I.S. on November 4^th.

It was rainy, cold and very windy all day, as evident by the large number of broken umbrellas poking out of trash cans. The Varsity (and spectators!) got a lucky break when the rain briefly stopped and the winds died down to only 15 mph just before their race began, but the course was still a wet, muddy mess. Not surprisingly, the times were slow. For example, this year’s individual title went to Monroe’s Cole Sanseverino, in 16:45, a full minute slower than his Regionals time in 2005, and a time which would have earned him only 16^th place at last year’s Regionals.

The top five Pioneer runners all placed in the top twenty, led by Sophomore Dan Culbertson (16:54) who took 3^rd place. Junior Charlie Cavell ran close behind Dan for most of the race, momentarily slipped on the mud in the last 200 meters, then recovered well enough to finish in 8^th place (17:07.8). Senior Paul Versluis (17:08.2) finished less than a half-second behind Charlie to claim 9^th place. Dan, Charlie and Paul were all awarded individual medals. Junior David Cogswell (17:24), has been coming on very strong late in this season, and took home a 17^th place finish. Less than a second distanced Junior Eric Hubbard (17:25) from Cogswell’s finish, fast enough to put him solidly in 19^th place. Seniors Austin Taylor (17:33) and Mike Weisbuch (17:36) rounded out the team, placing 22^nd and 24^th.

It was a great effort by the whole team, and the way this Varsity squad is coming together, with shorter times between our 1^st and 5^th men, bodes well for next week’s final showdown with Pinckney at MIS. Congratulations to the Pioneer varsity team!

Pioneer Varsity Runners

Place	Runner	Time
3^rd	Dan Culbertson	16:54
8^th	Charlie Cavell	17:08
9^th	Paul Versluis	17:08
17^th	David Cogswell	17:24
19^th	Eric Hubbard	17:25
22^nd	Austin Taylor	17:33
24^th	Mike Weisbuch	17:36

Junior Varsity highlights

The JV race combined boys and girls from all divisions, and by the time the race started the short weather reprieve enjoyed during the Varsity race had vanished, replaced by a mixture of rain, sleet and snow, all fiercely driven by west winds nearing 30 mph and falling temperatures. Our 24 Pioneer JV finishers proudly overcame the unpleasant conditions, no easy task.

Senior Captain Jamie Fogel led the Pioneer JV runners, finishing in 3^rd place with a time of 18:18 (Congratulations!), narrowly missing 2^nd place when a competitor charged past just before the finish line. He was followed by in quick succession by Freshman Nick Kern in 4^th place with a time of 18:21, Junior Taylor Deluca in 5^th place with a time of 18:22 and Junior Jon Henrichs in 6^th place with a time of 18:25. Freshman Adam Kern claimed 10^th place with a time of 18:45 to give the Pioneers five of the top ten places. Freshmen Andy Sanz-Guerrero took 15^th in 18:55 and Freshman Nate Karr also landed in the top twenty with this 19^th place finish in a time of 19:07. Great work on an awful day!

By this final race of the day, the sheer number of runners on the wet course had turned several spots into mud – some slippery (like the finish line), some more like mucky goo. No Pioneer experienced this quite so personally as Junior Kinshuck Rajan. The mud claimed one of his shoes, but he persevered to cross the finish line with one bare foot, in 23^rd place, with a time of 19:17.

After missing several meets due to injuries, Sophomore Neil Keicher began his comeback by earning 29^th place, posting his second-fastest time of the season, 19:30, despite the crummy conditions. Senior Jon Voiles (33^rd, 19:36) and Freshman Aaron Trierweiler (36^th, 19:39) also came in under the 20-minute mark.

Sophomore Hayden Spitzley was 61^st with a time of 20:04, and Freshman Jonathan Diep was 63^rd in 20:17 – the only Pioneer to PR today (-6 seconds). Freshman Kevin Chaperon, Junior Dylan North, Sophomore Arthur Huerta (also back after missing several meets due to injuries) and Juniors Sean Beck and Jacob Whiten all finished in under 21 minutes.

This was the last JV race of the 2006 season and we bid farewell to the seniors who ran on the JV squad this year, including Captain Mac McDonald-Wilkins and (occasionally) Captain Jamie Fogel. Your experience and leadership have clearly made an impression on this year’s freshmen. Good luck to all of you!

Pioneer JV runners

Place	Runner	Time
3^rd	Jamie Fogel	18:18
4^th	Nick Kern	18:21
5^th	Taylor Deluca	18:22
6^th	Jon Henrichs	18:25
10^th	Adam Kern	18:45
15th	Andy Sanz-Guerrero	18:55
19^th	Nate Karr	19:07
23^rd	Kinshuk Rajan	19:17
29^th	Neil Keicher	19:30
33^th	Jon Voiles	19:36
36^th	Aaron Trierweiler	19:39
61^st	Hayden Spitzley	20:04
63^rd	Jonathan Diep	20:17	(PR -6)
69^th	Kevin Chaperon	20:26
71^st	Dylan North	20:33
84^th	Arthur Huerta	20:45
88^th	Sean Beck	20:48
92^nd	Jacob Whiten	20:59
102^nd	Caleb Fogel	21:15
109^th	Aaron Kurz	21:27
120^th	Michael Sullivant	21:47
130^th	Ben Aukerman	22:16
155th	Nick LeVeque	23:04
181^st	Nick Theros	24:12

Place	Team	Points
1^st	Pioneer	56
2^nd	Monroe	72
3^rd	Saline	80
4^th	Bedford	115
5^th	Ann Arbor Huron	130