Varsity highlights

Though injuries got the better of the Varsity squad at this meet - Johannes was a race time scratch with a tender groin and Morty complained of a stiff knee just before the gun went off - the team was still able to close the gap on reigning champion Saline. Saline's Dustin Voss took off early and forged a sizable lead that he maintained throughout, finishing first by 20 seconds in a near course record 15:54. But Takashi Gould (16:14) and Jeff Hubbard (16:20) once again ran very strong races, running mostly side by side throughout and easily finishing in 2nd and 3rd place, with Morty gutting it out and finishing in 6th in 16:54. Lang Burkhardt returned to form, finishing in 9th place in a speedy 17:20 - just six seconds off his PR on a soft course featuring the steep "Big Bertha" that does not easily yield fast times. We can play the IF game all we'd like, but IF Johannes was able to run and Morty was at full strength, well, that's something to look forward to at Jamboree #3.

Sam Milgrom filled in at the last minute for Johannes and stepped up big time, breaking the 18 minute barrier and finishing 17th to complete the scoring in 17:56 - the only Varsity runner to post a PR. Andrew Lyjack and Hiro Totsuka finished not too far behind in 18:01 and 18:07, respectively.

Varsity team results

Team                  Points                    
1.Saline                32
2.AA Pioneer            37
3.Bedford               57
4.Adrian               119

Pioneer varsity runners

Last Name                   Place               Time 
Gould, Takashi                2                 16:14
Hubbard, Jeff                 3                 16:20
Stensones-Fornaess, Morty     6                 16:54
Burghardt, Lang               9                 17:20
Milgrom, Sam                 17                 17:56 PR! (-11)
Lyjak, Andrew                18                 18:01  
Totsuka, Hiro                19                 18:07  

Junior varsity highlights

Eric Anderson (18:03) and Craig Marlatt (18:06) not only finished 1-2 in another race the JV appeared to have won, but they did so easily, putting on a show in the process. Though part of a pack that included a number of Saline runners and a couple of Bedford competitors at the one mile mark, at the end of two miles the pair was a good 15 to 20 seconds ahead of the rest and they continued to feed off each other to the end, with Eric out-kicking Craig down the stretch. With the JV a bit depleted due to injuries as well - including on-lookers Mark Antonuk (ankle) and Paul Corbett (Achilles), both of whom came on strong last meet with substantial PRs - three of the next four finishers were strong-running freshman (Austin Taylor (18:42), Ben Bross (18:58), and Nick Ochal (19:08, a 15 second PR). Satish Mohan, continuing his attempt to recover from season-long injuries, placed fifth for Pioneer and 16th overall in 19:05.

Other notable performances included PRs by Jeff Nao (19:16) Tyler Vane (19:22), Dale White (20:11), Lars Zwaanburg (20:20), Ahmed Chaudry (21:04), David Del Zoppo (23:26), and Tommy Held (24:32).

Finally, it should be noted that poor Dan Mullin's 27:07 isn't nearly as bad as it looks. As if it's not difficult enough to go up and down the notorious "Big Bertha" not once but twice, Dan evidently enjoyed the experience so much that he found himself going back for a third try. That's a character builder, Dan, so congratulations - even if your sense of direction may leave something to be desired.

Last Name     First     Place       Time
Anderson      Eric        1         18:03
Marlatt       Craig       2         18:06
Taylor        Austin      8         18:42
Bross         Ben        13         18:58
Mohan         Satish     16         19:05
Ochal         Nick       19         19:08 PR! (-15)
Nao           Jeff       20         19:16 PR! (-18)
Vane          Tyler      22         19:22 PR!(-11)
Voiles        Jon        23         19:32
Weaver        Wes        36         20:08
White         Dale       37         20:11  PR! (-02)
Zwaanburg     Lars       39         20:20  PR! (-20)
Fogel         Jamie      43         20:33  
Stapleton     Joe        45         20:49
Zhang         Dan        47         20:51
Chaudry       Ahmed      51         21:04  PR! (-04)
Boonin        John       52         21:06
Johnson       Greg       53         21:07
Holmes        Jake       54         21:08
Atwell        Miles	 55         21:21
Strader       Jon        57         22:55
Hanss         David      58         23:04
Del Zoppo     David	 62         23:26  PR! (-8)
Chamiauski    Yan        66         24:20
Held          Tommy      67         24:32  PR! (-18)
Mullin        Dan        73         27:07

Final notes

Next up is the Portage Invitational, near Kalamazoo. This is a large and festive event, replete with live music, food, and other distractions. It's a fast course, and spectator-friendly, so here's hoping the current Saturday afternoon weather forecast (calling for mostly sunny skies and mid-50s temperatures) holds true, and much fun is had by all!

PR! - new personal record, refers to all-time PR, not just the best time of the season