Varsity highlights

Last meet it was injuries. This time it was illness - and injuries. Takashi and Lang were both home sick - and Morty dropped out around the two mile mark due to knee pain again, which left Pioneer dead in the middle of the pack - 15th out of 31 teams - in an elite meet that included arch regional rivals Huron and Saline, which were both able to run all their best runners as they finished 4th and 5th, respectively. Disappointing does not begin to describe it, because IF (there's that word again) our top five guys are healthy, we can run with both those teams. But IF they're not, a mediocre performance is all we're able to muster.

The team's performance, however, shouldn't diminish some great individual efforts among those who were able to run at full strength. First and foremost was Jeff Hubbard, who has been a stalwart - and most consistent (the only one to have run in every Varsity race) - performer all year long. Jeff ran a tremendous race, finishing 7th overall with a PR time of 15:55 and becoming the second Pioneer runner to break the 16:00 barrier and now owns the team's fastest time not only of this season but of many seasons. Hiro Totsuka also ran an excellent race with a 16 second PR of 17:28, and Andrew Lyjack (17:39) bettered his previous best by 7 seconds.

Johannes Widmalm hung tough and finished second for Pioneer in 17:06, equaling his PR, but he needs to stop flirting with the 17 minute barrier and fall below it and then some for this team to go as far as it is capable. Sam Milgrom (17:59) and Eric Anderson (18:03), who were both out sick on Thursday and were still suffering from some of the effects of the crud that Lang and Takashi (and Coach Sanborn!) were struggling with on Saturday, finished 5th and 6th.

Three weeks left until the Regional meet, which allows plenty of time to get well. But it's also time for the captains, team members, coaches, and parents to all come together and support one another in a joint effort to finish this season on the high note that is still well within this team's reach

Varsity team results

Team                    Points
1. Middletown (Oh)        92      
2. Rockford              131  
3. Huntington N. (Ind)   156 
4. Huron                 157
5. Saline                170
...
15. Pioneer              415

Pioneer varsity runners

Name                  Place     Time 
Hubbard, Jeff            7      15:55 PR! (-16)
Widmalm, Johannes       68      17:06
Totsuka, Hiro           97      17:28 PR! (-16)
Lyjak, Andrew          111      17:39 PR! (-7)
Milgrom, Sam           132      17:59
Anderson, Eric        (138)     18:03

Last JV race Eric Anderson and Craig Marlatt put on a show, but with Eric running Varsity, Craig was left alone in the spotlight and he ran a wonderful race, finishing 8th overall in a very fast JV field with a 23 second PR of 17:32. Behind him, Ben Bross vaulted to the head of the freshman class in 18:18 and 53rd place - a 29 second improvement over his previous best.

The JV corps was also a bit depleted by illness and injury; ten team members didn't run at this meet. But of the 23 Pioneer JV entrants, a whopping 19 ran PRs, and a number of barriers were broken. Ahmed Chaudry (20:40) broke the 21 minute barrier for the first time, and Dale White (19:26), Dan Zhang (19:37), and Miles Atwell (19:56) all joined the 19 minute club. Jeff Nao (18:43), Tyler Vane (18:50), and Nick Ochal (18:54) all got below 19 minutes for the first time.

So the overall team continues to improve, and among other notable performances, David Hanss (21:07) recorded the largest improvement with a 1:45 PR, followed by Tommy Held (22:50), with an improvement of 1:42. Also making massive improvements were David Del Zoppo (56 seconds), Miles Atwell (56), Yan Charniauski (49), Dale White (45), Dan Zhang (41), and Dan Mullin (40).

Last Name     First     Time
Marlatt       Craig     17:32 PR! (-23)
Bross         Ben       18:18 PR! (-29)
Corbett       Paul      18:39
Nao           Jeff      18:43 PR! (-33)
Vane          Tyler     18:50 PR! (-32)
Ochal         Nick      18:54 PR! (-14)
Voiles        Jon       19:05
White         Dale      19;26 PR! (-45)
Zhang         Dan       19;37 PR! (-41)
Weaver        Wes       19:50 PR! (-7)
Atwell        Miles     19:56 PR! (-56)
Zwaanburg     Lars      20:02 PR! (-20)
Fogel         Jamie     20:07 PR! (-15)  
Stapleton     Joe       20:18
Holmes        Jake      20:20 PR! (-23)
Boonin        John      20:28
Chaudry       Ahmed     20:40 PR! (-04)
Hanss         David     21:07 PR! (-1:45)
Strader       Jon       21:18 PR! (-23)
Mullin        Dan       21:28 PR! (-40)
Del Zoppo     David     22:30 PR! (-1:42)
Held          Tommy     22:50 PR! (-18)
Chamiauski    Yan       22:55 PR! (-49)

Final notes

Next up is the Gabriel Richard Invitational at nearby Hudson Mills. This is another large event featuring a traditionally tough field, and rumor has it that Coach Sleeman has entered both an "A" and a "B" team in the Varsity race, which should give some of the hard-working and improving younger runners an opportunity to get a feel for the increased intensity and faster pace of a Varsity race. This is also the final tune-up before the decisive SEC Jamboree #3 - followed by the Regional Meet on Saturday, October 25. It's time to start ramping up and preparing to peak for the season's stretch run. Good luck to all!

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