Varsity highlights
The 2005 Pioneer Cross Country team traveled to Tecumseh Country Club
on a very hot, steamy day to participate in the first SEC Jamboree of
the season. As was the case in 2004, this first Jamboree included
teams from both the Red and White divisions. Although the Varsity
runners fell short of Coach Sleeman's expectations, there were some
noteworthy individual performances.
Once again Senior Captain Peter Christmas led Pioneer with a first
place finish in a blazing fast time of 15:41, crushing the 16:00 mark
for the first time. This is a phenomenal time at this point in the
season, and Pete is quickly establishing himself as one of the top
runners in the state as he wore down a group of outstanding runners
from Dexter, Bedford, and Chelsea with an unrelenting pace.
Fantastic race Peter! Senior Captain Craig Marlatt ran a personal
best time of 16:38 to finish in ninth place and Senior Captain Eric
Anderson finished in tenth with a time of 16:55. All three of these
guys made the All SEC team for this Jamboree.
Making a big statement and running in his first Varsity race Freshman
Dan Culbertson finished in fifteenth place with a time of 17:36.
This is an outstanding time for a freshman this early in the season,
and it appears Dan would be in contention for a Varsity spot this
Saturday at the Holly Invitational. Congratulations Dan! Senior Leo
Callender finished in nineteenth place with a time of 17:42, and
Junior Mac McDonald-Wilkens finished with a time of 17:52 also
running in his first Varsity race. Senior Paul Corbett finished in
twenty eighth with a time of 17:58.
Junior varsity highlights
Was it the beautifully manicured course at the Tecumseh Country Club,
the excitement of the first SEC Jamboree of the season, or the
supportive crowd? It couldn't have been the unseasonably warm
temperatures. Whatever "it" was, it suited the JV squad as they
posted an amazing 18 PRs and took 6 of the top 10 places. Seniors
Will Barden (17:32) and Lang Burghardt (17:34), running a solid and
consistent race, blazed their way to the top two spots. Placing 4th,
Sophomore Taylor DeLuca (17:39) ripped an impressive 45 seconds off
his PR, breaking the 18 minute mark for the first time. Coming off
an injury-prone summer, Sophomore Charlie Cavell served notice that
he was well on his way to the return of last year's brilliance. With
a time of 17:41, Charlie hung onto 5th place in his first completed
race of the season. Rounding out those in the top ten, Senior Mark
Antonuk took 7th place with a season best of 17:55 and Junior Paul
Versluis (17:59) smashed his PR by 58 seconds and placed 8th.
Junior Jamie Fogel (18:11) burst through the 19 minute barrier,
improving on his PR by 1:11. Sophomore Eric Hubbard (18:38)
continues to amaze with his fast ascent up the leader board, taking
another 1:43 off his PR. Junior David Cogswell (18:56), Seniors Lars
Zwaanenburg (18:57), Jon Levinsohn (19:00), David Del Zoppo (19:03),
and Ashwin Rameshbapu (21:31) and Sophomore Jacob Whiten (22:52) all
slashed their PRs. Sophomores Kinshuk Rajan (19:04) and Andrew Copp
(19:50) both reached a significant milestone, breaking 20 minutes,
with hefty improvements on their PRs. Congrats!!
Among the freshman, Neil Keicher (19:11) also broke 20 minutes.
Fantastic job by a freshman this early in the season! David
Wallington (20:59) took an amazing 2:50 minutes off last week's race;
Dan Kellman (22:08) dropped 2:25 from his PR and Chris Cain (23:40)
took off 44 seconds. Great job!
Perhaps the biggest success story of the day was Junior Mark Hanss,
who improved on his last race by 7:15 minutes. You read that right!
Keep up the good work, Mark!