Blog Archives for 2010
WHSXC at State Track
On May 20, 21, and 22 the best track and field athletes in Colorado converged on Jefferson County Stadium to determine who would be crowned 2010 State Champions.
Going into the meet, outsiders had little to no real expectations for Widefield as individual athletes or as a team. When the dust settled, however, Widefield had 8 medalists, a 2 time state champion, and a 5th place team finish for the boy's team.
Of particular note to members of WHSXC are the accomplishments of Boris Berian, our second runner at last year's cross country State Championships. Running the 800 for only the third time all year, Boris held off a hard charge from a pack of runners to win a state title in a school record time of 1:53.43. The next day Boris claimed another state title, winning the 400 in an all-clasification best time of 47.99 seconds.
Check out the exciting articles written about Boris's accomplishments here and here.
Way to go Boris!
Summer Runs
This summer, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting June 1st, the cross country team will meet at the WHS track for summer runs together. We will meet at 7:00am daily and will start running promptly at 7:05. Coach Nelson will be present on the above mentioned days, however, members of the team frequently get together every day to go for a run.
See you in June!
Garden of the Gods Course Marshals Needed!
On Sunday, June 13th, 18 members of WHSXC, parents, and coaches helped as course marshals for the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile race. For our assistance, our team will be awarded a minimum of $600! Thanks to everyone who participated in this event!
Participants were:
Coach Nelson, Coach Kronmiller, Coach Kronmiller, Mr. and Mrs. Powers, Thomas Powers, Marcus Powers, David Powers, Karisa Sabisch, Audra Bergman, Kat Bergman, Staci Bergman, Marisa Walker, Gaby Walker, Nick Leonard, Zack Lyndsey, Clay McComb, and Katie Wimp.
Sailin' Shoes 5/10k
On Saturday, June 19th the Sailin' Shoes Run For Fun took place in downtown Colorado Springs. Several employees and students of Widefield School District participated in this race. Among the highlights were:
Coach Nelson (5k): 19:35, 42nd
Mr. Kronmiller (5k): 23:47, 121st
Coach Henry-Retired WHSXC Head Coach (5k): 29:10
Mrs. Miles (5k): 29:29
Tyler Klopenstine: 51:28, 104th
For full results check out the PPRR Results Page.
2010 XC "Forecasts"
This week Colorado Track XC published a series of cross country "forecasts." These forecasts were put together by a local coach in Colorado Springs who used last year's results along with track results to simulate next year's state meet.
According to his girls forecasts, Audra Bergman is in line to finish in 69th at the State Meet. This performance, combined with improvements from the other members of our girls' team should give the girls a great chance to qualify for State.
On the boys' side, the forecast has WHSXC in line for a 7th place team finish at State next year!
Whether or not either team lives up to, exceeds, or falls short of these forecasts will be determined by what we all do over the next 8 weeks and how we perform during the season. However, the foundation is certainly there for some serious excitement for our team come the end of October!
4th of July 4 Mile
Each of the last several years members of WHSXC have traveled to Palmer Lake for a 4 mile race on the 4th of July. This year the race is happening on the 3rd since the 4th is a Sunday.
In years past we have had some very solid performances and good age-group and overall placers in this race. If you will be around this upcoming weekend, you should consider joining your teammates to run this great race!
For more info, see the race home page.
Kick It Off!
The 2010 Cross Country season is here!
A few important notes:
Labor Day Weekend: We have races on Saturday the 4th and Tuesday the 7th of September. We will also practice on Labor Day. In order to be able to race on the 7th, runners must be at either the meet on the 4th or practice on the 6th!
Team Shoe Night at Colorado Running Company: Wednesday, August 25th at 6:00pm.
Widefield Cross Country Invitational Friday, September 10th, 4:00pm at the Community Center. If you are able to help make this meet run smoothly, please let Coach know!
Coach's Web Site
Have you ever wondered, "What the heck is coach thinking?" Or, "Where does coach get all this stuff?"
Well, now you can see for yourself what and where. I have started a coaching web site with training tips, running ideas, and running philosophies. It is still a work in progress, but feel free to check it out and give feedback!
Practice Saturday, August 28th
We will have practice this Saturday, August 28th, at 8am. Practice should be over between 9:30 and 10:00am.
Labor Day Practice
Practice on Labor Day, September 6th, will take place at 8am at the Widefield track. See you there!
Pre-State Meet
On Saturday, September 4th we will open our racing season at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Pre-State Invitational. The meet will be held at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. Directions and official race info can be found at the Pre-State Meet web page or at the "2010 Schedule" tab above.
Race times will be:
10:30 Boys Varsity
11:00 Girls Varsity
12:30 Boys Open (JV)
12:35 Girls Open (JV)
There are 4 additional races that we will not be running in, so it will be a crowded area and a busy day. Also, forecasts call for highs in the mid to upper 80s. Wear sunscreen and bring water! On the way home the team will stop for food, so please bring money. However, we will not get to eat until close to 2:00 at the earliest, so bring snacks to hold you over until then!
Canon City
Every runner and every team has less than stellar days and performances from time to time.
The true test of what a runner and a team is made of is how they bounce back from such challenges.
At the Canon City Invitational, the Widefield Cross Country teams certainly bounced back from challenging conditions and performances just 3 days earlier.
Led by David Powers' 5th place finish, the boys team kicked the day off with a 2nd place team performance. Luke Wall and Ben Gallogly joined David among the race's top 10 and Robby Giese and Boris Berian finished in the top 20. Caleb Chee got in on the act by running a PR.
In the girls Varsity race Audra Bergman led the way in 10th place, followed by Karisa Sabisch in 19th. Rounding out the top 5 were Danielle Pacheco, Taylor Anderson, and Katie Wimp who all finished within 5 seconds of each other.
In the JV races, 4 of 9 runners ran PRs.
In all, the team recorded 7 PRs and 8 PCRs, including a nice Personal Record time from Alyssia McCullough.
This Friday, September 10th, the Gladiators host their 3rd annual Widefield Cross Country Invitational. Come cheer on your Gladiator harriers as they race at the Widefield Community Center!
This Week's Race Times
Both of our meets this week feature different than normal start times.
On Tuesday the girls Varsity runs first at 3:30. Boys Varsity follows at 4:00. The JV races will be run with a short delay between the two, starting at 4:30.
On Friday Yom Kippur starts at sundown, so race times were moved up an hour from normal out of respect for those observing the High Holy Days. Accordingly, boys Varsity will run first at 3:00, followed by girls Varsity at 3:35, boys JV at 4:10, and girls JV at 4:45.
Also, for those of you attending the meet at Air Academy High School, please be aware the meet is on a military installation and you may be required to show ID, registration, and proof of insurance. Additionally, any vehicle entering the base is subject to search. Recently these requirements have not posed any problems for spectators, but it is better to plan accordingly and be safe rather than sorry!
Husky Invitational
At the Florence Husky Invitational, the weather was hot, but so were the Gladiators!
On the way into town a thermometer read 91 degrees. Fortunately the Widefield Harriers were not intimidated.
The girl's Varsity race kicked the day off and saw lots of good racing. Audra Bergman led the way with a 10th place finish, followed by Karisa Sabisch in 20th and Katie Wimp in 21st with a new PR. Taylor Anderson bounced back nicely from her race at Widefield to finish fouth for the team, followed closely by Danielle Pacheco. The girls pack is certainly solidifying over the past few races. Now it is time to move that pack up in each race! As a team the girls placed 4th out of 15 schools.
The boy's Varsity runners were in the race to win it. Also in the race were last year's 6th place 4A finishers at State in Pueblo West and the defending 3A State Champions in Salida. It promised to be a good race. Luke Wall led the way for the first time this season, finishing 5th overall. David Powers followed Luke with a solid 8th place finish. Boris Berian kicked his way past a few runners into 17th, and Robby Giese rounded out the top 4 in 20th place. The boy's team score of 50 points was good enough edge Salida by one point for 2nd place. Rex Evans ran a PR in the Varsity race.
Not to be outdone, the JV runners got on the line ready to compete. In 4th place with 1000 meters to go, Caleb Chee made a strong move and ended up winning the boy's JV race with a 30 second PR. All 4 JV boys ran Personal Records. The pack of girls JV runners worked together and pushed one another and it paid off with two PRs and a 4th place finish for Bianca Soto, a 7th place finish for Lorren Wall, and a 10th place finish for Gaby Walker.
Way to battle the heat and take down the competition!
Air Academy
The weather remained hot for the Air Academy Kadet Invitational.
Fortunately, many Widefield runners are getting hot to match the weather.
The boys team ran one of their most solid races of the season, finishing 5th out of 20+ teams. Even without everyone clicking and at 100%, the boys results were impressive. David Powers just missed a top 20 finish, Boris Berian had his highest team finish so far this year, and Ben Gallogly and Robby Giese ran well together. Luke Wall gave a valiant effort considering he ran the final 2000 meter barefoot. Caleb Chee continued his hot streak, finishing 6th on the team and running a mere 13 seconds slower than he ran at Florence but on a much harder course. Eli Bruner ran a 1:20 PR and closed the gap on his teammates, putting healthy pressure on runners 6-10.
For the girls the 2-5 pack finished as close as possible, being separated by a mere 5 seconds. Katie Wimp had her highest team finish ever in 2nd, and Alysia McCullough bounced back very nicely from a tough race to reclaim her Varsity spot and run a PCR by 2:49!
New Pictures!
Pictures from the Pre-State meet and home meet are now available for viewing online. Check them out!
If you have any pictures from our meets that you would like to share, feel free to get them to Coach.
Pueblo Central Race Times
The race times for the Pueblo Central Invitational on Saturday, September 25th will be as follows:
8:15 Girls JV
8:30 Boys JV
9:00 Boys Varsity
9:30 Girls Varsity
Moves in the Right Direction
This past week WHSXC competed in the Cougar Classic and Pueblo Central Invitational over the span of 3 days. Over those 3 days the team made major strides towards being where they are capable of being.
The Cougar Classic was a great day of improvement for our 1st year runners, as all 11 rookies ran PRs on the course, many running over a minute faster than their previous best. Despite the great improvements shown by our young runners, the Varsity squads had something of a rude awakening, finishing well back among teams and individuals from our region.
Two days later, the JV runners came into Pueblo riding high from their performances at the Cougar Classic, while the Varsity runners had a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Not to mention the need to keep pace with the momentum generated by the younger runners.
With the JV races first, the rookies again set the tone for the day, setting 4 PRs and 1 PCR.
The Varsity boys followed up the JV performances with solid performances of their own. With the top 4 placing 12, 16, 22, and 26, the boys were in the hunt for a team trophy. In the end, the boys finished 3rd as a team, bringing home team hardware, and recording 2 PRs and 1 additional PCR.
In the Varsity girls race, the girls pack strung itself out a little more than last week, but that only meant that everyone was competing harder and pushing themselves farther than they had all season. Audra Bergman led the way in 19th place, followed by Katie Wimp who kept her hot streak alive by running yet another PR and becoming the 3rd fastest female runner the team has seen in the past 7 years. The 3-5 runners followed Katie with a very solid pack time of 15 seconds.
The Gladiators now settle into a routine of racing on Saturdays, with no meets until next Saturday's TCA Titan Thunder Invitational. This race is at the Fountain Regional Park off of Highway 85/87 in Fountain. Spectator parking is limited, so parents are encouraged to carpool! See you then!
Breakthroughs
One of the most difficult things to deal with as a runner or a coach is the feeling that you are doing everything right but the results aren't yet where they should be. In such circumstances it frequently takes only one race to change one's entire outlook on training, racing, and competing.
The TCA Titan Thunder Invitational may have been just that race.
With breakthrough performances to the tune of 12 PRs, 2 PCRs, and 2 Season Bests, the Gladiators took between 17 and 23 minutes to reestablish themselves as a team to reckon with.
The girls got the day started in style. Audra Bergman led the way in a very strong field, finishing in 43rd place with a time of 20:56, her best time ever and the best time run by a girl for Widefield High School in at least 7 years. After Audra, 4 girls packed together within 18 seconds of each other. Katie Wimp, Karisa Sabisch (PCR), Alysia McCullough (PR, 10th All Time Runners List) and Danielle Pacheco (PR) pushed each other to great times and solid places. Taking advantage of the "Run 9" Varsity format, Gaby Walker also ran a nice PR. With Alysia's addition the current team features 5 of the Top 10 girls WHSXC has seen in the past 7 years.
Not to be outdone, the boys stepped to the start line with more fire and determination than they had shown all season. Going out strong, they competed throughout the race and recorded some impressive times and places. David Powers led the team for the 5th time this season, placing 30th in a packed field with a PR of 17:20. His time puts him at 3rd on the Top 10 Runners list. Luke Wall and Ben Gallogly finished with fractions of a second and no competitors between them, both running right at 17:43. It was a season best for both runners and a PCR for Ben. Close on their heels, Robby Giese dropped 35 seconds off his old PR and established himself as a legitimate Top 50 threat at the State Meet with a time of 17:50. Josh Cooper and Caleb Chee pushed each other to great times, both recording big PRs of 19:19 and 19:24 respectively. And, also taking advantage of the Run 9 format, Rex Evans ran a PR of 20:15 with Eli Bruner right on his heels in his first ever Varsity race. Eli finished at 20:16, keeping his streak of PRs alive. This week Eli will go for PRs #6 and 7.
After the momentum generated by the Varsity, the JV runners could really only do one of two things: build on it or see a let down. With more great competition, the JV runners capitalized on the momentum of the day, the great field, and the perfect conditions to run more great times. Andy Kiarie and Mike Silvis finished with times that were mere seconds off of what Rex and Eli had run in the Varsity races as both ran PRs. In the girls' race, Bre Hilkemeier competed hard after a rough week of practice and came through with an impressive PR as well.
This week most of the Rookie members of WHSXC will race at the Rampart Invitational on Tuesday. Then on Saturday the entire team will travel to Englewood High School to run on the very fast Windjammer Invitational course. Keep the momentum going!
Englewood Windjammer Invitational
Race times for Saturday's meet at Englewood High School will be as follows:
9:00 JV Girls
9:30 JV Boys
10:00 Varsity Girls
10:30 Varsity Boys
We will leave as soon as we can after the meet in order to make it back for as much of the Widefield vs. Mesa Ridge football game as possible. If we receive any individual or team awards we will stay for the presentation of those awards.
Practice Monday
Reminder: Monday's practice will be at 8am. See you there!
"Best Ever"
Using words like "ever" when describing races has major connotations--"ever" covers a lot of time. Fortunately cross country is a sport where the clock tells the reality of one's performance and makes using grand statements more reasonable. Like this:
The girl teams' race at the Englewood Windjammer Cross Country Invitational was the single best team performance of any team Coach Nelson has ever coached.
Such a statement is relatively easy to make when one considers just exactly what happened at the race. Audra Bergman again led the team, running her second best time ever, and adding yet another time next to her name that fills the Top 10 performance list from the past 7 years. Audra continues to set and raise the bar for girls cross country at Widefield.
However, if Audra is raising the bar, the rest of the girls are rising to meet the same level. Before Saturday there had only been one girl in the past 7 years to run a 5k in under 22:00. Now there are 3. Karisa Sabisch became the second when she crossed the finish line in an official time of 21:49--54 seconds faster than her previous season best and 50 seconds faster than her PR from the same course 2 years ago. Finishing right behind Karisa was Katie Wimp. Katie's time of 21:50 makes her the third fastest girl on the Top Ten list and is the 7th fastest time run by a sophomore girl. Katie has truly helped change the entire outlook for this girls' team. Behind Katie Alysia McCullough continued her hot streak, running her 4th PR in a row and taking 29 seconds off her previous best. Alysia's time moved her to 6th on the All Time list and 5th on the Junior Girl's list. Running with Alysia the entire race was Danielle Pacheco. While Alysia had the stronger finishing kick, both girls ran incredible races. Danielle's time of 22:24 was a 24 second PR and puts her at 9th on the All Time list. Not to be outdone by their teammates, Taylor Anderson and Kat Bergman both set new Personal Course Records by 12 seconds and a whopping 1:55, respectively!
With 5 of the top 9 runners competing in this race and all 7 girls running PRs or PCRs, it is easy to see how this race can be called the "best ever."
While the boys did not quite have the breakthrough race the girls had, their results do not lack significance or impressiveness.
The most significant performance of the day went to Boris Berian. While his teammates had known for several weeks what Boris was capable of, his emergence as a sub-18 minute runner and leader for the team adds a whole new dimension to the boy's team. The boys have now been led by 4 different runners on the season and have had 5 boys hit or break the 17:50 mark. To date there are only 4 other teams in all of Colorado 4A cross country that can boast the same thing.
Also of considerable significance was Eli Bruner's sub 20:00 performance in the boy's JV race. Eli led the JV team with a time of 19:57, took 19 seconds off his previous best, and gave a glimpse of what a bright future lies ahead for him. Behind Eli, Mike Silvis shaved 15 seconds from his old PR, closing in on the 20:00 mark with a time of 20:22. And, making the biggest strides of the day, Carl Lee ran an incredible PR of 24:32--2:02 better than his former best!
Not to be overlooked on such an amazing day are the performances from the rest of the boy's Varsity runners. David Powers (:23), Luke Wall (1:03), Ben Gallogly (:03), and Robby Giese (a whopping 2:07) all ran PCRs on the day, while Josh Cooper ran his second consecutive PR, going under 19:20 for the second time. Sub 19 seems right around the corner for Josh.
The remaining 5 runners who have not already been mentioned ran impressive races as well, many running their 2nd best time ever, or having to deal with their own personal difficulties (such as taking a tumble on the course) while managing to record fine performances.
Awaiting the Gladiators now are only the Colorado Springs Metro League Meet and Regional Meet. With league bragging rights and a trip to state on the line, these two meets promise to hold some more "ever"s.
Upcoming Race Times
The complete schedule for Thursday's Regional Meet is below. Our races are in bold. The meet takes place at Monument Valley Park. Come cheer on our team as they go after a berth at the State Meet!
2:00 5A Region 5 Girls
2:30 4A Region 3 Boys
3:00 4A Region 4 Girls
3:30 5A Region 5 Boys
4:00 4A Region 3 Girls
4:30 4A Region 4 Boys
With 3 Regions competing at the same location on the same day, parking will probably be as bad or worse than it is for other meets at Monument Valley Park. Please plan accordingly!
Post-Season Awards Banquet
Our Awards Banquet will be held on Thursday, November 4th from 6-8 pm in the WHS Cafeteria. As in years past, we will be doing a pot-luck and are asking everyone to bring a dish to share. Freshmen and Juniors are asked to bring a main dish, Sophomores are asked to bring salads, and Seniors are asked to bring a desert.
After dinner we will recognize all of the team's achievements and accomplishments from the past season and hand out individual awards. Awards will include: participation awards, letter awards, Most Valuable, Most Inspirational, Most Improved, and Rookie of the Year Awards.
Families are welcome to attend. Please RSVP by the 29th so we can be sure there will be enough food.
See you there!
Happy Holidays!
Enjoy the break and time with your families!