"Gosh, your girls are so nice." This was a comment stated to me by the
United Airlines stewardess on the plane flight home. Funny, just before
that, Coach Mama Clemons and myself were commenting to each other on the exact same sentiments. We were both chatting to each other on the airplane ride home, and one of the subjects was how well behaved our girls are, and their overall decorum: airplane rides, van rides, hotel, restaurants, race site, social activities, how exemplary it was. Oh sure, there were moments of hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The captains made a decision to have a 6:45A.M. breakfast time for all of us Saturday morning, then go back to the rooms to dress for the race and an 8:15 departure...rather than meet dressed at 7:45(extra hour of sleep), eat breakfast, and leave. This was greeted by more than one terse comment from various team members early that morning...However, all in all, the girls co-existed well, we raced well, and it was a positive experience for all. Again, we raced well...very well. Our varsity sweepstake's team placed
third...roughly two and one-half minutes behind Mountain Brook, Alabama...ranked #21 in the country. Davis, Utah, finished second. Our grouping was phenomenal, the girls competed their hearts out...and we improved as a team. Our #2 team won Varsity Division 1...easily, defeating Mountain Brook #2 who finished second, and received a nice Nike banner and trophy to boot. This team also competed mightily, the grouping was also outstanding, and the girls received commendations from the officials at the meet, including Bob Firman himself. Our #3 team finished fourth, missing third by five points in Varsity Division 2, a change of plans from running junior varsity, and handled the competition more than satisfactorily for
their first-ever varsity experience. The girls were understandably nervous upon hearing of the change; however, all rallied and rose to the occasion. Kudos to top twenty finishers: Lindsay Enright, Whitney Wiles, Emilie No, Kamilah Foley, Meredith Suman, Kasie Dorr, and Sarah Daily...who all were
handed Nike backpacks for their efforts. Again, a positive experience...A true cross country course, replete with
various terrain...grass, gravel, dirt, concrete...hill and dale...weather
was truly Idaho...cloudy, misty...a different vibe. We knew no one...the
competition was tough...of course after running against Saugus two weeks in
a row nothing phases us...and the girls rose to the occasion. The team was
told that this was a business trip, a chance to better themselves
individually and collectively...and all in all we accomplished this. Now
it's on to Sea View League cluster on October 4, no race this week...and a
chance for our varsity to race Foothill...who defeated us at Woodbridge,
they're ranked ahead of us in Orange County, and are the #1 ranked team in
C.I.F. Division 2, and Woodbridge. We look forward to the competition.
Parents, thank you for your support of this trip, we plan on taking
twenty-one girls again next year...if you were there you' d know why, and
Coach Mama Clemons and myself look forward to the rest of the season.
A big thank you to all of the parents who stayed last night to support ourtwo varsity teams who ran at 7:20, and in the Sweepstake's Race at 9:15. Our#2 varsity team finished third(ran 92.40, thirty-five seconds slower thanlast year's #1 team) to Fountain Valley#1 and Saugus#2(top ranked in thestate, #3 in the nation), and our Varsity #1 team finished sixth(89.48,averaging under eighteen minutes per girl) in the Sweepsake's Race, wherethe second through sixth place teams were within forty-six seconds of eachother. Makenna Smith(10)-17.41(19.07 last year), SabrinaRathor(11)-17.44(18.30), Lori Hoffman(11)-17.53(18.39), KristinArkin(12)-18.05(19.25), and Hayley Niles(11)-18.25(19.31) combined for aforty-four second gap, while Rachel Moore(12) continued her rapid ascentthrough this program, running 18.29(20.19). Our #2 team witnessed XimenaCruz(11) run 18.09(20.11 last year), Whitney Wiles(12), in her first raceafter a long rehab, ran 18.23, Emilie No(10), in her FIRST YEAR of crosscountry ran 18.29, Kamilah Foley(10) ran 18.42(21.37-a 2.55 improvement from2006, WOW!), and Meredith Suman(12)-18.57(19.55), all post solid efforts. Asyou can see, and echoing my comments after last year's season, thecompetition for the seven varsity spots is fierce...six seconds separatedour numbers six through nine girls(Wiles, H.Niles, Moore, No) last night,and I expect this to continue the entire season.
The junior varsity race saw Kristine Andersen(11) run 20.08, verycommendable after an extended rehab, and Rebecca Murillo(11) run 20.27, asolid PR in her first year of cross country. The second place sophomore teamcombined Brittany Hernandez running 19.47(22.00 in 2006), KatelynLockwood-19.55, her first solid effort of the season, Amanda Lee-20.00, abig PR, Justine Rea-20.01 in her FIRST YEAR of cross country, and AmandaSummers-20.12(21.04) to a more than respectable finish. The second placefreshmen team were led by Dani Brabender-19.36, Sarah Daily-19.42, ShelbyNiles-19.43, Jessica Lee-20.49, and Taryn Davis-20.54, kudos on theircollective efforts, and our NOVICE team was led by AmberMosier(9)-23.18(Previous PR 27.12), and Karina Nurmberg(9)-23.19.
There were other notable occurrences...Kristyn Summers(10)-19.30(20.24 in2006), Kasie Dorr(10)-20.21(20.59), Sarah Brewer(10)-20.26(21.59), andKatrina Otto(10)-21.52(23.38) all enjoyed noticeable improvements. JessicaVarela(10) fell during the varsity race, sustained a nasty abrasion near herknee, got up, finished, and ran a respectable 19.16. Coach Mama Clemons andmyself are proud of not only the above-mentioned accolades, but our entireprogram's accomplishments last night as well. We ran well, the girls lookedlike winners, and the program conducted itself with class. We did not justrun in the Sweepstake's Race(our FIRST in the program' history), we made astatement in the process. We belong, and we plan on staying; however, ourtask is far from finished. Foothill, a Sea View League rival, benefittingfrom a key senior transfer(#2 runner), and her freshman sister(#3 runner)from Corona del Mar, defeated us last night. We meet on October 4. Seventeams qualify for State, and five(Saugus, Esperanza, Redlands, MurrietaValley, and Fountain Valley) all defeated us last night; although, otherthan Saugus, we were on the radar of the rest of the teams. My number onepriority as of this moment is Monday's workout, I will let future resultstake care of themselves, and it's now on to Boise, Idaho, and Dana Point.Again, thank you for your support last night, I look forward to the rest ofthe season, and GO BLUE!!!
I love number crunching...Here I go...
---32 competed at our last Seaside Invitational(2005), 71 in 2007. Our
team(top five girls) time in 2005 was 98.34, 92.55 yesterday, a 5.39
improvement. 92.55 is the seventh fastest team time in the history of the
twenty-five year Seaside Invitational...The team that defeated us yesterday,
Saugus(89.51), is the top ranked team in the state, and top five nationally.
So, so many girls ran well yesterday, I do not no where to start...so I
won't. 1 broke 19 minutes in 2005...5 in 2007, 3 eclipsed 20...11 in 2007, 7
under 21...22 in 2007, 15 under 22...31 in 2007...Coach Mama Clemons and
myself are proud of our accomplishments. Like Coach Clemons told the team
this morning..."I was proud to be your coach yesterday. We ran well, you
looked good, and you conducted yourself as you should." I echo those
sentiments. If you are curious of our top ten individual performances...go
to www.dyestatcal.com...
---A nice workout this morning...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, or a 5 mile run...recovery
pace, and the athletes ran well. 7:00A.M. for virtually the entire
team...5:30A.M. for Makenna Smith...and again, a solid workout this morning
considering the day we endured, and I mean endured, yesterday. Parents,
thank you for your support of this morning's workout...very, very few
unexcused absences...
---20 girls have been notified of earning a trip to Boise, ID. for the
September 22 Bob Firman Invitational. The last spot will be awarded to
either Sarah Brewer, Katelyn Lockwood, Rebecca Murillo, or Shelby Niles.
Good luck to all at Woodbridge.
---All of the athletes are expected to stay for the Varsity Sweepstake's
Race at the Woodbridge Invitational on Saturday, September 15...the race
will begin around 9:00P.M. The rest of the girls will race around
4:30-6:30P.M. Please support this. All parents are encouraged to transport
their daughter home from Woodbridge High School.
---Seven girls have earned the privelege to represent our program in the
Woodbridge Varsity Sweepstake's Race through a series of evaluations,
including Intra-Squad Race, Idyllwild 2X800 Relay, Idyllwild Race, and
Seaside. The seven will be announced to the entire team after practice on
Monday.
---Sweepstake's Race...Sweepstake's Attitude...Sweepstake's Mentality...
"Gosh, your girls are so nice." This was a comment stated to me by the
