When I sat down one year ago to type after the Orange County Cross CountryChampionships, I stated, amongst other tidbits, that seventh place...running93.16, was "not good enough."Actually, I borrowed that quote from one of the varsity athletes, who echoedthose sentiments. One year later, here we are, Orange County VarsitySweepstakes Team Champions, and the Frosh-Soph and Novice did likewise. Themeet organizer estimated(2.82 miles yesterday, conversion to three miles)our team time would have been 89.08, adding eighty seconds per runner, a4.08 improvement over last year, which would be the second fastest(justahead of Corona Del Mar-89.22-2006) ever in the thirty year history of theevent, alas, we will never know for sure. I am CERTAIN we would have bested the third fastest team time(Fountain Valley-90.39-2006).Individually...converting times...we ran 17.21(Kristin Arkin), 17.45(MakennaSmith), 17.48(Sabrina Rathor), 17.56(Ximena Cruz), and 18.18(Lori Hoffman).Last year, we ran 18.14, 18.15, 18.52, 18.53, and 19.02. Moreover, ourfrosh-soph, utilizing conversion, ran 18.39(Kristyn Summers), 18.40(DanielleBrabender), 18.54(Kamilah Foley), 19.04(Jessica Varela), and 19.18(AmandaSummers)...94.35...a 5.01 improvement over our 99.36 last year. KristinArkin...third fastest senior---Sabrina Rathor...third fastestjunior---Ximena Cruz...fourth fastest junior---and Makenna Smith...secondfastest sophomore in Orange County, garnered accolades for their efforts.Congratulations. Our fastest freshman was Danielle Brabender...again,18.40...and she is making rapid strides through this program from week toweek. The size of our team and the time schedule yesterday, not to mention ouraccomplishments and the subsequent interviews from Dyestat.cal and theOrange County Register, made it impossible to devote much individualattention after the races. Perusing the results, there were numerousoutstanding efforts...too many to list. I will be chatting with many of theindividuals who ran Saturday and recognize each of their accomplishments.This is one of the negatives of coaching a large team, sometimes it isimpossible to devote the amount of time desired the day of the race to theathletes given my responsibilities...Heck, I barely made the start of thejunior varsity race...losing track of time while talking to a reporter(Ihope that does not sound pompous, it is not meant to be...). Nevertheless,our program effort, not just the winning efforts, on Saturday, wasexemplary, and that is a testament to the amount of effort your daughter hasdevoted to this sport. Our attention now shifts to the Mt. San Antonio College(Walnut) Invitationalon Saturday, October 20, the largest high school cross country meet in thenation. Our top thirty athletes have practiced on the course three timesthus far, and if it wasn't for the P.S.A.T. make-up this Wednesday, we wouldhave practiced at Mt. S.A.C. on Wednesday, instead, we will be at R.S.M.Lake for mile repeats. One mile into the course, the girls will encounter a331 meter hill, known as the "Switchback," and later will be met by twoother tough hills. This is also the site of C.I.F. competition, and FootLocker West will hold their regional competition on the famed Mt. S.A.C.terrain, which ultimately crowns a national individual champion. I ran Mt.S.A.C. numerous times in high school, remember it well, and I look forwardto the girls testing their wares on this renowned course. Our varsity hasentered the Sweepstakes Race, which will include Saugus High School, ranked#1 in the state, and second in the nation, plus other elite teams inCalifornia, such as Torrey Pines High School from San Diego. Our decision toenter the Varsity Sweepstakes Race is a change in philosophy from previousseasons, where we "low-keyed" Mt. S.A.C. and ran all of the girls in gradelevel races, forgoing varsity competition. Coach Mama Clemons and myself,given our performances at C.I.F. Finals the last two seasons, believe achange was necessary, and we look forward to the opportunity for our girls.Also, Mt. S.A.C. will feature a State Team Champion Junior Varsity race,whereby all teams entered in the Sweepstakes Race will run their next sevengirls in a junior varsity race that will crown an unofficial State JuniorVarsity Team Champion...We look forward to that race, also. Many of you took the time to either email, phone, or personally congratulatemyself or Coach Mama Clemons for our team accomplishments at O.C. Champs.Thank you...Also, a heartfelt thank you to Jeanette Murillo for helping toorganize our team barbecue at O.C. Champs. It was a resounding success, andknowing Jeanette for a few years now, I am not surprised. I attended afamily wedding on Saturday, as well as my girlfriend's twenty year reunionthat evening, and needless to say, I was sort of floating the entireafternoon, and late into the evening. The cruel reality of this sport;however, is we are only as good as our previous workout...Take care ofpractice today, results will transpire tomorrow. My focus now is to motivatethe girls to practice efficiently on Monday, and beyond, because that is thefoundation on race day. Am I happy...rather, ecstatic, for the girls and theprogram, absolutely...Are Coach Mama Clemons and myselfsatisfied...NO...because there is always room for improvement. We push on,and I look forward to the rest of the journey. Trabuco Hills High School Girls' Cross Country-Orange County VarsitySweepstakes, Frosh-Soph, Novice Team Champions...Thank you for yoursupport...
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
OC Champs
When I sat down one year ago to type after the Orange County Cross CountryChampionships, I stated, amongst other tidbits, that seventh place...running93.16, was "not good enough."Actually, I borrowed that quote from one of the varsity athletes, who echoedthose sentiments. One year later, here we are, Orange County VarsitySweepstakes Team Champions, and the Frosh-Soph and Novice did likewise. Themeet organizer estimated(2.82 miles yesterday, conversion to three miles)our team time would have been 89.08, adding eighty seconds per runner, a4.08 improvement over last year, which would be the second fastest(justahead of Corona Del Mar-89.22-2006) ever in the thirty year history of theevent, alas, we will never know for sure. I am CERTAIN we would have bested the third fastest team time(Fountain Valley-90.39-2006).Individually...converting times...we ran 17.21(Kristin Arkin), 17.45(MakennaSmith), 17.48(Sabrina Rathor), 17.56(Ximena Cruz), and 18.18(Lori Hoffman).Last year, we ran 18.14, 18.15, 18.52, 18.53, and 19.02. Moreover, ourfrosh-soph, utilizing conversion, ran 18.39(Kristyn Summers), 18.40(DanielleBrabender), 18.54(Kamilah Foley), 19.04(Jessica Varela), and 19.18(AmandaSummers)...94.35...a 5.01 improvement over our 99.36 last year. KristinArkin...third fastest senior---Sabrina Rathor...third fastestjunior---Ximena Cruz...fourth fastest junior---and Makenna Smith...secondfastest sophomore in Orange County, garnered accolades for their efforts.Congratulations. Our fastest freshman was Danielle Brabender...again,18.40...and she is making rapid strides through this program from week toweek. The size of our team and the time schedule yesterday, not to mention ouraccomplishments and the subsequent interviews from Dyestat.cal and theOrange County Register, made it impossible to devote much individualattention after the races. Perusing the results, there were numerousoutstanding efforts...too many to list. I will be chatting with many of theindividuals who ran Saturday and recognize each of their accomplishments.This is one of the negatives of coaching a large team, sometimes it isimpossible to devote the amount of time desired the day of the race to theathletes given my responsibilities...Heck, I barely made the start of thejunior varsity race...losing track of time while talking to a reporter(Ihope that does not sound pompous, it is not meant to be...). Nevertheless,our program effort, not just the winning efforts, on Saturday, wasexemplary, and that is a testament to the amount of effort your daughter hasdevoted to this sport. Our attention now shifts to the Mt. San Antonio College(Walnut) Invitationalon Saturday, October 20, the largest high school cross country meet in thenation. Our top thirty athletes have practiced on the course three timesthus far, and if it wasn't for the P.S.A.T. make-up this Wednesday, we wouldhave practiced at Mt. S.A.C. on Wednesday, instead, we will be at R.S.M.Lake for mile repeats. One mile into the course, the girls will encounter a331 meter hill, known as the "Switchback," and later will be met by twoother tough hills. This is also the site of C.I.F. competition, and FootLocker West will hold their regional competition on the famed Mt. S.A.C.terrain, which ultimately crowns a national individual champion. I ran Mt.S.A.C. numerous times in high school, remember it well, and I look forwardto the girls testing their wares on this renowned course. Our varsity hasentered the Sweepstakes Race, which will include Saugus High School, ranked#1 in the state, and second in the nation, plus other elite teams inCalifornia, such as Torrey Pines High School from San Diego. Our decision toenter the Varsity Sweepstakes Race is a change in philosophy from previousseasons, where we "low-keyed" Mt. S.A.C. and ran all of the girls in gradelevel races, forgoing varsity competition. Coach Mama Clemons and myself,given our performances at C.I.F. Finals the last two seasons, believe achange was necessary, and we look forward to the opportunity for our girls.Also, Mt. S.A.C. will feature a State Team Champion Junior Varsity race,whereby all teams entered in the Sweepstakes Race will run their next sevengirls in a junior varsity race that will crown an unofficial State JuniorVarsity Team Champion...We look forward to that race, also. Many of you took the time to either email, phone, or personally congratulatemyself or Coach Mama Clemons for our team accomplishments at O.C. Champs.Thank you...Also, a heartfelt thank you to Jeanette Murillo for helping toorganize our team barbecue at O.C. Champs. It was a resounding success, andknowing Jeanette for a few years now, I am not surprised. I attended afamily wedding on Saturday, as well as my girlfriend's twenty year reunionthat evening, and needless to say, I was sort of floating the entireafternoon, and late into the evening. The cruel reality of this sport;however, is we are only as good as our previous workout...Take care ofpractice today, results will transpire tomorrow. My focus now is to motivatethe girls to practice efficiently on Monday, and beyond, because that is thefoundation on race day. Am I happy...rather, ecstatic, for the girls and theprogram, absolutely...Are Coach Mama Clemons and myselfsatisfied...NO...because there is always room for improvement. We push on,and I look forward to the rest of the journey. Trabuco Hills High School Girls' Cross Country-Orange County VarsitySweepstakes, Frosh-Soph, Novice Team Champions...Thank you for yoursupport...
