2008 meet reviews

Coach Ausema’s meet reviews | results | main Gonzaga XC page

What an awesome start to the season! I think this was the best TEAM performance I have seen by a group of Gonzaga Eagles since I have been around - starting year #5 now. We had 9 runners finish in under 18:00, and the 7th spot on the varsity was at 17:37 - outstanding. Summer training has paid off . . . let's keep working and who knows how far we can go! Billy Ledder has a nice first race, pacing off the two leaders (the winner is the top returning runner in the entire state of WV, and the 2nd place finisher is among the top 3-4 returners). The rest of the team ran as a nice pack, pairing up just as we had hoped. Mike looks very strong, with all that mileage paying off. Devin also looked particularly strong. Billy Lewis packed it up nicely with Mike, Will with Devin, and Ben and Kevin at the rear of the pack -- a 29 second spread for #2-7. In the JV, Connor looked very good leading early on, and Fran was also very strong . . you guys will need to refine strategy and work on your kicks, but the guy who won the race should have been in the varsity. Several other JV guys looked good, including Colin, Will, JP, Matt Kent, and Espo.

Most Outstanding Performances (MOP) for this meet:

It's tempting to select the entire Varsity squad, but I will give the nod to Ledder, Kerrigan, and Devin.
JV race - Connor and Fran

Drastically different conditions from our first meet, but similar results! JV looked dominant, running in steady rain with little wind and relatively good course conditions (compared to the deterioration later in the day). Our first pack was outstanding, and I was impressed that you stayed together for more than 2 miles. Colin continues to impress, and had enough left to seal his first win. Connor and Fran looked strong right behind him. Nick and Kevin also looked very good, but did not have quite enough to stay with the leaders in the last half mile. The next pack also looked very solid. Will moved up nicely during the middle of the race, and was around 6th with ~1200 to go, but a few guys with faster finishing speed moved past him. Pat and Anthony looked solid in their first efforts of the year as well - our sophomore class is looking very strong. Ryan(s) Creamer and McGlynn also had strong races. I am excited to see how well our JV is racing - you will have some chances to compete for team and individual honors at many of our other meets.

Varsity had another big day, "cementing" our position as the team to beat in the WCAC. Billy had a great race, and hopefully continues to learn about race strategy -- no shame in losing out to an experienced runner like Patterson under these circumstances. As coach Krolman pointed out, pulling away from the Gaithersburg runners was an impressive feat. The off-season mileage is paying off for Mike, as he had another strong race and finished in front of the 1st Good Counsel runner. Will looked better than last week, and Billy had an excellent surge during the middle mile which helped propel him to a strong finish. Our 5-7 runners looked solid, but not spectacular. In order to shore up our team performance, I would like to see #5 much closer to #4. Who is ready to step up??

MOP award: Varsity - Ledder, Kerrigan, and Fleury JV - Leibold, Ryan, and Creamer

Lake Forest | Gonzaga results | full results | photos from Creamers | story at Delaware Online

Another very strong performance today! We overcame the heat and humidity quite well. Varsity set the tone with a solid pack. Billy looked strong, although he faded a bit in the end -- still only 14 seconds from the leader though. Billy Lewis and Will looked very strong and came in just behind #4 and 5 from Oakton -- move up just a bit and we would have 3 ahead of their 4th! Mike was solid but not quite as impressive as the last two weeks, while Ben did a nice job of leading the 5-7 pack through to the line - and just barely held off Kevin. JV was very impressive, with another solid top-5 pack finishing in a 25 second spread. My rough calculation is that if we score you in the varsity races you would win the small schools (ahead of perennial Delaware powerhouse Archmere and Georgetown Prep) and finish 5th in the large schools race. Our pack was stronger than #4 St. Marks, but their top guy finished 2nd overall. Colin had the wheels at the end again, with Fran close behind. Nick did a nice job of working to stay with the pack. In the JV B, Jack and Anthony both had strong races to pace our squad to a #2 finish behind a solid Oakton pack. It was good to see the freshmen and other first-timers going hard in the race . . Thomas had a very strong opening mile and hung on for a decent time. Mike Crozier and Henry Meyerson also had good first races.

MOP Award: Will Fleury, Billy Lewis, Colin Leibold, Nick Howell.

A tough day for some of you, but another strong performance overall for the team. Varsity A had a good showing in spite of really only getting three strong performances . . what can we do if everyone runs well? Good Counsel was not far behind, and with 4 in front of our 3rd, broke up our pack quite effectively. Billy had a nice race against the 2nd pack finishing fast down the stretch. Will looked good, and Ben was outstanding. Billy was solid but missed opportunities to surge, and Mike looked a bit flat. Kevin struggled with dehydration, and Devin was running strong until he took a fall in the woods. In the Varsity B, Colin had an outstanding race and a particularly strong finish. Fran also looked very strong. Nick led the pack early and still was able to close well in spite of being held up a bit by a cold, and Kevin had his best race of the year so far. JV runners did quite well. Underclassmen were mostly still learning how to race. A solid core of sophomores had a good pack, with Anthony leading the way. Crozier and Fergus were the top freshmen again. The upperclassmen JV were paced by a strong effort by Will Meyerson. Jack started well but faded, and Cyrus had his best race of the season, overcoming leg issues noticed during warmup.

MOP Award: Colin Leibold, Ben Zeiss; from JV - Meyerson, Kent, Holland

Mercersburg Invitational | Gonzaga results | Full results | Photos

Another strong performance by the men in purple! Varsity had a great team effort to pull out a close win over St. Albans - 5th man was key. We do continue to "lose out" in head-to-head competition on our 2-3-4 runners (vs. St. Albans in this meet as well as vs. Good Counsel last time) so that's a major point to work on. Billy Ledder pulled away convincingly during the second mile and cruised to a victory with a solid 16:21. The time will make the all-time list for the invitational, as reported in the program we received (Matt Chandler's 16:30 from 2005 is the only other Gonzaga performance on the list). Billy Lewis and Will both ran very strong, although both lost a little in the last mile. Ben, Colin, and Devin had a very nice pack through the middle mile; Devin was wiped out and fell back at the end, but Colin and Ben had strong finishes to cap out the win. Fran also performed well in his first varsity effort. It is striking to compare our results to last year at this meet -- although we finished in 2nd place (based on a 6th-runner tie-breaker over Potomac), our first time was a 17:26, followed by 17:30, 17:38, 17:56, and 18:04. So most of this year's varsity beat our first runner from last year, and this was with two varsity runners taking a break today. In the JV race, we had a dominant performance by the front pack. Connor stayed close to the leader from St. Albans, but unfortunately he pulled away at the end. Nick looked solid, and Kevin and JP both had the best races so far this year (PR's for both, I think?). Pat looked stronger than last week. Ryan Creamer, Mike Crozier, and Michael Kelly also looked strong. Mike Dempsey ran his best race of the season, as did Liam McLaughlin. I know we had a number of PR's today . . . coach Krolman could look some of them up for me, but here are the ones I am certain of: Ledder (tied his best time), Leibold, Zeiss, Shannon (also beat his brother's PR), Crozier, Fergus. I think Billy Lewis, Dempsey, Ryan Creamer, and Greene were at least close to PR's. Jesse also came close to sneaking under 30 -- a PR as well?

MOP award: Billy Ledder, Billy Lewis, Kevin Greene, Ryan Creamer, Mike Dempsey, Liam

Glory Days/Bull Run Invitational | Gonzaga Results | Full Results (+ videos and photos) | Photos

Another outstanding team performance today!! A very large number of PRs . . I think 6 out of 7 for varsity, at least 4 in varsity B, a bunch of JV, and most of the freshmen. Looking at the races in order . . the freshmen had a strong showing with 12th place out of 33 complete teams (and an additional 16 incomplete teams). Mike and Thomas continue to look very good (and continue our tradition of 2 freshmen competing for top honors each year - last year was Dattoli and Lewis, the year before it was Fleury and Greene). The rest of the freshmen continues to see big drops in time, especially for Sean and Adam.

The JV team had a very solid race, competing against the "2nd 7" from many teams as well as the "3rd 7" from a few others like ours. Anthony had his best race of the season to finish in 10th, and Cyrus, Mike and Geoff also looked very strong. Sean Kerrigan has been running very well in practice and it showed up in the race, and Michael Kelly also looked good. Lopatka, Spires, and Cajayon also had good races.

The Varsity B squad had a great race, finishing ahead of all but 2 JV squads in the race (Potomac Falls and TJ). Nick lead the way for the pack early and looked very strong, while Fran moved up and had a nice finish. Pat and Kevin also had very good races. Connor's hip was acting up, so hopefully he can rest a bit and have a chance to heal before WCAC. Devin had a very strong first half of the race but unfortunately faded for the second half.

The varsity A had an outstanding team race. Billy Ledder had the first sub-16 time for a Gonzaga runner in . . . at least 5 years, probably more. Will and Billy both hung tough throughout the race, finishing strong without fading. Ben and Colin did a nice job of working together and almost made the magical 17:00 barrier, while Kevin bounced back in his first race post-collapse for a big PR. Mike was looking solid at 2 miles, just 15-20 meters behind Kevin, but faded in the last mile.

MOP award: In Varsity A, I am tempted to give the nod to all 6 guys who set PRs, but I think special recognition goes to B. Lewis and Will. In Varsity B, Nick and Pat get the nod. For JV, Dattoli, Dempsey and Malloy were the most impressive. For the freshmen, Mike get credit for leading the pack, and both Sean and Adam get credit for major PRs of 2-3 minutes.

Prep Classic | Full Results | Photos | Gonzaga results | with splits

The freshmen team is coming together, and had a very nice race. Crozier looked very strong chasing the front pack, and Fergus was not far behind. Nick Lindsay also had an outstanding race. You will have a strong challenge in chasing the Good Counsel pack on Saturday. I think our pack 3-3-5 pack also looked strong, and the next group (6-7-8) also did a great job of working together.

The varsity team ran a very nice pack race in this unusual situation. Without our normal frontrunners, and lacking the usual "ramped up" feeling of a more important competition, we still turned in very nice performances. Billy did a lot of the work to lead the group, and ran a very strong first 2 miles. Colin's kick continues to impress, and he was flying at the end. Mike and Kevin looked smooth, and Fran ran a great middle mile to catch the pack after a slower start. Pat also had a solid race in his first varsity experience.

The JV performance was outstanding! Between injuries and resting some runners, we were missing 4 guys who would normally be expected to score, and still managed to edge St. Albans. Devin ran a courageous race and learned how difficult it is to win from the front. Tony had his best race of the year and looked strong throughout. We had a nice pack early on with Dempsey, Roberts, Creamer, and Molloy; everyone had a solid finish but Dempsey and Molloy had the strongest closing mile. It looked like Sam's leg might have been bothering him a bit but he held on for a good finish. Michael Kelly also ran very well after being "pressed into service" at the last minute. Kevin Greene and JP both ran an excellent first 2 miles near the front, and although both faded a bit still hung on for solid times.

MOP Award: Freshmen - Mike Crozier; Varsity - Fran Lewis; JV - Tony Dattoli

WCAC Championships | Photos | Results | WaPo article | Meet summary

A great TEAM performance today! You guys ran your hearts out . . great work. The hard work from the season is paying off. The freshmen started things out on a good note by running a strong, aggressive race. I think that you had a better team finish than in some years when we have won the freshmen race, but Good Counsel's freshmen squad is one of the best I have ever seen. No shame in losing to them. Mike and Thomas both made an aggressive surge going into the woods after the cricket field - that's the sort of running that it takes to win! Mike look great coming down the stretch too. Brenden had a good race and nearly chased down his brother who runs for St. John's, while Nick was not far behind. As with last year, we are a little weaker on the 5th spot - let's see if we can shore that up for the Jesuit championships!

The Varsity B team had a dominating performance as we predicted. Top 10 finishers all Eagles is even better than I anticipated . . . and as to the other challenge we laid out for you, I calculate we would have beaten Paul VI to take 4th place if we ran as a separate team in the Varsity race. JP felt great early and took a lead from the very solid pack, as 8 Eagles led the way across the cricket field. Fran surged in the woods and pulled away, while Pat and Nick both looked very strong at the campground and coming into the finish. Mike Dempsey and Cyrus both finished strong to pass a GC runner and round out the top 10.

Conditions deteriorated significantly by the time we got to the Varsity race. But we fought through the rain, mud, and very strong challenge from GC to notch the win. Billy was a decent position behind a very strong Puffet on the Cricket Field, but fell and lost contact in the woods. Hopefully the Ag Farm course will be more to Billy's advantage. Our pack looked very strong as usual. . . Billy Lewis led the way, and Colin had a fast closing kick to pass the #4 GC runner. The team effort made the difference, as our 5-6-7 were quick a ways in front of GC's.

MOP Awards: Freshmen - Crozier and Fergus; Varsity B - Flaherty and Lewis; Varsity A - Leibold and Billy Lewis.

Maryland/DC Private Schools State Championship | Photos | Results | Gonzaga results with splits

Another strong team performance today on the whole. It's hard to see that because several key runners had an off day in both the varsity and JV races - but those were balanced by lots of great races. In the JV race, Fran made an aggressive move to the front before the mile mark and did not look back. It's very tough to win from the front like that, and he showed a lot of toughness to hang on. Devin and JP were strong throughout most of the race, mixing it up with the front CH group. Mike Crozier and Anthony also had outstanding races. Pat looked solid, although not quite as strong as at WCAC; Nick, KG, and Connor struggled with various ailments. We also saw some good fast races from Nick Lindsay, Michael Kelly, Matt Espo, Adam Gauthier, and Jesse Gauthier, who solidly broke the 30:00 barrier (check the photos link for a great shot of Jesse at the finish line).

In the varsity race, it's easy to dwell on Billy's first bad race (a week out sick will do that to anyone - I give him courage points for not complaining and gutting out a respectable time under those circumstances. I had to drop out of a race once in college when I was sick, so I know what it's like), but the rest of the varsity ran very well. Billy Lewis looked particularly strong, although he lost a few spots in the last mile. Ben and Colin also ran very well, and Will helped round out the scorers although he finished below his projected spot. Kevin also had a strong race.

MOP Awards: It was a good day for the Lewis family -- Billy and Fran both get the nod.

Jesuit Championship | Photos | Results | Gonzaga results

A solid, if not outstanding, performance in some tough conditions. It's hard to get a handle on the overall race, because everything happens so quickly and I was not able to see much of the race. The freshmen looked strong, with times matching up nicely against what we have posted in previous years. Tom and Mike were especially impressive in the front, and we had a solid pack with Nick, Brenden, and Henry. The varsity ran generally well, although not quite as strong as at the state meet as a pack. Will had an outstanding race, and Billy Ledder felt good for half the race but appears to still need some recovery time. The rest of teh pack was solid but could have run a bit better. The JV had a dominant performance, with most team members running quite well. Devin closed strongly to pick up his first win, and Fran, Tony, and Nick also looked speedy coming down the stretch.

MOP Awards: Freshmen - Fergus; Varsity - Fleury; JV - D.Kelly

Nike Regional Championships | Results | Photos

An excellent first trip to the regional meet. I thought we performed very well as a team. A few guys did not have a strong race, but we still managed to finish close to Calvert Hall. Billy was back in strong form, running with the very large chase pack. Lots of great competition. Mike looked good leading the rest of our pack - we had 5 guys in 16 seconds! Kevin had a great finish, easily his best race of the season and almost breaking the 17:00 barrier. Colin also had a strong finish, while Billy demonstrated the effects of taking a week off. The open/frosh/soph guys ran great, with Fran leading the way. Devin had another strong race to close out the season, and it was great to see KG and Connor running strong -- both with solid PRs. Will also had an outstanding race, with a huge PR. Crozier and Dattoli also looked very strong. Let's pick up that momentum and carry it into next year! Who is ready to compete for the open varsity spots??

MOP Awards: Kevin Creamer, Connor Ryan, Kevin Greene, Will Meyerson

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