2012 meet reviews

Coach Ausema’s meet reviews - 2012 | results | main Gonzaga XC page

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2012 video highlights

Great Meadows | results | alternate link for results | Gonzaga results with splits | photos | more photos

A great start to the season today! We have a young group, and one goal was for everyone to have a competative, positive experience to start the season. I think we accomplished that goal - clearly many of you are in good shape from summer training and appear ready for the demands of a long season.

The Varsity A race was populated only by Kevin and Chris. Chris had a sore spot in his hamstring, and thus the two ran together for the first mile - though probably at Chris' pace, not far behind the lead group in under 5:10 for the mile. Both hung on for strong debut performances and PR times. The underclassmen JV race was next, where we had many new-to-XC runners who turned in an outstanding team race. Will Wimbish was at the front of the lead pack for the first half of the race, and stayed close for a solid finish and PR. Paul was in the lead pack the entire way as well, and made a strong bid for first before being outkicked in the last 100. Emerson, Connor, and Jacob were also especially impressive in their first races, while Ryan appears to be in solid form after minimal summer training. The upperclassmen JV group also looked good as well, finishing 4th. David D had an impressive debut, hanging on to the chase pack for a 19:12 - we had three runners in three different races with that time today! In the Varsity B, Michael ran impressively, making a bold move for first mid-way through the race, then hanging on for second when the leader pulled away the the end. Peter ended up in no-mans-land after a strong start, still ending with a solid PR. Stefan and Dan looked to be in solid shape for their first races of the season, and Patrick has clearly made strides since last season (another of the 19:12 group). The 2nd place finish was a nice showing against the Freedom team that had entered their top 7. Overall our times stack up fairly well against last year's race on this course, which was held under similar conditions. Given that this year's group is much younger, there is greater potential for improvement throughout the season, which is a positive sign.

Most Outstanding Performances

• Varsity A: Kevin Pulliam - significant PR, held on in spite of a very fast first mile
• Varsity B: Michael Jarosz - very competative effort - demonstrating the difference between racing and running fast
• JV jr/sr: David Donelly was one of the biggest surprises of the meet
• JV fr/so: We had many strong performances here, but the going for the win earns Paul the award. Runner-up for Will.

Lake Forest results | Gonzaga results with splits | photos | more photos

It's always great to come home with 2 trophies! Lots of excellent overall performances today as well. Many of you ran improved times compared to Great Meadows and/or to the end of last season. Let's keep this moving in a positive direction. In the varsity race, a strong team performance earned us a close 2-point victory. Several of you passed at least one runner in the last half of the race, and that made the difference! Chris had a tough dual with the runner from Charter who knew the course well and used that to his advantage - a strong race nonetheless. And a major PR. Kevin ended up by himself but still ran strong in the last mile and improved on his time from Great Meadows. Michael was in the thick of a competative pack and did not back down, while Peter and Paul stuck together most of the way and moved up nicely in the last mile. Will never really seemed to get into the race. Patrick looked solid and also improved on his time. The JVA squad (runners 8-14, or what we will often call Varsity B) had a great race for a convincing victory - 34 points is almost enough to beat the rest of the teams combined in a dual meet. We had some nice groupings and you worked together well. Jacob had the surprise breakout race with a minute improvement from last time - now you need to work on your kick! Jake had an excellent debut, and David continued his excellent first season. Tom looked a little better than last week. Nice to see Connor and Ryan also get medals for top 15. The JV 3rd team finished 2nd against a very large St. Albans squad. Dylan had a great debut race to grab a medal. Many of you were racing for the first time, so it's hard to get a sense of how your performances stack up. But the only way to go is forward - we want to see the times continually improve!

Most Outstanding Performances

• Varsity: Chris Hoyle - great race to finish 2nd, strong time and PR as well
• JVA: Jake Miller - solid debut performance. Jacob Floam wins "freshman of the week" for a major PR and surprise top Gonzaga finish in the racee
• JV 3rd team: Dylan O'Keefe - a strong debut performance

Lake Braddock Relays results | Gonzaga results with splits | photos

A nice change of pace with these relay meet, though it did reveal some holes in our lineup and need for more training. We finished a solid 8th place in the overall standings - which you can view as either the "back of the first third" or the "top of the middle pack" of teams (are you a "glass half full", or "glass half empty" sort of person?). Times were all over the map, which some people putting in very strong performances and others who clearly were not prepared for the shortness of the race. For the freshman, this is a nice introduction to the distance you will race at Jesuits. The rest of you will need to wait until next year for another crack at this distance.

In the B, C, and D races, our B and C teams were closely matched as we thought they might be, with lots of guys stlll getting in shape or learning how to race. Jake and Stefan were among the stronger Gonzaga runners for the day.

In the A race, we had a strong start, with Kevin racing against the top guys from many of the other schools and turning in a solid time. Michael kept pace quite well, but both Paul and Peter never really seemed to get into the flow of the race and were stuck at a pace more suited to 5000. Chris ran a strong leg, especially the opening mile, and came close to catching a tight back of 4-5 runners.

I will add more comments about the extras race after I see all of the splits.

Most Outstanding Performances (to be updated after I have a chance to review splits)

• A Race - Chris Hoyle had our strongest leg and passed several teams
• B Race - Stefan Weston - time translates to a low 18 range for 5K!
• C Race - Tom Pullano
• D Race - Connor Griffin
• Extras race - Mike Ribich, who also wins "freshman of the week"

Oatlands Invitational | Coach A's review | results + photos and video | Gonzaga results with splits | photos

This race was a good step forward for the team as a whole. Most of us raced competatively and moved forward towards end-of-season goals. The JV underclass race started off the day with a solid front scoring pack that came in 8th place. Connor Griffin continues to run impressive times, and Jacob Floam had another strong race for this group. Will started off strong for the first mile but faded in the second half. Patrick Miskovsky had a strong performance as well (he shows up as O'Donnell in the results"). In the JV upperclassmen race, we had a very nice group of top 4 runners who maintained a 12-second spread. Alex came out on top in his first full 5K of the season, with Tom, Patrick, and David all looking strong at the finish. Dan R got a slow start, then moved up steadily in the second half of the race to become our 5th scorer. Riley was just a few steps behind. In the Varsity B race, Chris ran a nice duel with 1 or 2 challengers, but pulled away convincingly at the end. This was a good experience, I think. Kevin appeared to start out a bit to fast, then crashed and burned. Michael looked very strong, except at the end where he coasted the last few hundred meters and let a couple of guys pass him and just barely held off several more. Gotta work on that finishing kick! Peter also had a strong race. We had a big gap in our scoring after Paul had to drop out and Jake and Stefan, while running solidly, were perhaps indimidated by the large number of runners and did not fill the gap.

Most Outstanding Performances:

• Varsity: Gotta go with Chris for winning the race.
• Upperclassmen JV: Alex Don, runner-up to Riley
• Underclassmen JV: Connor Griffin

Keyser Invitational | results | Gonzaga results with splits | Varsity race photos | JV photos | more photos

A solid step forward today, with lots of fast races. It's good to see that many of you are getting into better shape and racing competatively. As a team, we ran a competative race but we still have some work to do, particularly to avoid fading over the last mile.

In the varsity race, Chris ran a speedy race against some very fast competition. He stuck with the two guys in 5-6 for most of the race, then faded back just slightly during the last 800. Kevin had a stronger start than planned, pulled out by the quick pace. He finished with a solid time, but still needs to work on closing speed. Michael was running competatively with a group and held on for a decent time, but lost some ground to the front of the pack in the last mile. Peter and Paul were in decent position mid-race, but lost quite a bit of ground in the closing mile. Connor continues to race impressively and finished right with Peter, which was outstanding. Tom had a solid varsity debut and appeared to be racing competively as well.

The JV squad ran very well as a team, with a solid pack of 5 scorers and many fast races further back. Jake looked very competative in chasing the front pack and ended with an outstanding performance, while Alex had a strong closing mile again. Stefan led the race during the opening lap, then lost a little ground by making a wrong turn. He still held on for a solid perfomance, particularly considering the turned ankle. Will seems to have bounced back from some earlier tepid performances. Many other fast performances throughout the lineup; Nick Recka, Riley O, and Patrick Penny stand out. Ryan Kiernan seems to be returning to form - his stride looked much more normal. The freshmen are coming along nicely as well.

Most Outstanding Performances: Nick Recka, Jake Miller, Patrick Penny

Glory Days Grill Invitational | results | Gonzaga results with splits | photos

Some strong performances today indicating a solid step forward for many of you. Conditions were ideal for fast times, and we saw PRs fall all over the place - which is a lot of fun! On the varsity side, Chris ran an outstanding race to hang with the lead chase pack. Kevin also ran very strong and finished with a major PR - since I have been head coach I think you are the 6th runner to finish under 16:30 at least once - so you are in elite company. Kevin and Chris both made the cut for "Milestat elites". Michael also had a great race, besting a sophomore Gonzaga record held by some guy named Collin . . . Peter made some strides forward with a solid 17:30 as well. Patrick made a major step up, subbing for varsity at the last minute and running as our #5 - outstanding race. Jake was also competative. Connor managed to finish the race on what was later diagnosed as a leg fracture - quite the effort! What we still need to work on: getting runners 4-5 (or ideally 4-7) closer to #3. There is still a fairly large gap between 4 and 5, and the gap between 3-4 is substantial as well. The Varsity B group competed strongly, with a 30-second gap between the scoring runners. I was hoping for closer to 20 seconds, but this is still an excellent team race. The teams ahead of you were fairly evenly split between true "A" and "B" squads for their teams. St. Albans had 2 runners in the A race. Alex had a strong race in spite of feeling sick, and Tom finished well as our #2. Paul was running well until the last 1200 or so, where he really fell off by 20 or more seconds . . Dan looked very smooth and was not far from the rest of the pack. The JV team had an excellent race, with many PRs. Reilly was especially impressive, as were McKay, Julian, and Pitts. Nice to see Ryan K returning to form as well. The freshmen has a nice first race as a group, though many were quite spread out - next challenge is to see you bunching up in better racing groups. Jacob finished lower in the pecking order than we expected, but the race turned out to be more competitive than any in history, so that's part of the reason. Though 18:17 is far from our school freshman record, it still ranks highly vs. recent freshmen to compete there. Ribich Caldwell also looked good, while King appears to be stagnating a bit - perhaps the knee is still an issue? David D and Jack P also appear to be coming along nicely.

Most Outstanding Performances

• Varsity: Hoyle and Doolin. Special recognition for Connor for running with a broken leg!
• Varsity B: Dan Russell
• JV: Ryan Kiernan, Tommy Pitts
• Freshmen: Caldwell

WCAC Championship | Gonzaga results (no splits) | results | photos | more photos | press report on MoCo Running

What a great day of racing! The freshmen started off the day well with some strong performances, though falling short of the win to a very talented Good Counsel group. Jacob led the race most of the way, and the eventual winner was able to take advantage and wait to kick until the last 600 or so. The next guy was in position to slip into 2nd with a strong finish; Jacob still ended up with an impressive time for a freshmen on this course. Mike and Joe also looked quite good. Philip was at the head of a strong pack; we were close enough to the end of the Good Counsel scoring pack at the cricket fields to go after them, but lost contact sometime in the next mile. In the Varsiity B, we staged a close man-for-man race with Good Counsel. Unfortunately each or our runners was a few seconds behind his counter-part, which made for a close loss. Still we saw many strong performances; Stefan closed strongly to end up as our #1 finisher, while Will and Paul both had excellent times for sophomores. Dan also had a strong finish, while Fernando and Dylan added to the stregnth of the "super soph" group. Tom was in good position half way through, but faded on the 2nd half. McKay, Riley, and Ryan K had strong races as well; David was clearly in pain at the end but toughed it out for a solid race. The varsity race was the highlight of the day. Chris was in the lead pack from the start, and held on to Crilley until perhaps 600m to go. An outstanding effort. Kevin was racing hard with Smith, who was clearly motivated as a senior and had more left at the end. Michael ended up racing along in the 2nd half as expected, though he had a stot at catching the St. John's runner down the stretch. Outstanding races by Peter and Patrick made the difference for us today. Peter had a strong start and was leading the GC pack at the cricket fields. He held on for a strong finish in a higher-than-expected 9th place. Patrick, Jake, and Alex were in position just behind the GC scoring pack heading into the woods, with Patrick trailing just slightly. Over the second half of the race Patrick moved decisively, and with a speedy closing kick he left no doubt about the result - #5 beating #3 is tough to overcome. (and for what it's worth, note that we still win the race if Patrick finishes behind GC #5, 36-40). Alex also had a strong race, coming in just behind GC #6; note that he would be #3 or better for every other school in the race!

Most Outstanding Performances:

• Freshmen: Jacob Floam
• Varsity B: Stefan Weston
• Varsity A: though all of the top 5 had great races, Peter and Patrick get the nod here for MOST outstanding!

State Championships | Gonzaga results with splits | results

A positive overall team performance with a few gaps left us frustratingly just short of our goals. In the varsity race, we had outstanding performances from the top 3. Chris held pace with the lead pack throughout and moved strongly at the end, though two runners had just a bit more left. Kevin and Michael both finished approximately where we expected and looked strong. The next pack started a little more slowly than we had hoped, and did not quite get to where they needed to be by the end. Peter had a rare poor race, and for Patrick and Alex the lack of big-race experience may have played a role. In the JV race, Will and Jacob ran very agressively and came out with outstanding performances, though Will lost contact with the #3 runner by taking the last turn too wide. Paul had his best race since early season. Stefan and Dan appeared off their normal pace. Michael and Joe ran quite well - excellent freshman performances (note for comparison - Michael ran 18:35 last year and Peter 19:42).

Most Outstanding Performances:

• Varsity: Chris Hoyle
• JV: Will, Jacob, Michael R.

Jesuit Championships Gonzaga results (no splits) | results (freshmen listed under "JV")

A solid showing for the final "regular" race of the season - our last race wearing the fabled purple singlets. Freshmen started out the usual "done before it starts" schedule with a strong showing over an unfamiliar distance. Joe started very strongly chasing the leaders; Michael eventually caught up and the two cruised in with times that place them 8th and 9th on our all-time list for the course. Philip lead the way for a solid pack of scorers 3-7, netting us enough points for a 3rd place finish (in case you are wondering, putting Jacob in this race probably gets us 2nd place). The Varsity team had a solid race. Kevin looked very strong, though a McQuaid runner edged in near the fnish. Chris had his only poor race of the season, complaining of some upper leg pain - hopefully temporary. Still looked fairly smooth at the end, though a little strained. Michael looked smooth as usual, and finished about where we projected. Alex led a somewhat-splintered pack as our 4th man, followed by Patrick and a struggling Peter. Jacob got a bit lost in his first varsity performance, but will certainly improve with the next effort. The team finish of 3rd was a little disappointing, but it's easy to see how we could be in close contention - put Chris in his projected 2nd and Patrick or Peter right behind Alex and we get 8 points and knock down the leaders each by 1, which leaves us just one point out of first. Key element to finishing the season on a strong note next week will be keeping the pack together down the stretch. The JV team had the best performance of the day, posting a strong victory. Paul had perhaps his best race of the season, holding on with a chance for the win until the end. The group of Tom, Jake, and Stefan formed a strong chase pack. McKay had his best performance of the season, and David seems to be getting back to form as well. Most of you that ran in the 2.5mile race last year showed significant improvement, some by over a minute.

Most Outstanding Performances

• Varsity: Kevin Pulliam
• JV: Paul Campion, Tom Pullano, McKay Allen
• Freshmen: Mike Ribich and Joe King

Nike SE Regional Championships Gonzaga results | full results | videos and photos

A solid end to the season, though not without a few disappointments. I think in general we accomplished our goal of getting everyone familiar with a top-level competition. Hopefully you will all be ready to jump in to the more competative end of the race next year. The varsity finish of 25th looks pretty good based on pre-meet projections, but there were some missed opportunties. It's easy to see us in 19th or 20th with a stronger overall team race. Chris looked fairly smooth, but struggled again with dead legs and ended up perhaps 20-30 seconds off his projected time. Kevin ran fairly well, but had trouble placing himself in the pack and finished a big further back than projected as well - probably 10-20 seconds. Michael had a fairly strong race, felt like he was moving quickly but finished just a bit back from what we were hoping for as well. Peter had his best race since WCAC and looked strong throughout. Patrick seemed to be a bit "lost" and ended up a bit further back than we hoped as well, while Will never really found his stride. In the Open race, Jacob had a very nice season-ending performance and was the top freshman. Stefan, Tom, and Fernando formed a nice little pack for our next group. It was great to see Tom breaking the 18 barrier. Dan and Jake had solid races to round out our scoring. 12th place finish is quite respectable, and we were close to the next two teams.

Most Outstanding Performances

• Varsity: Peter Sikorsky
• Open: Jacob Floam and Tom Pullano