2016 Race reviews

=PR= Kickoff - Results, photos, video (Milestat) | Gonzaga results

We got off to a good start with a team victory. This was a nice showing considering that several potential scoring runners were not able to race. Conditions were very hot; coach K estimates the heat was worth ~12 seconds relative to last year. Freshmen got things off to a good start as Cullen and Gavin both came up with low sticks. Cullen looked especially competitive in his first race. We did have a big gap to the next group - need to have somebody step up! The sophomore group also looked strong, especially Gavin and David near the front. Both fell off the pace a bit in the second half of the race, but still a good debut. For the juniors, John had a very strong ~1.75, though he fell off a bit at the end. Andy Beckham and Sean Gill had nice first efforts and might be ready to make a run at Eagle Squad level competition. For the seniors, Harry led the way with another great race at this event. He got out-sprinted by the same guy has last year, but only after losing momentum due to a spectator wandering onto the course. Given the low-key level of the race, this was a good first effort for most of the team.

Most Outstanding Performances: (MOPs): Freshmen - Cullen Capuano; Sophomore - Farley and Calogero; Junior - Colucci; Senior - Monroe

Seahawk - Results, photos, video (Milestat) | Gonzaga results with splits

Nice to see another win! Varsity guys ran well in the assigned groups for most of the race. John never really quite paced with Harry but was in good position, although he got stuck in no-mans land a bit towards the end. Travis proved to have the strongest race of the next three guys, while the others drifted back a bit - need to tighten that pack! Can we get a spread of ~45 seconds? Jonathan and Gavin also worked well together throughout the race - good debut varsity effort for both.

In the Varsity B, the top 3 had outstanding races. David and Cullen contended well for top honors (note that the overall winner should have been in the varsity race as he was reportedly his team's top runner). Gavin was not far back and was competing well. We had a very solid group of 6 running together for the next spots. Clearly a lot of guys are ready to step it up to the next level this year, which is great to see!

In the open race, purple singlets were spread liberally throughout the field! Nobody in the front group, but Quinn had a solid race to lead the squad, while Ieardi and Fernandez had nice debut races. This sophomore class may prove to be one of the strongest we have seen.

MOPs: Monroe and Travis (varsity); Capuano and Giannini (Varsity B); Troxell, B Gill, J Allen, and Stackhouse (open race).

Adidas Challenge Results (with 2K splits) | Milestat coverage | Gonzaga results with K splits | Gonzaga results with splits standard format

Some good racing against top level competition will hopefully prepare us for later in the season! Harry got right where he needed to be early, and raced strongly throughout. John was in good position until 4000 and then struggled up the hill; congestion probably played a role. Will and Jack tag-teamed effectively, while Travis never seemed to find them and was stuck further back. David moved up like a rocket in the last mile to grab out #3 spot . . perhaps the top 5 is not as settled as we thought! Cullen started slowly but moved up well and caught Travis at the end, while Gavin and Jon both ran solid races and find themselves roughly where they left off at the end of last season - a good place to be because now we can work up!

Gavin M responded well to the opportunity of racing in the JV - a Friday decision due to illness on the part of Quinn. He got right into the lead pack, and after the 3000 pulled away strongly from the next runner to win by ~30 second. Very impressive. Andy got out strongly and stayed within the top 10 to also compete very well. Conditions were quite a bit warmer and more humid by the time this group raced, so it's hard to compare performances to the 8:00 JV race. Your primary point of comparison should be how you competed in your race. We had a nice pack again for the 3-4-5 spots and a good team finish - 4th place and quite close to 2nd and 3rd.

Most Outstanding Performances: Varsity - Giannini and Monroe; JV - Gavin M, Andy B.

Covenant Life Invite Results | Gonzaga results with splits

Most Outstanding Performances - Ritter and Gormley

Some great racing out there today! Conditions were mostly overcast, mild temps, and hard-packed ground made for fast times. The early races set the tone with lots of PRs, and we continued that way throughout the day. In the Varsity B frosh race, Michael Travis came up big with a medal and a varsity time. Brian Gill played the role in the next race, solidly powering through the race as part of the chase pack. In the jr/sr race we did not have anyone near the front, partly because two teams ran their varsity squads. However Harrington had his best race of the season so far to lead our runners. In the Championship races, we expected 2 guys near the front in each class and three in the senior race. We needed the 3rd man in each race to step up in order to get a good team performance - and you guys delivered. The expected top guys all ran strong races, and we had 1-2 big races in each grade level from the next group. For the freshmen, Cullen mixed it up in the front and stayed close throughout the race for a nice 3rd place. Gavin ran well in the chase pack, while Luke broke through nicely to pick up the 3rd spot. The two Bens also had solid races but struggled a bit. In the sophomore race, David went for it with the leaders in the mile - probably a bit too quick, but it was hopefully a good experience anyway. He ended up in no-man's land which is tough, but still hung on for a solid race. Gavin looked strong all the way through and just squeaked under 17:00. Daniel R had his best race of the season to pick up our 3rd spot, while Joe, Razjae, and Peter also looked strong. In the junior race John floated under the 16:00 mark for the first time with a 5th place finish, just a few clicks behind former teammate Ryan. Travis had a solid race to finish 15th, and Andy ran ahead of projections to secure a low score for the 3rd spot. In the senior race Harry ran our best time of the day at 15:21, hanging with the leaders for a mile before dropping a bit but holding on solo without dropping pace the rest of the way. Will and Jack ran well throughout without fading and looked strong at the end. Quinn also had a very impressive race in the middle of the pack, coming in under 18:00.

Most Outstanding Performances: Varsity B freshmen - Travis; Varsity B soph - Gill; Varsity B jr/sr - Harrington; Freshmen - Francese; Sophomore - Roginski; Junior - Beckham; Senior - McCann and Aitchison

Links to times with splits from RunWashington:

Glory Days Results | Photos | Splits (click on pull-down menu) | Story on RunWashington | Gonzaga results with splits

A good overall day of racing on a muddy course. The freshmen started things out well with a strong 1-2 punch up front. Both Cullen and Gavin looked very strong, with Gavin closing the gap by hanging close throughout the race. Luke raced well as the third guy; the next group got a little strung out. Hopefully we can close those gaps in the next freshman race at WCAC. In the JV race, the overall racing was very good. Hurley looked solid throughout in the chase pack near the leaders, and held on for a medal. Roginski raced very well and nearly caught Jonathan at the end, and Andy also picked up a medal with a tough fight throughout the race. Lots of other good performances down the line - Juan, Mick, Clarke, Cindea, and Fronda among others. Gannon had a nice initial effort. In the varsity race, we manged to earn a team award for the first time in our history of racing here. The top two guys had great races to lead the effort - Harry fought well through the mud and hung close to the leaders, leaning past Lyons from LB at the line. John also looked strong through the end of the race and grabbed a medal. The results were mixed for the rest of the pack, who failed to find each other early on due to the crowded conditions, mud, and sharp turns.

Direct links for splits: Freshmen | JV | Varsity

MOPs - Freshmen - Gavin M; JV - Roginski, Clarke, Fernandez; Varsity - Colucci and Monroe

3rd Battle - Results | Photos | videos | Gonzaga results with splits

A solid overall day with some disappointments sprinkled in. I think in some ways the fast DCXC re-calibrated our performance expectations, so it was harder to get excited about fast races today. And some guys ran slower than last year in spite of being arguably in better shape. But so it goes. In the JV races we did get many great performances and guys continue to get into better shape and learn how to race well. The JV underclass race featured three low-stick races from Gavin M, Daniel R, and Gavin F. There were no team trophies but we were 2nd place. In the upperclass race we had some good times but did not get anyone in the top group before Jonathan and Andy, and then had a decent-size gap to the next set of runners. In the varsity race, we struggled again to get our pack together and some guys floundered a bit in the final mile. We have some time now to re-group before the championship phase of the season.

MOPs - JV underclassmen - Podratsky; JV Upperclassmen - Cajayon; Varsity - Capuano

This was a tough one. Lots of great racing out there today, but to have GC get the better of us for a 4th straight year was challenging. The freshmen started out the day with a great performance, though there was lots of confusion with wrong turns at two different locations. Luke had a very impressive showing after running several hundred meters extra, still coming back to win. He was roughly in 10th with a mile to go. Damond was also running very well before the 2nd wrong turn. In the JV race we turned in a dominant performance. Gavin M had another strong race and pulled away from an experienced senior from GC. The rest of the scoring group also looked good - Farley, Hurley, Roginski, and Beckham. Several other runners turned in great races, including Gormley, Harrington, and Clarke. In the varsity race, we got three great races, but we needed 5. Harry and John ran suburbly in the front, with Harry grabbing the first Gonzaga individual title since Mike Crozier in 2011, and only the 4th since 1996.

MOPs - Varsity - Harry and John; Varsity B - Gavin M and Gavin F; Gormley, Clarke; Freshmen - Luke, Macyko

DC Championship Results: Championship | JV |Gonzaga results with splits | RunWashington article | Washington Post

At long last we come up with a championship victory! The JV guys started things out with an emphatic 15 points. Can't get any better than that . . Gavin and Gavin looked strong in the front, while Hurley moved up well in the middle mile. Andy and Daniel R moved well together to hold the 4-5 spots. Daniel P also had a strong race, fading a bit in the last 1/2 mile. Lots of other strong races too - Juan looked good early; Mick, Joe C, Ben C, Razjae. In the championship race, Harry and John pulled away from the next group before the mile, and lengthened the lead strongly in the next 1/2. Our 3-6 guys had a nice pack for more than a mile, which was great to see. Will and John had the strongest finishes, while David hung on to grab the fifth spot.

MOPs - Championship - Travis, McCann; JV - Calogero, Clarke, Hurley

Jesuit Championship - Results| Gonzaga results

MOPs - Varsity - McCann; JV - Gavin M; Freshmen - M Travis

Nike Regionals - Results | photos and video (Milestat) | all-time best teams at NXNSE (Gonzaga is 12th) | Photos | Videos

MOPs - Varsity - McCann; Open - Francese, Roginski