Week of Monday, September 29, 2014

Week of Monday, September 29, 2014

For many of you we are entering count-down mode.  Here’s a look at the big picture of what’s left.

This week ends with the Legends meet

Next week ends with a time trial on Saturday

The week after that has senior night, districts, and the last JV meet wrapped around the following Monday.

This means 3 weeks remain for the majority of the team.  As some of you may recall this is what we will call our “perfect 3 weeks”.  A time when we go the extra mile to avoid junk food, hydrate better, and get some quality sleep.  The little things add up!

We had an encouraging meet at Gilmour, but there is a lot of improvement to do!  Keep you focus as we enter these final perfect 3 weeks!!!

WARNING!!          The metroparks are now going to pave the valley parkway starting Monday at Detroit Road and heading south.  They did not say at what rate they will be moving forward.  We will have to be flexible with our planning.

Monday, Sept 29 – at South Mastick.  Done by 5:20.  Mileage with fast last mile for time.

Tuesday, Sept 30 – at South Mastick.  Done by 5:10.  Less mileage recovery day.

Wednesday, Oct 1 – at Memorial field.  Done by 5:30.  1600, 2 x 800, 4 x 400

Thursday, Oct 2 – at SJA…typical Thursday??? J done by 4:45

Friday, Oct 3 – no school, but have to have normal practice time.  Mastick 3:30-5:00

Saturday, Oct 4 – Legends Invite.  Bus leaves at 8:45.

Sunday, Oct 5 – on your own!

Gilmour Invitational wrap-up

Gilmour Review

Last Friday the Jaguar cross country team went to the Gilmour Invitational with big goals and did not come home disappointed.  The Jags finished 2^nd in the 12 team field losing a close battle to state-ranked North Royalton.  Sophomore Maggie Wagner dominated the race from the first step to earn her first high school invitational victory.  Freshman Sydney Seymour equally impressed finishing 3^rd overall in the race and beating some great competition.  The rest of the Jags came across the line in close succession Olivia Battistoni (’17) 17^th, Mallory Fahey (’15) 21^st, Katie Butterfield (’16) 23^rd, Lauren Marconi (’15) 25^th, and Emily Conway (’18) 27^th.

The JV team faired even better scoring a paultry 23 points to win the 11 team field.  The team had 7 runners in the top 10 places and 11 of the top 20 runners in the race.  Highlighting the effort was second year senior Victoria Bonca who won a JV race for the second week in a row.  This week she was victorious over freshman teammate Claudia Becker.

Next week the team travels to Trumbull County for the Legends Invitational then they have a weekend off before hosting senior night and entering the post-season.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Week of Sept 22

This is the time of year that I always warn parents and students about.  School is in full swing, running/training is starting to catching up with us, and as the weather change hits more flu-like illnesses start to attack as our immune systems are breaking down.

Parents – please continue to enforce reasonable hours of studying, etc…Athletes take care of yourselves!  Sleep, hydrate, and eat properly to keep your energy levels up.  Half the battle of succeeding at the end of the season is being HEALTHY enough TO SUCCEED. 

Also, keep good shoes on your feet.  The expense now certainly outweighs being injured and frustrated later.

Week of September 22, 2014

Monday, Sept 22 – practice at Mastick done by 5:20 – mileage day

Tuesday, Sept 23 – practice at Memorial done by 5:20 – repeat miles

Wednesday, Sept 24 – early dismissal day (2:00pm)…captain’s practice.  Done by 3:40 for non-runners and 4:10 for runners.  Normal group 3 mile run then normal rotation of weight room, barefoot drills, hurdle mobility, and ab ball

Thursday, Sept 25 – goal setting in room 331 first, then go to mastick for pre-meet run.  Done around 5:00pm.  Team dinner AT SJA DINING HALL – email to come Tuesday.

Friday, Sept 26 – meet at Gilmour

I do not have the time schedule available at this moment, but the bus will probably leave at 2:30.

I think we can run 9 in the varsity…if that is the case we will run group that ran Miami plus Farris and Hyland.

JV will run after that.

Saturday, Sept 27 – captains practice at Mastick (simple mileage day) plus pancakes after!  All, including injured (err…the chefs!) are asked to come.  Find your electric griddle and get it ready for Saturday!

Sunday, Sept 28 – off, sleep in and relax all day.

Split squads - a tale of two cities

This weekend the SJA cross country team sent their varsity squad to Miami University to compete in the RedHawk invitational while the rest of the squad stayed near home for the McDonough invite in Cleveland Hts.  While the crew in Oxford had perfect running conditions, the team back home had to deal with soft, rainy conditions for much of the day.

In Oxford the Jags finished 2nd place only to Mason, the 4th ranked team in Ohio.  All 7 runners ran PRs (personal records) and for the first time in school history, Joes had 2 girls break 19:00 in the same race.  Sophomore Maggie Wagner moved to #2 on the all-time school list with her 2nd place 18:46 effort while freshman Sydney Seymour became #4 all-time with her 3rd place 18:59 run.  Sophomore Olivia Battistoni is just off the all-time top 20 list with her time of 20:09.  The rest of the Jags were: seniors Mallory Fahey and Lauren Marconi (18th and 22nd, 20:31 and 20:35 respectively), junior Katie Butterfield 25th (20:41), and freshman Emily Conway in 30th (21:05).

SJA's second varsity finished 7th of 14 teams against some outstanding competition at the McDonough Invitational hosted by VASJ at Forest Hills Park.  Sophomore Mary Hyland led the way for the Jags and was followed to the line by senior Victoria Bonca, senior Anna Farris, sophomore Alana Vovk, and senior Clare Fibbi.  The reserve squad finished a narrow second place and was paced by freshman Ceci Wagner, who finished 2nd overall in the race.

Many of the JV runner will compete Tuesday at Open Door Academy then the whole team travels to Tri-C west's campus for the Valley Forge Invitational next Saturday.

Week of Mon Sept 15

All…please read this carefully because the schedule is goofy this week and there are some important issues to clarify.

Injuries are a part of every sport.  We do everything, especially this season, to help prevent injuries, but nonetheless they crop up.  I hate them and I feel terrible for any injured athlete.  It is not uncommon for new runners in particular to get knicked up because the repetitive motion of running puts a chronic stress on the bones, tendons, and muscles.  After a season or two the body adapts and becomes resistant to most injuries (as long as the running mechanics are sound).

What do we do to help prevent injuries?

1.    All runners get a day off each week, and all new runners get 2 days off.

2.    We lift weights, do hip mobility, and do lots of core to strengthen the body.

3.    We stay on soft surfaces a lot…some of the girls have not been on sidewalks yet!

4.    We tailor mileages and workouts to the experience of the runner – we do not treat new runners like 4^th year seniors.

5.    We are one of the lowest mileage teams in the area, if not state, for the results we get.  Nobody has been over 35 miles in one week.

What can you (parents and athletes) do?

1.    Keep good, real running shoes on the runner’s feet.

2.    Get plenty of sleep

3.    Eat a balanced diet that allows for proper recovery

4.    stretch/cool down properly (don’t take short-cuts when coaches aren’t looking)

As soon as an injury is suspected:

1.    Tell the coach and tell the trainer (do not keep it to yourself)

2.    If it is serious enough to cause pain when standing, sleeping, walking, etc…then please schedule a doctor’s appt ASAP.

Regardless of health status EVERY MEMBER OF THE TEAM ATTENDS EVERY MEET – YOU DO NOT STAY HOME.  You are part of the team and you will support the team accordingly.  This is true for every team of every sport, and not just us. 

Lastly, I am a firm believer that if you are healthy enough to do a workout, then you’re healthy enough to run in the race, and the reverse is true as well…don’t expect to race if you can’t practice.

This week

Monday, Sept 15

Split squad

Top 16 travel on bus for long run at towpath – return to SJA 6:00pm

(this is Miami squad, Hyland, Bonca, Pellegrino, Vovk, Fibbi, Farris, Baker, McGuire, and Becker)

Rest of team is racing at Open Door Tuesday, so they stay at SJA for Pre-meet 3 mile run with Coach McHenry on the grass field behind SJA. – This group done by 5:00

Tuesday, Sept 16

Full team travels to Open door…non-racers have 4 mile run on the course

5:30 – varsity race: Stuart, C. Wagner, Walsh, Stalder, Grove, Saul, Kanary

6:15 – open race: with boys so be aware!!!

7:15 – awards

8:15 – return to SJA (meet the teacher night)

Wednesday, Sept 17

Practice at Mastick – done by 5:15

Thursday, Sept 18

Standard cross train day – done by 4:45

Friday, Sept 19

Pre-meet day at Mastick – done by 5:00

Saturday, Sept 20

Valley Forge Invite at Tri-C west

8:30 – bus leaves SJA

10:30 – varsity….M. Wagner with Conway, Seymour with Farris, Battistoni with Hyland, Marconi

11:40 – open…Fahey with Bonca, and rest of team

Sunday, Sept 21

Off…cross train, abs, stretch on own

Reminder that next week is a Friday meet, so the workout day is Tuesday, Sept 23^rd for appt and work purposes.  Also, the captains will be hosting a team breakfast run on Saturday the morning after Gilmour.

Week of September 8, 2014

Week of Monday, September 8, 2014

Hi Gang…this week is as standard of a week as we’ll have.  Wednesday is an early dismissal day for the students (not for Coach Kieser) so that is an exception.  Next Sunday is the Heroe’s Run, a road race hosted at SJA that our team works for service hours.  It is not mandatory for our girls to work, but they often do to get a few hours of service. 

Stay healthy, keep good shoes on your feet, eat right at school, sleep right at home, ice bucket if you need to ice bucket…do the little things as the middle of the season approaches and aches and pains become apparent.

Monday, Sept 8 – practice at Mastick, done at 5:15…AT run day.

Tuesday, Sept 9 – practice at Mastick, done at 5:15 …mileage run

Wednesday, Sept 10 – early dismissal…get your studies in right after school until practice time.  Leave for Memorial field at 3:15 and begin warm-up at 3:30.  done at 5:30.  Repeat 800/700/600 day.

Thursday, Sept 11 – standard cross training day at SJA…done at 4:30

Friday, Sept 12 – Miami Invite group leaves SJA at noon…make arrangements with your teachers!

JV squad practice at Mastick – 3:45-5:00.  Team dinner???

Saturday, Sept 13 – Miami Invite and McDonough Invite

Sunday, Sept 14 – no running, but you can volunteer at Heroe’s Run….7:45-10:45 (estimated finish time).

SJA steps up at Tiffin Carnival

This past Saturday the Jaguars traveled to the largest meet in Ohio to face the best at the Tiffin Carnival.  It was a successful day as all 3 Jaguar teams placed well and every single girl on the team ran either a personal record or season's best time.
The day started with the Varsity B finishing 6th out of 31 teams, most of whom were other school's A team.  This group was led by sophomore Katie Butterfield (17th overall) and freshman Emily Conway (24th) out of 213 finishers.  Claudia Becker ('18), Corinne Baker ('16) and Alana Vovk ('17) rounded out the top 5 scorers.
The Varsity A team battled next against many of the top ranked teams in the state and finished 11th of 37 teams.  The 1-2 punch of sophomore Maggie Wagner (19:04 for 14th) and freshman Sydney Seymour (19:13 for 19th) set up the big day for the Jags.  Olivia Battistoni ('17) ran nearly a 2 minute PR to be the next runner across the line.  Seniors Lauren Marconi and Mallory Fahey rounded out the scoring also running season best times in the field of 254 runners.
Last but not least was the open race, in which SJA finish 8th of 33 teams.  Mary Hyland ('17) ran strong to finish 16th place out of 546 runners!  Senior Clare Fibbi had her best race of the year to finish 33rd overall.  Caitlyn Walsh ('18), Bridget Stuart ('15), and Ceci Wagner ('18) finished close behind to wrap up the top 5 scorers.
The Jags split their squad next weekend with the varsity 7 traveling to Oxford, Ohio for the Miami University Invite and the rest of the team going to VASJ's McDonough Invitational at Forest Hills Park in Cleveland Hts.

Top Competition at Hilliard

The cross country team traveled to Hilliard Davidson's Hot Summer Bash last Saturday and ran against some of the best teams in the state.  While the temperatures lived up to the meet's name, the competition did as well with 5 of the top 23 teams in Ohio squaring off.  While coming close, the Jags finished in 6th place just behind those teams.
For the second week in a row the team was led by the 1-2 punch of sophomore Maggie Wagner and freshman Sydney Seymour.  Both girls finished under 20:00 for the first time this season and were 5th and 6th overall.  Seymour's time moves her into 18th on the all-time SJA list and the 5th fastest freshman ever after just two races.  Running a PR and scoring as the 3rd runner for SJA was senior Anna Farris.  Bridget McGuire ('16), Lauren Marconi ('15) and Mallory Fahey ('15) brought in the rest of the varsity scoring for SJA.
In the open race, the Jags showed off their depth again by dominating for the second week in a row with 7 runners finishing in the top 13 overall.  First to the line was freshman Emily Conway followed by; Claudia Becker ('18) in 5th, Katie Butterfield ('16) in 6th, Corinne Baker ('16) in 7th, Alana Vock ('17) in 8th, Victoria Bonca ('15) in 9th, and Katie Pellegrino ('17) in 13th.
Next week the team travels to the Tiffin Carnival to compete in the largest cross country meet in Ohio.