Holy Family Cross-Country 2011

 

First Practice Meet- September 18, 2011

 

This was a great day for the first meet ever for Holy Family Cross-Country; it was even better than the first meet ever for St Basil Cross-Country. Four years ago, we had Chloe as a minor, and two other girls (minor and cadet), and two boys (both cadets). Back then, the only age division to have more than 100 kids running on one day was the sub novices. All the other age divisions (Novice, Minor, and Cadet) would have about 60-90 kids on a given day. As you can see from the results, Philadelphia CYO Cross-Country has skyrocketed in the past three years with almost 200 minor boys and well over 100 in the other races. So it is definitely a completely different environment you guys experienced than when Basil first started, and judging from the finishes, you guys did phenomenal! I cannot stress enough how much of a shock the first cross-country race is for anyone trying it the first time and I was very impressed with all five of you. Great Job!!

 

Novice Boys (Record Holder: Matt McGroary 15:11 on 09/18/11)

	09/18	09/25	10/02	10/09	10/23	10/30 (Champs)
Matt McGroary
Lap #1	7:38
Finish	15:11
	52/141

Awesome job Matt! This was a great race for you. Just like I told you, you kept a good conservative pace the first lap, and you turned it on climbing Flagpole Hill the second time. You must have passed about 30 kids in that second lap. Now that you have your first race under your belt, the next time I want to see your first lap split a little faster, maybe 7 minutes flat, and I want to see your final time to be around 14:30. I know you can do it!

 

Minor Boys (Record Holder: Christian Schaaf 12:59 on 09/18/11)

	09/18	09/25	10/02	10/09	10/23	10/30 (Champs)
Christian Schaaf
Into woods	2:06
Out of woods	9:51
Finish	12:59
	21/191
Matt Pires
Into woods	2:20
Out of woods	10:35
Finish	13:59
	51/191

Absolutely phenomenal you two! The minor boys and girls are typically the largest race of the day next to the subnovices, but now it is nearing 200 kids, and the fact that both of you placed in the top 25% is really special. Last year Sean McGinnis placed 4^th in the whole archdiocese and he did that by entering the wood under 2 minutes, and coming out in less than 9 minutes. That is the goals I have for you Christian, along with Xavier. From that getting your final time under 12 minutes should fall into place and your overall finish should be in the top 15. If you can do that, you should be able to medal at champs on 10/30. For you Matt, I want to set a goal at entering the woods at around 2:10 and coming out under 10 minutes, your final time should be under 13 minutes. Keep it up guys! I know you can reach these goals!

 

Cadet Boys (Record Holder: Liam Darcy- 18:52 on 09/18/11)

	09/18	09/25	10/02	10/09	10/23	10/30 (Champs)
Luke English
Into woods	5:45
Out of woods	18:46
Finish	28:26
	112/119
Liam Darcy
Into woods	4:30
Out of woods	12:38
Finish	18:52
	51/119

Great job you two! This is a good for your first race ever of this sort. Liam, you were right on Adam Bensingers heels going into the woods with both of you going at 4:30, and you were close to Adam coming out with just 12 seconds behind. But the last ¾ mile from the woods to the finish is where we need to work on. Unlike the minors, you really have a long way to go coming out of the woods. Some tips: When you are fatigued, you need to keep you head up high and you need a more fluid motion with you arm swings. You find this will affect your breathing, your concentration, as well as it will be easier to keep a more consistent pace. Nevertheless, this is a good start to the season. Great job Luke! Just like Liam, we can make little improvements as the season goes on. Next time you race, I would like to see you entering the woods at around 5:15-5:30, and coming out at around 17-18 minutes. We will work on hill climbing techniques that should help with Suicide Hill. That should make a huge difference!