http://wiaawi.org/results/crosscountry/2008/bmilwlutheransectional.htm
Shorewood Boys Pull Off Another Miracle at Sectionals
Though rated second in state by coaches coming out of last week's great performance, everyone in Shorewood knew what the reality was: that this Sectional Meet was going to be the toughest ever. Prior to last week, Wisconsin Lutheran was consistently ranked top 1 or 2 in state, with Port Washington and Shorewood between 3rd and 5th. Going into the Sectionals we all knew that we had to fire on all 7 cylinders[runners] to sneak a second out of this toughest of all D2 Sectionals. Wisc. Lutheran was a lock; it was PW we had to go after. Given last week's performance, the kids thought they were ready to do just that. However, we all got the wrong script.Tendick Proves to be a Beast
The forecast called for cool weather, light rain and winds up to 15 mph. It turns out that the rain came through the evening leaving the course soggy and very muddy in spots; but the weather was near perfect with low 50s temperature and a mild breeze from the west.
The starting gun went off at 10:45 am and 16 varsity teams bolted from the long white starting line with over 100 boys fighting for placement as they blasted toward the first turn into a gradual hill going north. The course takes another sharp left to the west and then another turn to the south as the course snakes through the woods. Spectators run through the trees to catch a glimpse of the boys. As the fans settled in, the Greyhounds began maneuvering to the front; Ben Tyler stuck with the 1-2 ranked Port Washington runners, Peter Drews was directly behind the first group, pacing Bobby Laabs of Greendale and Dayton Lueck of Wis. Lutheran.
As the runners came out of the woods, taking a sharp right going west and then another quick sharp left going south, our core group of runners, John Taylor, Aidan Mazur and Brendan Vorpahl, were mixing it up with a pack of Port Washington and Wis. Lutheran boys. At the base of the big beasty of a hill it was anybody's race. But it was soon to become clear that Port Washington knew how to run their home course.
Port Begins to Make Its Move
Shortly after the 1 mile mark (lead runners went out at about 5:10) the pack starting spreading out. Port's Mark Allen made his move down the sweeping downhill toward the open field with Tyler in pursuit and over taking him as they came into the open area of the course. Drews overtook Lueck and continued to set the pace for Laabs, not far behind Ross of Port and Holguin of Cudahy. By the halfway point it looked like this was not about Port Washington's survival but whether Shorewood had any chance of knocking off Wisc. Lutheran. Looking relaxed and confident, Allen established the lead while Tyler was maintaining close behind. Drews was in command of Laabs and working on trying to catch Holguin; but Port's Ross had clear conviction of his position and you could see that he was sitting back waiting for Tyler to come to him. The Shorewood Core were together in a pack battling for their life with the Port and Wisc. Lutheran boys. Joe Pendleton and Sam Dupuis followed suit.
Through the Woods and Into the Beast
As the last half of the race worked it's way back north, then west and into the woods the big question was whether we could hold our positions and take a few more Wisc. Lutheran's boys. Port had all but won the race by this point. As the runners came out of the woods, Allen had command of first place, Tyler second, Ross third, Holguin fourth and Drews fifth, with Laabs breathing down his neck. The Shorewood Core blasted out of the woods last time through, like the first, with a bunch of Wisc. Lutheran kids they needed to beat. Lead positions were held as they slopped through the muck, up and down the hill. Coming into the open field Tyler had gained on Allen but Ross was ready to make his move with 300 yards to go and by the first major turn he had command of 2nd place; Drews had enough of Laabs drafting him and surged ahead with a commanding lead by the time he made the mucked up turn into the open field. Meanwhile, Vorpahl knew he needed to take out the Wisc. Lutheran boy, working on the poor kid up and down the hill; it was all over with 100 yards to go. As it turns out, Vorpahl's final push and determination was one of the major factors that shaped the outcome of this race. Run as one is more than just a slogan!
Taylor Finishes Strong, Mazur Collapses at Finish Line, Vorpahl Closes the Gap
Tyler placed third, Drews fifth and Taylor came in a strong 14th place. As Vorpahl was committed to hanging onto his position ahead of Wisc. Lutheran, Mazur's back broke in the last half-mile and as Vorpahl and the Wisc. Lutheran runner rapidly approached, he did everything he could do before completely collapsing at the finish line (I thought he collapsed just before the finish line!). As the fifth man, Mazur beat out the Wisc. Lutheran runner by less than a second. Between Vorpahl's effort and determination and Mazur's gut wrenching finish it reinforces the importance of our Shorewood Core. They won the meet for us. Pendleton and Dupuis fought it out with Port's and WL's 6-7th runners in case of a tie breaker like a few years back at the Shorewood Invite.
Happy but Not Satisfied
Reality set in on team and fans alike as it became clear that our shot at going to state likely slipped away with Port's command performance. The boys circled up and agreed that while they could have done better, they did what they could and they had a great season...one for the memory books. But the memories were not over. As the girls race got underway there were whispers across the course that it was closer than expected and that while it was clear that Port pulled off a surprise win, it was less clear whether Wisc. Lutheran was going to state. Some said they thought Wisc. Lutheran won by two, while others said it was tied and the sixth runner would determine the 2nd place team.
Fans, coaches and teams had to wait it out until the awards ceremony and as the announcer ticked off the places from last up to third place things got tense. When he announced that third place went to Wisconsin Lutheran a huge yelp let out (think that was me)...Shorewood pulled off another miracle at Tendick, beating Wisconsin Lutheran by two points (57 to 59). Had Vorpahl not held off their fifth man, and Mazur not gutting it out, it would have gone into a tie breaker - which we would have lost. Another close one for the Shorewood boys. Wow, these guys like to make fans sweat it out! Now on to the State Meet!
Link to David Drews' Great Pictures:
Mr. Drews took some great pictures....and including some great captions.....
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=benxbof.81x7wgyz&Uy=3f0p55&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=697369968561_765589851211&localeid=en_US
Link to a couple of pictures I took:
http://picasaweb.google.com/dontyler22/ShorewoodCCSectionals2008#
Girl’s Cross Country Sectionals Meet 10-24-08
brought to you by Tom Bachhuber
Link to Pictures from Tom B.:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DemmersDad/CrossCountrySectional#
Varsity girls took 3rd place at the Milwaukee Lutheran Sectionals Meet in Saukville last weekend. missing the coveted 2nd place finish by 12 points. They will not be going to the state meet as a team this year despite making it last year. “We lost 4 seniors last year and have a young team made up mainly of sophomores and juniors” explained coach Kopplin. New Berlin Eisenhower was their main competition for 2nd place. “They ran with heart and as a team, unfortunately their 2nd and 3rd runners beat our 2nd and 3rd runners.”
Emily Bachhuber continued her dominating performance, again taking the lead early and never looking back. She had a 5:30 first mile breaking with the pack at the bottom of the big hill at the ¾ mile mark and was clearly in the lead at the top of the hill. “It’s hard to run in the lead without anyone pushing you”. If vomiting during or just after the race is any indication, Emily is learning how to push herself just fine. She has been showing great focus and increasing confidence allowing her to go from a sit and kick runner to the runner who sets her own pace. “Unlike a lot of runners, Emily doesn’t over think or let the competition get to her. In fact, she relishes the competition knows in her heart that she can win.”
Chloe Staub had a notable performance, beating out NB Eisenhower’s no. 4 runner to the finish line. Asked what the greatest achievement of the team this year, coach Kopplin waxed philosophical, explaining that each and every girl on that team is excellent students. “They are overachievers and just not satisfied with anything short of excellent. Each one of these girls has had to deal with disappointments and missed expectations. During this process they have jelled as a team; each supporting the next to be as good as they can be.”
No comments:
Post a Comment