The third time was golden as the men's team easily defended their title in the premiere race of the day. Dennis led the squad as per usual. He shadowed eventual winner Andrew Lacy through a blistering first mile around 4:53. They had some company but none of it was serious. Lacy finished the course in 15:55 and Dennis took second in 16:16 ( times are from memory which can be foggy).
Jake stepped up and finished 13th overall, second on the team just under 17:00. Andrew was 14th overall, third on the team and did not break 17:00 leaving unfinished business for next year.
He did pick up 12 spots in the last quarter mile. Andrew was followed closely by David ( 17:17), Brian (17:22), Doug(17:47), and John (18:40). If they looked nervous at the starting line... they looked twice as stressed waiting for the official results after the race. All year they had watched the numbers from Monroe, who looked tough until their best runner broke his leg; Then they 
had monitored Mcfarland who vaulted to the top of their sectional when Lacy returned from injury; And finally they considered a late surging bid by catholic memorial. On paper any one of these four teams could win the whole thing. All anyone knew for sure was that it was going to be very very very close. And we were all very very very wrong. The men scored an astonishing 55 points. Catholic memorial placed second with 102, followed by McFarland and Monroe dropped all the way to eighth. It wasn't just a win, it was a dominant statement. The guys reacted with more emotion then they have ever shown. They yelled, they laughed, they hugged, the coach cried. It was awesome. They have now won THREE STRAIGHT STATE TITLES and they will return four of the top five finishers next year. Maybe this year the school will find a place to display thier latest state championship trophy because I'm pretty sure that Dom is running out of room at his place. Congratulations guys!
The women also had a day and a season to be proud of. Claire was the fastest girl of the day in any division. She led gun to tape with confidence and style. She finished first with a personal best time of 14:15. A new D2 state record and ~4 seconds faster than the D1 race went in. The balance of the team finished in a tight pack and scored well enough to take ninth. Not what they were hoping for but a huge effort and a moral victory. early in the season they lost four varsity runners to injury and looked in disarray. The bean counters consistantly ranked them in the mid twenties in all of the polls. However, against the odds, Coach K rallied the girls and helped them to overcome the early set backs.
Winning sectionals is not easy. Just getting to State is not a given. And finishing ninth in what was a very fast race means that they were competitive right to the end. Congrats Ladies !Results should be up at Wisconsin Runner.
or here: http://www.wisconsintrackandfield.com/index.html
Pictures are up, see the slide show bar. There aren't many because the race was just too good.
Feel free to brag a little over on the Dyestat board.
See you all next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment