2009 XC

[Justin]

So it looks like Bull Run was interesting. Any comments on the article on Tristaterunnr? I know it's a tough decision on what to do in those situations. Personally, I would have gone elite. If you have a stud who will run in college I think it's valuable to get in over their head any time they can. The rest of the team could have just chalked it up as experience and a learning situation. The Wilson-Ian races should be good. From what I hear Wilson really ran his butt off all summer.

[brucedenton]

As Ric Flair once said...'If you want to be the man, you got to beat the man.' I'm not familiar with exactly how the choice is made...do you know ahead of time which division other teams are choosing to run in for example. But it would have been great to see these two square off in the same race.

[frojoe23]

I don't think that Allegany would have been in over their head in the Elite Race. It wasn't very elite. Typically, 16:30 will win the Medium Schools race and it usually takes something close to 16 flat to tear up the Elite race. But that is the cycle of things.

As for the individual race, I think both coaches made the best decision that they could. Who knows if Ian would have run with Wilson after having to travel down a little earlier. Likewise, would either one of them have run any faster? Who knows. Will find out in November. Until that point, the results from both Wilson and MacFawn just make the matchup that more intriguing.

[Justin]

I know it's easy to make decisions in hindsight, but I think Ian is in a great disadvantage here. The regular schedule for him most likely will not provide many challenges. The Invites are where he's going to find some, so Saturday's race was really an opportune time to challenge him.

I always believed racing is kind of an art-form that needs to be honed, most of the lessons I've ever learned from races were when I got beat. It's really tough to go from racing by yourself race after race to championship races where runners of equal or greater abilities are side-by-side with you.

[Justin]

It's been a quiet season. It looks like Wilson is the real deal. I'm wondering if Ian will be able to challenge him, at least he'll get 2 chances soon.

[kevinspradlin]

Wilson might beat Ian by something between 5 and 35 seconds on Thursday at Region; Williamsport's is a very fast course and David, I think, has the edge on speed. But when it comes to hills, Ian's pretty darn good. And Bull Run is where it really counts ... so Ian will do well this Thursday to simply keep Wilson in sight. On Nov. 14, it'd be a different approach.

Don't get me wrong, though - a top 2 finish in the state for Ian will be a significant accomplishment; he was 5th last year in 17:35. Wilson was 2nd in 17:11. At Bull Run this year (same course as state meet, as you know), Wilson won the elite race in 16:29. Ian won the small boys division race in 16:52. (So, Wilson can run hills, too).

At Region last year (also at Williamsport), Wilson was 3rd in 16:26.4. MacFawn was 4th in 16:41.1. So, MacFawn's got some wheels, too...

Wilson won the Washington County meet last week at Williamsport in 15:34, a course record.

Should be a good race to watch. Good luck to both. One thing I wrote several weeks ago that I might have been wrong on (among many other things I'm wrong on, but that's routine) - Allegany just might qualify for the state meet. The Campers ran well at the county meet, with their top 3 all running under 18:25 at Allegany College of Maryland. They'll need to repeat that performance on Thursday; the good thing is, the courses at ACM and Williamsport are very similar (pretty flat, a couple of loops)...

[Justin]

Some good points Kevin. One thing I'm concerned about is race strategy with Ian. I haven't seen him race this season, but in the past I've always noticed he goes out "slow" and is more of an even split runner. In time trials and some races that could be a wise thing, but in championship XC races it's not always a good idea. For instance if he lets Wilson get out to a good lead in the 1st mile, mile and a half it could be all she wrote. In my opinion you have to put pressure on him and see what he does.

[kevinspradlin]

I don't disagree, Justin. Neither runner has faced competition at all this year; the closest competitor to MacFawn in a single race was (if I recall from notes I was reviewing last week) about 12 seconds. In XC, that's a lifetime.

To me, David's the favorite heading into this race. The fact people are talking that Ian has a chance is testament to the belief they have in him and his talent in general; he's a strong runner. But you're right, he's very even-keeled (an approach I wish more runners would adopt). But if Ian starts out as he usually does and finishes 2nd, I don't think anyone could argue his race was anything but a success..

But if he chooses to push Wilson early ... what's he got to lose? If he blows up, he could lose a chance to advance to the state meet (and race against Wilson again). Should be interesting. Not sure yet if I'm headed down that way on Thursday. Got lots of stuff going on that day ... I know Darrell will be there taking tons of photos and probably video, too.

[Justin]

Wilson's got to be the favorite with the times he's been putting up and course records, I don't recall Ian breaking any course records, he may have, but I don't remember. Even-keeled can be good in some situations, but overall I really think there's an art to racing at a top level, especially in XC. Splits don't matter. From watching him in previous years it seems he races down to his particular competition. I also don't believe regionals are so deep on the 1A that he'd risk not qualifying to states if he goes out with Wilson and slows a little at the end. You never really know what a guy has until you push him and see for yourself. If I were racing a horse like Wilson I'd make sure I was glued to him at 1mi and just push and push. If he beats me I can say I gave him what I had and look to States for another chance. I think Hereford matches Ian better, it always aids Western MD runners.

It should be 2 great races. I can't wait to hear about them.

[ericjoe]

I plan to go to the regionals Thurs. (Provided I can get out of work early). I can fill everyone in when i get back.

[Justin]

Well, States is history and another year of sloppy Hereford conditions, you've got to love it. It looks like Wilson earned it and achieved what he wanted. I like how the fastest time of the day come out of a small school from (almost) western MD. What's everybody's thoughts? I'm happy for ALCO taking 2nd. I think if things are done right they could win next year. I really hope Ian concentrates on running someday soon, Wilson is an exact example of what can happen with proper attention. It could make for an interesting Spring.

[kevinspradlin]

I'm told Ian is going to just run next fall (and not play soccer). Allegany could have a tough time moving up; they ran out of their minds on Saturday and did great, but it was overall a down year in 1A (boys and girls). Add to that that Robbie Taylor is a senior ...

Okay - just in case anyone's looking, I wrote the Sept. 26 TriStateRunnur.com article which indicated my position that Allegany (and Smithsburg) would struggle to qualify for the state meet. I got a lot of grief because of that ... I was right by Smithsburg but, a month later beginning at the county meet, the Campers began running as they were expected to from the start of the season. I still feel that, on Sept. 26, that was a reasonable position to argue (disagree if you will, but it wasn't a stretch). After Bull Run, Robbie started not to die so much after surging to the front of everyone (including Ian which, at the time, was laughable). By counties, it wasn't so funny anymore. The question was, on a good day, could Robbie beat Ian?

Anyway, my hat's off to the Campers runners, who I feel succeeded despite some circumstances beyond their control.

Justin (and Jordan), you guys mentioned athletes being "hungry." We'll see how Ian's second straight top 5 finish at the state xc meet impacts his hunger over the summer into next fall.

As for possible team title in 2010, not sure about that. Allegany has precious little depth - the team fielded just 6 runners at state - and lose Robbie (34 sec behind Ian at state) to graduation. Russo ran real well - a promising freshman, for sure. But the Campers need to recruit 2-3 more bodies. Two and one-half minutes separated No. 5 and No. 5 (next year's No. 4 and all-important 5). How much can Sifford improve in 12 months? I hope he tries to show us just that...

Not to get lost in the mix is Fort Hill girls, I think. Not a powerhouse, of course - 10th off 11 complete teams in 1A. But only 15 points from a respectable 7th place finish and 3 of top 7 are freshmen (yeah, I know, girls change, but we'll see).. Baker's for real. I think Northcraft is, too. She was 1st or 2nd for Fort Hill at the county meet and No. 6 on Saturday - something happened. I'd like to hear the story on that. Anyway, Sentinels lose just 1 of top 7 to graduation...

[ericjoe]

I would like say Congrats to Allegany for a great year and a nice 2nd place at states. I think the boys did very well and lets face it, the coaches must have got something right. Their kids were very motivated and in great shape. So I say good job to Glenn and Anita for a great season.

As far as the Ft. Hill girls go, I do agree that they will be even better next year. I ran with Ft. Hill several times this season on Saturdays and I can tell you there is a lot of young potential there. Carlin is a fantastic runner. I can only assume her swimming has made her a better athlete and it translated well to XC. As far as Kim Northcraft goes. My take on her (especially after seeing her run at practice) is that she gets very nervous at meets and does not run relaxed. She is a great kid and a good athlete. Expect good things from her the next couple years.

Since we are the subject of Ft. Hill. Antonio Candler ran a 19:06 at Bull Run for a nice 16th place. This kid is a great runner and has the right attitude and knows how to work hard to get better.

Good job to all the athletes from our area that participated in the state meet. Great job to George Hansrote for a 5th place as well.

[Justin]

Allegany looks like they have a ton of talent, just not much depth. Losing the one senior could hurt them a ton if they don't stock up on some depth. In my opinion track is a great place to add depth and find some "diamonds in the rough". A lot of times that's where you find the Freshmen who didn't know what XC was so didn't run, the bench warmer soccer players who could be all-state in XC, or the chess club member who always thought they were not athletic. The one thing that is for sure is no one can ever tell what will happen in the next 12 months. Guys and girls come out of nowhere, growth spurts, transfers from other sports, or just someone deciding to put their nose to the grind stone. In my opinion that's what makes high school XC so interesting. Our sport is such a foreign thing to kids growing up, that lots of times the first exposure to the sport is when a young runner runs in their first XC meet after joining because a friend did, or to get closer to that cute girl that runs, or whatever. Development happens fast, I can make a big list of guys and girls I know that went from non-factor to all-state in less than a year. The one constant though was work. Each one worked consistently at it and stayed focused.

When I was in HS (a long time ago) we had a great training environment in the off-season. We had "open runs" to anybody 2 times a week. We'd have runners from all the schools in the area training together. There would be multiple coaches running too and just giving guidance and input, and telling some cool stories. Aaron Horevey and I would be at the canal every Sunday morning logging the miles, open to anybody to come along. I really think this helped our area when it came time for the school teams to peel off and start their seasons. I think maybe we should think about starting this again. I know there is a group of the local road racers, but maybe starting a more "developmental" group would be good.

[davetreber]

Congratulations to all the teams who represented our area in the state meet -- Southern, Mountain Ridge, Allegany and Fort Hill. And thanks to all our coaches. Cross-country is a sport that rewards those who peak at the right time and one where 2010 will be a completely new year. Only thing we can predict now, or even from the beginning of the year to the end, is that Bull Run will be muddy. We adult runners get to sit back and enjoy it.