National and State Champions among us--Malone and Brother Martin!

I just wanted to say that, Malone College, Canton, Ohio, where I was a Graduate Assistant Track Coach from 2002-2004 took home the National Championship. The men's Cross Country team led by legendary coach Jack Hazen won the NAIA Cross Country National Championship! They run an 8km race or 5 miles.

--From the Malone website--The Malone men's cross country team, led by veteran head coach Jack Hazen, has captured its first NAIA national title in 35 years and its second in school history at the NAIA National Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday, November 17th. Malone tallied 59 points to easily outdistance runner-up Black Hills State (SD) University, which had 202 points, to earn the second NAIA national title since the 1972 Pioneer men's cross country team accomplished the feat.Four Pioneer athletes earned NAIA All-America honors (top 30 runners) led by senior Ryan Kienzle (GlenOak H.S.) who finished second overall in a time of 24:24.9. Aaron Melhorn (Fr., Fairless H.S.) placed fourth in 24:44.7, Nik Schweikert (Jr., Beavercreek H.S.) came in 12th in 15:06.1 and Chris Sinick (So., Field H.S.) finished 26th in 25:25.3. James Zeuch (Fr., Galion H.S.) narrowly missed All-America honors by finishing 33rd in 25:34.4. In addition, Michael Coates (Sr., Sandy Valley H.S.) placed 46th in 25:42.5 and Paul Robinson (So., Field H.S.) came in 123rd in 26:28.2. In addition, Malone head coach Jack Hazen was named the NAIA National Men's Coach of the Year.The Malone men finished first in every meet it competed in this season, which is believed to be the only time that this has occurred in the history of Malone cross country.

In addition to that, congratulations to my high school Alma Mater, Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, LA and the Cross Country team for winning the Louisiana High School State Championship.

--From the Brother Martin Website--The Crusader Cross Country team brought home their 8th State Championship trophy. They scored the 34 points and defeated the nearest team by over 50 points. The team ran a perfect race as Kenneth Schiffman finished 3rd in 15:56, Matt Pieri finished 4th in 16:04, Colin Cisco finished 5th in 16:11, Will Kirkikis finished 11th in 16:21, Scott Richardson finished 13th in 16:25, Casey Keiser finished 15th in 16:29, and Daniel Richard finished 22nd in 16:48.

Uncle Paul and Aunt Ashley!

Well, they came 5 weeks earlier then her scheduled C-Section and 8 weeks from the original due date, but there here anyway. Ashley's brother and his wife Kami gave birth to their twin boys Kaden and Nolan Monday night at 8:13 and 8:14 in Boston. They are living there while Brandon gets his MBA at Harvard. Brandon and Kami are both graduates of the University of Michigan....Go Blue!!!

Girls and Boys Headed to State

WA Boys and Girls headed back to State! What a great accomplishment. We all knew it was going to take great effort and that’s exactly what we got. The boys, fighting for their Cross Country lives made a bold statement on just what they can do when under intense pressure. God was certainly glorified through the way they went out and ran. I am so excited that after much adversity and figuring out what this team would look like after losing the two top runners from last year (one to graduation) that they still went out and qualified. It only makes everything that much sweeter and meaningful. This team is one that we coaches and the boys will always remember as one of the greatest. They will be talked about for many years to come and as examples of great character.

The girls team also ran through some adversity and earned another week of this great season. Even though we did not finish where we hoped, this team is still good enough finish in the top of the pack.

The girls were led by Layna Roycraft who was determined to make her last race on our course her best and end with an Individual Regional Championship. She had some tough competition despite running her home course Personal Best time, 21:12, by dropping 10 seconds from her previous best but it turned out she would have needed just 8 more seconds. Still she finished 3rd overall and her highest finish at the Regional meet. What a great day knowing at the beginning of the year the goal was to just get through the season without getting injured or another stress fracture. Lord willing that is going to be the case and she should still be ready to go out and finish in the top 15 at the State meet and be ready for Track season. Running #2 and with a cold was Emily Carlson who shook off the illness for long enough to run a home course Season Best time of 23:38 and finish 28th overall. Kara Gahagen finished next for us despite being given a cane to help her walk as a joke by Emily. All year when it looked like she could barely walk she kept on going and would not quit and she still finished with an impressive 23:59 while running down athletes toward the finish. Interesting thing is that she said the cane helped her…..hopefully she doesn’t grow fond of it. Our next finisher, Brittany Carey, had without a doubt the race of day. Not only did she move from her consistent #6 runners spot to run 4th for us, but she also dropped 1 minute off her previous home course personal best time to finish with a time of 24:05! Such an outstanding performance for a young runner. Our next finisher was Kayla Cochran who I could also say had an outstanding day. She ran a home course personal best time of 24:08 taking 44 seconds off her previous best time! It was great to see both Kayla and Brittany come on to the track in the form they had and run such a great time. All their hard work is really paying off. Finishing next was Circe Burnett who had an extremely tough day. She normally would finish as our #3 or #4 runner, but just didn’t have a good race. Despite that she still came through and finished while most other runners would have probably quit. The great thing is that she gets another shot at it this coming weekend running in her 1st State meet. Stepping in this week and doing an excellent job was Ali Battista. She was our #7 runner and ran a great race finishing with a home course Personal Best time of 25:51 taking 35 seconds off her previous best time. All in all for the girls they did just what they needed to do. Girls stepped up and helped their team when a teammate was having a bad race and while another ran to her best Regional finish and in the process got her picture in the Sun-Sentinel (Sunday’s edition). Despite that they still managed to bring their team average down by 18 seconds to 23:42 and get back to the State meet after missing the opportunity last year. For the girls it is their 6th qualification since 2000.

Layna Roycraft with the top 3 finishers.

For the boys they were led by Christian Wackes who ran a home course Personal Best dropping 24 seconds off his previous best time. Seemed like the trip to the Doctors for an inhaler payed off for him. It was really great to see him run so well. He finished 9th overall and individually qualified for the State meet with a time of 18:40. Running second was Teddy Hess who also ran a home course Personal Best, 19:26, dropping 14 seconds off his time. He remarked that after the race he felt the worst he has ever felt. That was a good thing because he pushed himself so hard and got the most out of his body. As he came on to the track I could tell that he was extremely spent but he still had some fight in him. With about 30m to go he passed Noah Thompson from Coral Springs Christian (07 State Pole Vault Champion) only to get out leaned at the finish and beat by .30 seconds. A tough way to end, but a great fight after such a great race and 5:43 first mile. Running third was Michael Luzinski who put himself in the same position as last year. I think he likes to be the person who comes through for the team when it matters the most. After finishing with a time of 21:38 at District I reminded him of what he did last year and how at Regionals he dropped about 1:30 from the previous week to make the difference for our Regional runner-up finish. This year we didn’t get a trophy, but Michael did drop 1:10 off his time from District and moved from being the #5 runner to the #3 runner with a time of 20:28. What a great accomplishment for the Senior. That time was also his Season Best. Running right behind him was Josh Longerbeam who earlier expressed that he wasn’t feeling like he was going to have a good day. Must have been the nerves talking. At District he said he was feeling great and expected to run extremely well, but ran 21:46. Well if he didn’t go out and do just the opposite. He ran a course Personal Best time of 20:48 taking 58 seconds off from the previous week to finish as our #4 runner. Running in the #5 spot was Thomas Carrie who continues to impress us with his ability. He also ran a home course Personal Best time of 20:54 taking 20 seconds off his previous best. Rounding out the pack for us were Remmy Rickel and Dylan Burns. They ran together the entire race and both had great days. Remmy out sprinted Dylan to the finish to run 21:30, just 5 seconds off his personal best he set at District. Dylan also had a great day bouncing back from the ankle injury at District to run a home course personal best of 21:32, taking 14 seconds off his previous time. All in all the boys came into the meet seeded 7th overall and knew they could have well ended up staying home the following week, but they were just determined that they were going to trust God and do everything they could to earn another trip to State. They finished 5th overall, just 2 points ahead of Archbishop Curley leaving Miami Country Day in the tough 7th spot and first time to not qualify. With that finish the WA boys have earned their 5th consecutive trip to the State Meet and their 6th since 2000. They also turned in their best team average at home this year dropping on average 38 seconds to finish with 20:03 (Add up the top five times and divide by 5).

Teddy Hess in the battle of Track State Champions with Noah Thompson from Coral Springs Christian.

Josh Longerbeam at 2 mile hill.

Thomas Carrie on track for a home course PB.

Thanks to all who helped out and make Saturday such a memorable day. I can’t be more impressed with how this team continues to step up to the challenges in front of them and overcome them. I look forward to a great State Meet and making more memories.

MIAMI HEARLD ARTICLE

Here is the link to the article on Layna and our girls team from the Miami Herald.

http://www.miamiherald.com/619/story/299961.html

Here is a copy of the article:

MIAMI HERALD
CROSS-COUNTRY
Senior recovers to chase state title

Senior Layna Roycraft, back from a leg injury, hopes to help Westminster Academy qualify for the the state finals.

Posted on Thu, Nov. 08, 2007

BY FABIAN LYON
flyon@MiamiHerald.com

When Layna Roycraft won the District 7-1A title last Friday, it earned the Westminster Academy senior more than a qualifying spot in the Region 4-1A Championships.
The victory also brought Roycraft a step closer to the state finals berth that was thwarted by a stress fracture last season.
Now brimming with confidence after an injury-free season that has launched her to the sixth-best time in Broward (19:33), Roycraft is expected to place among the top three runners and help the Lions qualify for the FHSAA finals in Dade City on Nov. 17.
''This is my last chance to be a region champion, I need to do it,'' Roycraft said. ``I had a stress fracture on my right fibula which eventually broke. I was doubtful when I first came back from the injury. Now I know I can do it.''
Roycraft, who showed her grit by running with the fracture through her junior track and cross country seasons, has come back better than ever.
She enters Saturday's meet at the Westminster Academy Complex with a career-best 19:33 (No. 14 in the flrunners.com Class 1A rankings) set on Oct. 24.
Roycraft started her senior season on a strong note, placing second at the Palm Beach Central Invitational and first at the Miami Country Day Invitational. She also finished third at the Westminster Academy Invitational, second at the Spanish River Invitational and first at the South Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Oct. 18.
''I think this year Layna realized how much more work she needed to do to get to that next level,'' said Lions coach Paul Baur. ``I am looking forward to seeing what she can do at regionals. Dade Christian will try to run in front of her and Layna knows that. It will be good to see her run with a little bit of pressure.''
Roycraft is enjoying her moment in the sun after a prolonged recovery from a stress fracture. After sitting out most of last season to allow the fracture to heal, Roycraft returned for the postseason in hopes of extending the Lions four-year run to the state tournament.
Roycraft labored through the pain and advanced to regionals but ultimately fell short, along with her teammates, of earning a qualifying spot to the state finals.
''To not make it to states was really hard,'' said Roycraft. ``We had made it since my seventh grade year. To watch our boys team compete without us was horrible. We knew that we should have been out there.''
While Dade Christian is the overwhelming favorite to win the girls region title, the Lions should be in the mix, along with Miami Country Day, for the runner-up spot.
The Lions are looking to carry over the momentum from their district title when Roycraft, Emily Carlson, Kara Gahagen, Circe Burnett, Kayla Cochran and Brittany Carey placed in the top 16.
Meanwhile, Roycraft's main competition for the individual title figures to be Dade Christian eighth-grader Giselle Suarez, who won the District 8-1A title in 20:25.
But no matter how her final cross country race at home unfolds, Roycraft said she already considers herself a more complete runner because of the trials she has had to overcome.
''`Going through the injury made me a stronger person and stronger athlete,'' Roycraft said. ``The older you get, the more you are going to mature. Mentally it has taken more. That has impacted my performance.''

BACK TO BACK TO BACK ('05-'06-'07) GIRLS DISTRICT CHAMPIONS

Back to Back to Back District Champions! What a great day for our girls team. Covered in red and blue body paint they went out and took care of business finishing 1st with a score of 43 points. With that win they have now won 3 District Championships in a row (2005, 2006, 2007)! The runner up was Boca Christian who had 66 points. The girls were led by individual District Champion, Layna Roycraft who ran uncontested for the title in a time of 21:35. Running second while chasing down competitors at the finish was Emily Carlson who finished 6th overall in a home course season best time of 23:43. Kara Gahagen finished next in 10th place while leading the next pack of finishers with a time of 24:08. Circe Burnett also had a great day running her fastest time on our course while passing a competitor at the line to finish in 12th place in a time of 24:12. Kayla Cochran was our next finisher, 15th overall, also running a home course personal best time of 24:52 to take the final spot for individual honors. The great thing was that the next finisher was Brittany Carey who also ran a home course personal best time of 25:05. That was very good to place 5 runners in the top 15 and 6 in the top 16! Our 7th runner was Melissa Keightley who ran a time of 26:58 which was also good enough to displace many teams’ top five runners.

Five Girls in the top 15! (Kayla-15, Layna-1, Emily-6, Kara-10, Circe-12)

Layna running away with the District Championship!
Christian Wackes, 6th overall, and Teddy Hess, 9th overall approaching the 1st hill.
The boys heading up the first set of hills.

The boys also had a good day doing what they were supposed to do, go out and qualify for next week's regional meet. They finished 3rd overall with 97 points, 2nd place had 64 points and 4th had 125 points. The boys were led by Christian Wackes who had a great day to finish 6th overall with a time of 19:26 all the while just narrowly out leaning the next competitor. Teddy Hess finished next coming on to the track with a good bit of energy left. His strength and experience helped him to a home course personal best, 9th place finish and the ability to hold off the runner from Sheridan Hills who did his best to pass Teddy only to come crashing at the finish. Teddy finished with a time of 19:40. Finishing 3rd for the teams also running a home course personal best was Thomas Carrie who finished in 21:14. He was followed by Remmy Rickel who had his breakout race of the season running his season best time and also a home course personal best of 21:25. Running 5th for the team was Michael Luzinski who finished with a time of 21:38 and one place ahead of teammate Josh Longerbeam. Josh finished in a time of 21:46 while Dylan Burns finished in 22:43. Now what began as such a great start for those final 3 turned out to be a tough day. Heading into the hills they were running together, but Dylan fell which prompted his fellow teammates to briefly stop to check on Dylan. Dylan turned out ok, but the injury to his ankle seemed costly to him and his teammates who continued the race but with a big concern for their teammate. All in all this was a day that a minor disaster could happen and we would still advance. In the end the guys know as prepared as they were they went away shaken, but hungry. It's a great thing for second chances and the boys have one coming up at Regionals.

CUSTOM UNIFORM FOR BERTHA

Circe Burnett accomplished her goal of running in the 22's and like a good Coach I came through on my promise. Here is Circe with Bertha the porpoise along with Bertha's custom uniform. Thank goodness for large dogs and Coach Doria's sewing ability.