Speedsters

What a quartet! 4-by-fast! 4 x 100; 4 x 200; 4 x 400, with new records in 4 x 100 (50.9) and 4 x 200 (1:48.0). Look out next year!

Rock and his two girls, daughter and advisee

Seniors form bedrock of team this year

10th Annual Jason Manse Relays

10^th Annual Jason Manse Relays

Canton Central Catholic High School

18/May/2013

In their last outing of the season, seven girls [co-captains Margot and Christine, fellow seniors Daisy and Lucy, juniors Trish and Annie, and sophomore Cat] traveled to Canton Central Catholic High School to participate in the 10^th Annual Jason Manse Relays.  While the initial intention was to compete in only the pole vault, the 1500m run, and the three relays (4 x 100m, 4 x 200m, and 4 x 400m), two quick developments changed those plans. First, Captain Margot Warner was truly under the weather and not feeling well at all; hence, a joint decision that she not run the 1500.  At about the same time, we heard that the officials were wondering if WRA was entering the high jump relay.  Two of our sprinters, Cat and Daisy (who, incidentally, had been playing around at the high jump pit after a workout only a few days earlier) decided that they would like to enter as a relay just for fun.  And fun it was!! Without warm-up or practice, they entered the competition and, as a two-person relay, captured 2^nd place, with Cat clearing 4’ 6” (barely missing 4’ 8”) and Daisy clearing 4’ 10” (with very close attempts at 5’).

In the interim, Lucy had equaled her own school record of 8’ 6” in the pole vault and had a couple of close attempts at 9 feet.

And that was the start of a very exciting day for the Lady Pioneers.  The foursome of Trish, Cat, Annie and Daisy, stepped onto the track, knowing that in order to break the record that they were chasing in the 4 x 200m (1:48.8, set in 1986), they would have to do everything just right. They had come close two meets earlier with a time of 1:49.3; so, they knew that it was in them. The gun sounded; off they went.  As I watched the passes (where I thought those extra tenths of a second might get shaved), I was worried, as they were not as crisp and fast as they had been in practice the day before.  But, then I glanced at the first split from Trish, and she was under the time that we knew she needed if that record was going to fall. This scenario played itself out with each successive pass; not the best passes, but Wow, did they run in between!! Each girl was hitting the split that would bring them closer to that record.  At the end, upon glancing at the final time, I held my excitement, knowing that the official time would rule the day.  Then, the official word came: Western Reserve Academy, 3^rd, with a time of 1:48.0, precisely the time that I had captured.  Screams of joy!!!

Next, Chris stepped onto the track for her run at the 200m hurdles, a strange event, indeed. Two developments:  one – she and I had been practicing with an extra hurdle, 6 instead of the 5 with which she was presented today.  Well, she negotiated that surprise reasonably well enough to capture 4^th place with a time of 32.6 (6-tenths of a second faster than she had run in that event last year).  But wait; they discover that one of the hurdlers had one fewer hurdle than the rest of the group.  This glitch meant that they would need to re-run the event.  The decision was to have the “do-over” after the final scheduled event, the 4 x 400m.  That would mean that Chris would need to gear up to run it again in less than 20 minutes.  The second running occurs and Chris not only runs the same time (now on legs a bit more tired) as in the first running, she also moved up a place, snagging 3^rd in the final of the 200m hurdles.

Between the two episodes of the 200m hurdles, the sprint relay foursome have to head back to the track to attempt another run at one of those old records. This time, it was the 4 x 100m, a mark that had been standing since 1985.  Once again, the thinking was that everything had to be right if they were to dip under the 28-year old time of 51.1.  Again, they had brushed against the record two meets earlier with a time of 51.8.  So, where would we shave off those 8-tenths of a second? And once more, we looked to the passes and possibly some extra push from each girl.  Well, the gun exploded and Trish had us on the way.  This time that first pass was a bit crisper, then, the second pass happens, and I see that they are right on track.  In fact, there was visible determination in the way they were running at this point.  That third pass goes lightning fast and here comes Daisy down the home stretch.  She crosses the line in fourth, but that was hardly the aspect that interested me then.  Again, I had to restrain myself, hoping that the girls would not look up and ask me if they had done it.  My stopwatch had a nicely frozen final time that excited me, but I had to go down to the official for confirmation.  Before I could reach the finish line, that confirmation came; my time of 50.88, rounded as it should be to 50.9, was enough to re-write the record.  And screams of joy once AGAIN pierce the air.

During that second celebration, we realized that Trish really was hurting, and the decision to forego the 4 x 400m was made with little hesitation, which actually came from Trish herself, wanting to push through the 400 so that Daisy would have a fitting close to her high school track career with another chance at breaking 60 in the 400.  Graciously and unselfishly, Daisy would have none of it; we were not going to run the 4 x 400m, and that was more than fine by all of us. 

Can you believe it? – With only six competitors, we entered only 5 of the 16 events AND we did not finish last.  This sextet scored well enough to finish 7^th overall in the meet.

This day had been even more joyous than had we tried to script it.  And although we were not sure if it counts as the type of result that merits ringing the victory bell, we did it anyway.  And it sounded great!!!!

Congratulations, ladies.

Papa G

East Canton Hornet Relays

On Saturday, May 11, the Girls’ Track & Field team concluded its season at the East Canton Hornet Relays, where we earned the 2^nd place trophy.  It was a nice close to a great season.  The girls turned in numerous personal best performances and a couple of season best performances.  On top of it all, we set two meet records.  The highlights were the following:

Earning 3^rd place honors were the high jump and discus trios.

In 2^nd place, we had the Distance Medley and the Shuttle Hurdles.

And capturing 1^st place were the long jump trio, the 4 x 200, and the 4 x 100 quartet of Tricia, Cat, Annie and Daisy not only came in first, they also set a meet record of 51.8. 

That same foursome came back a few minutes later to duplicate their earlier efforts with not only a win in the 4 x 400, but also a meet record of 4:14.8, which was also a Season Best time for the group.

Congratulations to all the girls!!!!  It has been a great season!! 

Cuyahoga Heights Relays

On Saturday, May 4, the Girls traveled to Cuyahoga Heights to participate in the Cuyahoga Relays, where we finished in fourth place.  Despite our overall final place in the meet, we had a good number of Season Best performances and Personal Records.

Some of the highlights were:

• The DMR had a Season Best in its 4^th place finish, while the 4 x 800, in 3^rd place also ran a Season Best
• 2^nd place for the pole vault relay, where Lucy tied her own school record, and both Lisie and Charley had PRs.
• Also capturing 2^nd place and running a Season Best time was the 4 x 1600
• The 4 x 400 ended the meet with another exciting race, running a Season Best and coming in at 2^nd.
• The Shuttle team captured our only 1^st place medals.

Congratulations to the hurdlers and 
ALL of the girls for a great job!!!

Laurel Meet - April 30, 2013

Here are the results/splits for the final open meet at Laurel, principally an opportunity for younger, newer kids (who typically do not go to the big meets) to compete, or for other varsity athletes to try something new or to use the meet as an additional training day. 

It was great to see the improvements that the "Young Guns" have made this season, and for the most part, they, too, were pleased with their results. I could not be happier for them; their consistent hard work has paid off, and we coaches hope that the progress that each of these young ladies has made this year will serve as a strong foundation for their next season of track and as a key element in their continued enthusiasm for the sport.

Geno

East Palestine Relays

This past Friday, Girls’ Track & Field traveled to East Palestine to compete in the East Palestine Relays.

Although we finished in 5^th, nearly every relay group had a Season Best performance.  There were three races – 4 x 100; 4 x 200; 4 x 800 -- where the top three teams (which included us) were bunched within a second of each other at the finish line.  Very exciting running, to say the least.

Our highlights:

Shot and discus relays were 6^th, while the high jump duo, which came in 4^th, turned in their best combined total of the year.

Finishing in 3^rd place and having Season-Best times were the 4 x 1600, the Distance Medley, and the 4 x 800. The long jump relay also in 3^rd, had their best combined jump total of the season.

We had 4 relay teams that captured 2^nd places.  These included the Shuttle Hurdles and the 4 x 400, that had a 3-second season best time. Also coming in 2^nd place was the quartet of Trish, Cat, Annie and Daisy, who ran both the 4 x 100 and the 4 x 200, and in each event, came within a second of the school record.

         

Great job, Ladies.

Geno~

Laurel Open Meet Results

The girls did quite well, and although most of the "Young Guns" improved upon their previous time trials, special props go to:

• Shivani in the 800m w/ 2:44.9
• Irina in the 1600m w/ 6:24.7
• Morrisa w/ 30.2 in the 200m
• Diane w/ 13.5 in the 100m and 12' 7" in the Long Jump
• Caroline w/ 15.3 in the 100m
• Jelly w/ 13' 1.25" in the Long Jump
• Madison's PR w/ 85' 7" in the discus

Overall good day.

G

Girls take 2nd at Perry Relays

Perry Relays - April 20, 2013

Nordonia Relay Results

Nordonia Announcement

This past Saturday, Girls’ Track & Field (also) competed in the Nordonia Relays, where we finished in 10^th place among a field of Division I big schools. Although we unfortunately had to scratch from four events, the team did manage to score in 5 of the events we entered, with each relay running faster times than at our previous meet.

Highlights were:

The 4 x 200 came in 8^th, while the 4 x 400 was 6^th

The 4 x 800 was 5^th and the 4 x 100 captured 3^rd .

The Iron Ladies Relay, with Jessie, Maya, Madison and Maggie, came in 2^nd place.

Speaking of Iron Ladies, Emma Presley notched a PR in the shot with 28 feet, 6 ¾ inches.

Nice Job, Ladies.

2013 Longstreth Relays

In the FLOH at OG with Eilene and Bertha

The last splash before the last supper

Bicknell Beach

Team Mascot, TT13/FLOH

Bernie the Bat

Getting their FLOH on in TT13 Mini-Camp

Getting their Beef on

Just like the University Inn

No sunblock required!

Staying in the FLOH with TT13

Mini Camp

Ladies----

As you do more and more full body presses into the sand on the beach or into the cushions of your couch at home, I hope you remember that we are a scant 15 days away from our very first meet, Longstreth Relays.  Remember that the better shape you're in when you return for Tuesday's (April 2) practice, the more easily we'll move toward putting together the strongest line-up possible for the meet.

To that end, I want to remind those of you who are local enough: 

Please consider coming back to campus next week for our mini-camp that starts on Monday, March 25.  Although we coaches and your captains realize that not everyone can make it back, we really do hope as many as possible do decide to participate.  While our two-a-days cannot come close to replacing Florida, it is the least we can do to get ready for our season.

Just so that I can get a sense for numbers, would you please reply to this e-mail to let me know if you plan to make it for all or some portion of the camp next week.

For those who cannot make it under any circumstance, please, do try to follow, to some degree, the workout schedule.  Again, if you have difficulty translating my track jargon, please, do not hesitate to contact me.

I hope the rest has been good for you. 

G

TRK RULZ

2012 Season Recap

The Western Reserve Academy girls track & field team posted a solid season in 2012, earning a trio of Top 3 finishes that included a first-place finish at the Perry Relays.

Athletic Awards

MVP:  Margot Warner '13 and Daisy Ogede '13
MIP:  Tatiana Pavloff '13
Coaches/Spirit Award:  Lucy Cummins '13
Carl Basnett Award:  Chevonne Anderson '12 

Season Highlights