Berry 2007: We Leave Tomorrow

The field is at Berry is huge.

Ah ... the controversial race.

AAAA Top 10

From gatfxc.com:

1. Alexander - 1st Early Bird, 16:37
2. Marist
3. Chapel Hill
4. Dacula
5. Greenbrier
6. Mays
7. Stockbridge
8. Northgate - 9th Early Bird, 17:39
9. Woodward - 11th Early Bird, 17:47
10. Lakeside-DeKalb 12th Early Bird, 17:48

Chimney Hill

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."

-- Steve Prefontaine

Perfect Form

Maggie shows off perfect running form as she kicks in the final 20 yards at the NEGA Invitational. She is looking straight ahead, her shoulders and hands are relaxed, and her arms are in sync with her legs.

Good form adds up in the course of a race - by practicing and being cognizant of proper form we will not get tired as easily and will be able to race more effortlessly. Good form = faster runners.

This is not to say that people with bad form are slow. That is to say some runners are fast IN SPITE of their form. If they were to work on their form they would be even faster.

The difference between winning and losing ...

The varsity team ended up missing out on trophies by 2 points. Where could we have made a difference?

• Paul finished 5 seconds behind Andrew Rogan.
• Thomas finished 6 seconds behind Ian Wraga from North Oconee. If he wins that, we get a point, they lose a point and it's our trophy.
• Jay finished 2 seconds behind a guy from Flowery Branch. If he beats him, we get a point and they lose a point.
• Will finished 1 second behind his guy.
• Ian finished 4 seconds behind 3 people.

The race is a race of seconds. In practice, every time you hit a lap hard, every time you hit a hill hard, and every time you decide to beat the person next to you, each of those brings you that much closer to being able to beat that guy in front of you next race.

Schedule for the week of Aug 27-31

(For the Boys Team)

Monday: 8:00 a.m. meeting in room 310. After school, 3 x 400 on the track, then drive to Botanical Gardens and run some distance on the trails.
Tuesday: 2 x 400 on the track, drive to the IM fields and run the Chimney Hill. Varsity does it 7 times, JV does it 5 times.
Wednesday: 4 x 400 on the track, longer tempo run TBD.
Thursday: Drive down to IM fields - run the outer loop for speed.
Friday: Leave for Rome, GA at 4:00 p.m.

2007 NEGA Championship

Thomas Yoder runs the course in 18:07 - his 2nd fastest time in his career. He's a good 50 yards ahead of ACS's Colin Bishoff.

Paul Kasay leads ACS's Taylor Kellogg. Paul would finish the course in 17:37 and comfortably in 4th.

Lauren Wooten runs in her first varsity race for the gladiator girls.

Freshman Jing Han (in the white shirt), ran 21:06 in his first race.

Top Twelve Boys Times:

1. Paul Kasay - 17:37
2. Thomas Yoder - 18:07
3. Jay Rains - 19:39
4. Will Spencer - 19:35
5. Thomas Minor - 19:59
6. Ivan Santillian - 20:30
7. John Yebra - 20:44

8. Matt Nichols - 20:49
9. Ben Andrews - 21:05
10. Jing Han - 21:06
11. Wyatt Pless - 21:08
12. Tyler Rice - 21.51

2007 Schedule

August:
August 25th - NEGA Invitational @ Athens Christian
August 31st - Sept 1st - Clara Bowl @ Berry College

September:
September 6th @ Athens Academy
September 8th - Parking Fundraiser (UGA vs. USC)
September 15th - Spartan Invitational @Athens Academy
September 29th - Aubrey Gunderson Invitational @ Conyers

October:
October 2nd - @ Madison County
October 13th - @ Oglethorpe County
October 23rd - City Meet @ Athens Academy
October 27th - Last Chance Invitational @ Carrollton

November:
November 3rd - Region Championship @ Conyers
November 10th - State Championship @ Carrollton

Maggie Friedline: Impact Runner

Maggie Friedline, a junior, is all set to compete for one of the top varsity spots on the team. Maggie followed up a strong freshman year with a solid sophomore effort. She will look to break her PR of 22:48 which she set at the Horsepark course in Conyers.

She hopes to break 22 this season and wants the team to return to state. One of her traditions during races is to wear her bright pink socks.

2 Mile Time Trial

As expected, Paul Kasay paced the Gladiators in their first time trial of the season - a two mile run through the 5-points neighborhoods. The heat was intense and the times were slow, but plenty of runners showed their guts during the run.

Above, Paul Kasay leads the boys on their run.

Top 10 Times:

1. Paul Kasay - 11:45
2. Thomas Yoder - 12:32
3. Jay Rains - 12:37
4. Ivan Santillian - 12:41
5. John Yebra - 13:30
6. Will Spencer - 13:33
7. Matt Nichols - 14:06
8. Jeffery Rogers - 14:35
9. Matthew Range - 14:45
10. Ben Andrews - 14:55

Jeffery Rogers leads Tom Lingard, Nic Colon, and Matthew Range right before the 1 mile mark.

Tom Lingard, Ethan Davis, and John Yebra sit in the shade and try to cool off after the run.