Paul Short Recap Coming... Shortly

Stand by for the recap of this Friday's Paul Short Invitational. Meanwhile the link to the results is in the results sidebar.  Both boys and girls teams competed in the HS Brown Division. 

Coaches Corner

Please take note of the practice schedule.  This Monday will be at Fort Hunt Park at 3:15pm, meeting in Area E.  We have a holiday weekend coming up, there is no practice this upcoming Saturday (it will be a rest or cross train day) and no practice held on Columbus Day (athletes will need to complete a run on their own).

We have a meet each week, with two meets the week of October 8-12.  

Next Up: Quad Meet at Occoquan Regional Park

The bus will leave for Tuesday's Quad Meet at 2:45pm. The Paul Short group will not race, anyone who did not race at Paul Short will be competing in this week's meet (provided he/she is healthy enough to compete). This is our home meet so the Paul Short group will need to either ride the bus, or can drive themselves and be in attendance to help out with running the meet.

Coaches Corner

Important Notes for Parents/Athletes

·      Meet Schedule Change! Patriot Festival is October 16 instead of 17

o   Please note that the original meet schedule had the Patriot Festival at Occoquan Regional Park listed as Wednesday, October 17.  IT IS ACTUALLY ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16.  I apologize for any confusion.  Thank you!

·      Spirit Wear

o   Spirit wear has been distributed.  A couple of you still need to pick up your items.  If you haven’t picked up your orders through Burke Sporting Goods or the Team Shirt please see Coach Dietz. 

·      OYO Run Thursday

o   OYO stands for On Your Own…there will be no official practice on Thursday this week, athletes are asked to run or cross-train on their own.

o   On your own days are important, whether it is on a weekend or weekday. You are asked to do them for a reason, if you decide not to run on this day then you won’t benefit from your training as much as those that do their runs.

·      Academics

o   We are entering the fourth week of school, please make sure you are keeping up with your academic assignments.  If you need help in a class or need to stay after please let your parents and coaches know.

o   Being proactive in school will help you better balance sports and academics.  Don’t wait until the end of the quarter - that is often too late.  We want you to get all the academic support that you need, but please communicate with your parents and coaches!

·      Illness/Injury

o   We realize that a number of different colds or bugs are circulating the school, if you are starting to feel under the weather then you need to let your coaches know.

o   Identifying illness early will allow us to work together on preventing it from getting worse. 

o   If you are injured please follow the recommendation and routines given to you by the ATC and coaches.  IF YOU ARE HURT AND CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE THEN YOU SHOULD NOT BE RUNNING IN P.E. CLASS.  Let Coach Dietz know so we can work with your teachers to keep you healthy.

September 19 Quad Meet Recap; Shreyak Khanal is top finisher for the boys and Natalie Babuich for the girls

The Wolverines continue to show progress during the 2012 cross-country season after several standout performances during this week’s Quad Meet against West Springfield, W.T. Woodson and Lake Braddock.  The girls were 4th and the boys finished 3rd and were both led by sophomores enjoying their first season of cross country.

The West Potomac boys finished 3rd at the September 19 Quad Meet

Leading the way for the boys was Shreyak Khanal, who put himself in the front pack early on and never looked back.  Khanal finished 3rd overall in a time of 17:35.  Next in for the team was freshmen Carter Sibley running a smart race to move up to 11th and dip under 18 minutes (17:50).  Sophomore Jeff Rsycavage was nearly a minute faster than his performance from last year, placing 17th overall with a time of 18:07.  Junior David Cate (19th, 18:12) and freshmen Ben Slobodin (20th, 18:28) made sure that all top 5 scoring Wolverines were in the top 20.  Cross country newcomers sophomore Alex McDonald (21st, 18:29) and freshman John Whitney (25th, 18:39) had nice races to round out the team’s top 7 for the day.

The girls finished 4th at the Quad Meet

On the girls side it was Natalie Babiuch outkicked her competition in the final straightaway to snag a runner-up finish in an impressive time of 20:42.  Sophomore Anna Lorentzen was the next Lady Wolverine across the line as she placed 12th with a 14 second improvement from last year.  Freshmen Lauren Airey (18th, 21:45) and sophomore Zoe Smith (19th, 21:50) cracked into the top 20 and junior Kelsey O’Hern rounded out the score in 22nd place as her time of 22:02 was a minute faster than her 2011 performance.  Next in for the Lady Wolverines were sophomore Juliette Lash (33rd, 22:51) and freshman Meredith Barber (37th, 23:00).

All Wolverine finishers are listed with time and place under the Team Files page.  Great job to all the competitors and we are excited by the improvements we continue to see thanks to all your hard work.

Next Up: Paul Short Invitational

The top 10 runners on both the girls and boys team will be travelling up to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA to compete in the 39^th Annual Paul Short Invitational on Friday, September 28.  This meet will feature 80 high school teams in both genders and over 100 college programs from each gender. 

There will be a number of top ranked NCAA teams competing at Paul Short, but more importantly two West Potomac alumni: Dale Lescher at Navy and Colleen Boyle at Mary Washington will be competing.  Both Lescher and Boyle were key members of the 2011 girls team that swept the Patriot District and Northern Region titles last fall.

The Wolverines will compete in the Brown Division of High School races with the boys going first at 3:15pm and the girls at 3:45pm.  This will be the first 5k of the season for West Potomac and we are excited to see how the teams stack up against top teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Girls race assignments can be found here, boys here. 

A Word from the Snack Mom: These Kids are Hungry!

Sue Genuario reports that the West Potomac snack stockpile was decimated by the hungry athletes at the September 19th Quad Meet. Parents should be looking out for a Sign Up Genius note in their emails requesting more snacks! 

Practice Cancelled Today (Tuesday 9-18)

Due to the forecast for inclement weather we are going to be proactive and cancel this afternoon's practice.  All athletes should go home immediately after school (unless you are staying after for academic purposes).  Please complete the following training at home, and please have it completed before 6pm (don't do your training at night!).

Those racing tomorrow: 25-30 minute easy pre-race run, stretch!!!

--be prepared for a muddy course tomorrow, pack changes of clothes

--Bus leaves at 2:45 PM from West Potomac Parking Lot tomorrow

Those who are NOT racing tomorrow

Boys: 30-35 minute recovery run, 3x15 pushups/dips/mountain climbers

Girls: 25-30 minute recovery run, 3x10 pushups/dips/mountain climbers

--tomorrow meet at Franconia Park 3:15pm, you can drive if you have the appropriate forms or can ride the bus**

**if you do not have access to a treadmill then please compete the training on an elliptical or stationary bike

**those who think they may need to be taking a rest day/rehabbing please contact Coach Dietz (jdietz3@vt.edu) with questions

Thank you, stay safe & dry.  See everyone for the meet tomorrow!

Coach Dietz

Boys Finish 2nd Overall and Girls 3rd at the Braddock Relays

The Wolverines had a number of exciting finishes at the Braddock Relays against 24 other teams.  All runners competed on a 1.5 mile loop either in a 5-person relay format or in an open Extras race.  In the overall results, scored by the places of the A, B & C relays, the boys team tied for second place with Good Counsel (16 points), while the girls were third (7 points) just behind top tier teams in Lake Braddock (5 points) and Colonial Forge (6 points).

The afternoon started off with the boys B, C & D relays, who all placed in the top 10.  The Boys B relay was 8^th in a time of 41:25, Cullen O’Boyle had the fastest split of 7:57.  The Boys C relay the team moved up to 6^th place after a strong lead leg from Leonard (8:26).  The Boys D relay finished 5^th with John Whitney (8:41) and Jeff Ryscavage (8:43) posting solid times.

It was the Girls B relay that brought home the only relay win for the Wolverines.  Melanie Bomberg kept contact with the top group and posted the fastest split of the relay in 9:26, followed by a strong second leg by Kristi Snow.  Senior Allison McNulla ran a gusty third leg to not only move the Lady Wolverines into first, but to open up a lead on the field that Gabby Bomberg continued.  Nikki Amico ran tough to hold off Colonial Forge and Lake Braddock in a time of 48:33. 

Both the C & D relays placed in the top 5.  The Girls C relay had two very strong legs from Lauren Airey (9:59) and Natalie Babiuch (9:51) as both split under 10 minutes and the relay placed third.  The Girls D relay was 4^th after a very nice lead leg from Kelsey O’Hern (10:15).  Overall the Lady Wolverines showed off their depth by keeping all four relays in the top 4 out of 25 teams.

As the temperatures dropped the Wolverines enjoyed competing ‘Under the Lights’.  In the boys Extras race West Potomac was in the 4^th section and had four in the top 15.  Phillip Lincoln led the way for West Potomac and was followed closely by a fast closing Luke Pinney, Peter Stamos and Brian Cash also came in strong.  In the third girls section Carolyn Murphy was the Lady Wolverines top finisher and placing in the top 15 of her race.

In the Boys A Relay the top 5 boys showed off their depth in a very close runner-up finish.  Leadoff Corey Rosenberg posted the fastest split for the team in 7:36, but ran smart as he picked up competitors throughout his leg.  Luca Halladay ran an aggressive race to catch up to the lead pack and put the Wolverines in contention and splitting 7:41.  Sophomore Nick Cucinotta continued with his breakthrough performances to put the team in second, only being outpaced by All-State runner Nick Tuck (7:13 split).  Eric Turner kept the team in the top 3 with a very solid 4^th leg.  Then Crispin Bernier moved the Wolverines way up and closed a major gap on the leader with his strong leg (splitting 7:38) and the boys (38:47) were just two seconds off first place Lake Braddock (38:45).

For the last event of a very late night the Girls A relay stood up well to top level competition.  Sophia Passacantando ran an aggressive lead leg to put the Lady Wolverines in the mix and set up Katie Genuario well.  Genuario had the fastest split for the team (8:48) and moved the team up into second place.  Senior Lauren Price caught up to the leader and then took the lead in the final stretch.  Varsity newcomers Katie Murray and Maura Finn ran well to keep the team in 3^rd place with an overall time of 46:08.

A link to individual splits at the Braddock Relays is included in Team Links. 

Photos for the earlier races are posted on the West Potomac Sports website.

The Wolverines certainly showed off their depth, but also had a lot of fun in this different format.  While the team enjoyed the change of pace, we are also looking forward to getting back to racing the full 3 mile distance at the next meet on Wednesday at Franconia Park!

Braddock Relays Recap Still to Come

We'll be posting the Braddock Relays Recap as soon as the results of the meet are posted on Milestat. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, a big thank you to the Genuario's for hosting the team dinner on Friday night, and to all the parents who contributed and volunteered their time to make the event a success. The athletes had a great time and a great meal. 

A Word from the Snack Mom

A big thank you to all who have donated granola bars or money for our snacks and Gatorade.  We have enough granola snacks for the next two meets. I am looking for a few good parents to help transport water jugs (2), the snack bag, a table and tents (2) home from some of our meets.    The meets where we need help are on September 19, October 2, and October 17.  These meets are after school. Equipment can ride with students on the bus to/from meets.  Parents are needed to help set it up, maintain during the meet, and make sure it gets back to my house afterward.  We could also use three 51 oz instant powder mix Gatorade. They sell these at Wal-mart for about $9.  Kindly let me know if you can assist.  Sue Genuario, gensue@aol.com or 703 768-2853.

Spirit Wear Should Be Here on Monday

Spirit Wear items are ready and will be delivered Monday afternoon at the Track.  Please arrive at 2:50pm at the track; someone from Burke Sporting Goods will be delivering them pre-packaged for all those who placed orders back in August. 

Next Up: Wednesday Quad Meet @ Franconia Park

Quad Meet @ Franconia Park

WP vs. WS/LB/WTW

September 19, 2012; 5:00 PM

·      Boys will run first, followed by Girls

·      Bus will depart 2:45pm

·      The following athletes will NOT race & need to meet at Franconia Park to do a maintenance run before the race.  Everyone else will race.

o   Boys: Corey Rosenberg, Luca Halladay, Crispin Bernier, Nick Cucinotta, Cullen O’Boyle, Eric Turner, James McNulla, Brian Spitnale

o   Girls: Katie Genuario, Sophia Passacantando, Katie Murray, Maura Finn, Lauren Price, Allison McNulla, Melanie Bomberg, Kristi Snow, Gabrielle Bomberg, Nikki Amico

·      This course roughly 3 miles and all on grass. Athletes can put spikes in their racing shoes if they would like.  If it rains heavily Monday/Tuesday the coaches recommend using spikes, if it does not rain then blanks/flats are fine.

·      Since this will be a shorter meet with just two races we ask that everyone stays until after the girls race is over and support the team.  If an athlete wants to ride home with his/her parent they may request to do so after the girls race has concluded.

·      Directions:

o   Parents you are asked to park in the parking lot off Cloud Drive, if that one is full there is street parking as well as another lot off Bowie Drive

o   Mapquest Directions here

o   Location of the park here

Course Map for Braddock Relays

Course Map for the Braddock Relays

Braddock Relays Meet Information & Lineup

THE BRADDOCK RELAYS

September 15^th, 2012

♦♦♦Under the Lights♦♦♦

·        Bus Departs West Potomac @ 2pm…members of the B, C & D relays of both genders MUST ride the bus.  All members of the extras race and A relay need to arrive at 4:30pm!

·        5x2500 meter relay. Each school enters teams of 5 runners. Each runner runs a 2500 meter leg and then hands off the baton to their teammate.

·        The race will be run on multiple surfaces with slight hills. (Flats recommended) Each runner will run a 2500 meter loop. The course is quite spectator friendly.

·        Please be courteous of the competitors, although this race is spectator friendly there will be competing athletes all over the course and it will get spread out.  If you are crossing the course please make sure you are not in the way of the competitors.

·        If we have to make changes to the relays we will let you know ASAP, if we cannot fill the B, C or D relay due to an athlete being under the weather or injured we will shift athletes to the extras race.

Parents

·        Spectators -$5.00 entry fee at the entrance to the facility.

·        You may take your athlete with you after he/she completes the cooldown. 

·        If you have younger athletes interested in the youth races please feel free to bring them to join in on the fun!

Athletes

·        No spikes for this course!!!!

·        Remember: Uniform, Flats, Training Shoes, Team Shirt, Water, Snacks, change of clothes, stretch rope, trash bag

Time Schedule & West Po Lineups

- Coaches Meeting 4:00

- B,C&D Men's Relay Race 4:30

B: McNulla, O’Boyle, Bell, Spitnale, Khanal

C: Leonard, Slobodin, McDonald, Cate, Sibley

D: J. Whitney, Rscavage, Greene, A.Whitney, Dearborn

- B,C&D Women's Relay Race 5:20

B: M. Bomberg, Snow, McNulla, G. Bomberg, Amico

C: Airey, Babiuch, Lorentzen, McMullen, Smith

D: O’Hern, Lash, Powell, Barber, Copley

- Open Race (parents/coaches/etc...) 6:20

- Middle School 2500 Meter Race 6:35

- Elementary School 2500 Meter Race 6:50

- Extras Men’s 2500 Meter Race Section I 7:20*

*We don’t know what section we are in yet but our competitors will be: Lincoln, Pinney, Kluskens, Cash, Stamos, Dahik, Janssen

- Extras Men’s 2500 Meter Race Section II 7:30

- Extras Men’s 2500 Meter Race Section III 7:40

- Extras Women’s 2500 Meter Race Section I 7:50

*We don’t know what section we are in yet but our competitors will be:Murphy, Pinter, Martinez, Salahin, Vita, Leibowitz

- Extras Women’s 2500 Meter Race Section II 8:00

- Extra Women’s 2500 Meter Race Section III 8:10

- Men's A  Championship Relay Race 8:30

Rosenberg, Halladay, Cucinotta, Turner, Bernier

- Women's A  Championship Relay Race 9:15

Passacantando, Genuario, Price, Murray, Finn

- Awards Ceremony 10:15

·        Trophies and medals will be awarded to the top three men’s and women’s ‘A’ relay teams. The top 15 Men and Women in the Extras Race will receive medals. Also, the top 3 Mens & Womens B & C teams will receive medals.

·        We will award an overall men’s and women’s team champion based on team performance in all 3 relays A,B, & C. A first place team finish in a relay race receives 5 pts, 2nd place receives 4 pts, 3rd place receives 3 pts., 4th place receives 2 pts, and 5th place receives 1 pt. The highest possible team score will be 15 points (3 1st place finishes).