Monday & Tuesday Training

Hello!  As many of you probably know there is no school Monday/Tuesday and therefore no more practice. What you will be able to do for training will depend largely on how the storm impacts our area.  The rest of the Northern Region is in the same boat as us so we will just do the best we can over the next several days.

Monday: The storm is supposed hit in the afternoon so please do your training in the morning and get it over with.  Everyone should have done the workout today, so it is just a maintenance run.
 Post-season group:
  bounds, pedestals, maintenance run (girls 4.5 miles; boys 5.5 miles), 4x150m accelerators, core routine, followed by lots of stretching
Border Wars group:
  pose drills, pedestals, 30 minute maintenance run, 3x12 (pushups, mountain climbers, dips, supermen) & then core

Tuesday: This day is being forecasted as much worse, most likely you will need to do your training indoors and what you can do will depend on your access to equipment as well as any power outages.
Everyone do the same
 Run for 30 minutes, followed by pose drills
**if you cannot run then please cross train for 35-38 minutes (bike, elliptical work just fine)

Stayed tuned for the next couple days to see how we are impacted by the storm and what FCPS decides to do...we will post information on Regionals if there are any changes made to the schedule.

Contact Coach Dietz with questions jdietz3@vt.edu

West Potomac XC Qualifies for Regionals

Congratulations to both West Potomac Cross Country teams as they qualified for the Northern Region Championships after placing in the top four at the Patriot District Championships.  In all there were six All-District performers for the Wolverines and nearly all the competitors put forth personal best efforts.

The boys’ team continues to come on strong late in the season as they were runner-ups with 66 points to Lake Braddock (55 points).  The Wolverines had a strong pack and put 6 runners all within 33 seconds.  Luca Halladay (7th, 16:02) and Nick Cucinotta (8th, 16:03) led the way for the boys team as they earned All-District honors for the first time.  Captain Corey Rosenberg earned his second straight All-District honors with a 10th place finish and time of 16:12.  Eric Turner ran strong to place in the top 20 (19th, 16:24) with Crispin Bernier in 22nd (16:31).  Cullen O’Boyle was a strong 6th runner for the Wolverines as he placed 26th (16:35) and James McNulla ran well (39th, 17:03). 

The girls placed third in the always competitive Patriot District, behind the top ranked team in the state Lake Braddock (25 points) and West Springfield (49 points).  Katie Genuario earned her second straight All-District honors as she was 7th overall in a new personal best of 18:16.  Lauren Price earned her first individual All-District honors in cross country with her 11th place finish and breaking the 19 minute barrier for the first time in 18:56.  Sophia Passacantando was All-District for the third straight year as she held on for 15thplace (19:07).  Katie Murray (25, 19:44), Allison McNulla (26th, 19:51), Melanie Bomberg (30th, 20:08) and Maura Finn (35th, 20:23) rounded out the Varsity as they competed in their first District Championships.

Both teams move on to compete in next week’s Northern Region Championships at Burke Lake Park (Thursday November 1st).  Boys race first at 3:15pm and Girls will follow at 4pm.  Come out and cheer on the West Potomac Cross Country teams, the top four teams at Regionals will advance to the VHSL AAA State Meet.

Patriot Festival Recap

The Wolverines competed in the Patriot District Festival at Occoquan Regional Park this past week.  This year’s course had been moved up to 5k (last year was 2.98 miles) and many of the West Potomac runners registered new 5k personal bests.  The competition was divided into four races: underclassmen and upperclassmen divisions for both genders.  In each division the Wolverines had top 15 performances.

The Boys Freshmen/Sophomore race gave the Wolverines a chance to showcase their improvement throughout the season.  All of the scoring runners for West Potomac boys were completing their first season of cross-country.  Sophomore Shreyak Khanal was 14th with a time of 17:54, while freshmen Michael Bell closed hard to place 16th in a new 5k best of 17:59.  Not far behind was a nice pack of West Potomac runners with Joseph Leonard (19th, 18:08), Ben Slobodin (20th, 18:08), Carter Sibley (21st, 18:10) and John Whitney (24th, 18:17).  Overall the boys were 4th in the Freshmen/Sophomore division.

In the Girls Freshmen/Sophomore race the Lady Wolverines were able to put 3 in the top 15.  Sophomore Gabby Bomberg stayed with the chase pack for most of the race, ending up 7th in a new 5k best of 20:48.  Sophomore Natalie Babiuch moved up throughout the second half and closed strong to come in 8th in a time of 20:54.  Sophomore Nikki Amico also got a new 5k personal best of 21:16 to finish 15th.  In their first season of cross-country Zoe Smith (21st, 21:33) and freshman Lauren Airey (23rd, 21:36) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Wolverines and help the team place a close 4th overall.

For the Boys Junior/Senior race it was junior Brian Spitnale leading the way.  Spitnale continued to impress in his breakthrough season as he placed 13th overall in a new 5k personal best of 17:50, the fastest time for West Potomac boys across both boys races.  Junior David Cate came in 23rd in 18:09.  Junior Kelsey O’Hern led the way for the Lady Wolverines in the final race of the day.  O’Hern moved up steadily throughout her race to crack into the top 10 by placing 9th in a new 5k personal best of 21:12.  In the Girls Junior/Senior race the Lady Wolverines placed 6th overall.

Across all races athletes demonstrated their growth and improvement as cross-country runners and it was a great day for the team to see the rewards of hard work.  Having all the Wolverine competitors in the Patriot Festival put forth such strong efforts and setting personal bests is a trend that we hope to see continue on with the post-season and in the years to come.  For all the athletes that had their season come to a close this week thank you for all your hard work and we look forward to working with you in future seasons on the track or back in cross-country!

Next Up: Patriot District Championships: Come Out to Support the Wolverines!

Tuesday’s practice is the Patriot District Preview, where the Burke Lake course is open to all Patriot District teams to do a course preview and hold practice there.  We will be arranging carpools for the drive over, any parents who can volunteer to drive please let me know!  It should be a little shorter of a practice compared to when we have had workout days over there.  Be done by 4:45pm.

Championship season starts this Thursday at Burke Lake Park with the Patriot District Championship.  Boys race first at 4:15pm and girls go off next at 4:45pm.  The post-season group is excused from school early on Thursday to make it over to the course in time.  Bus departs at 12:45pm.

The Wolverines are looking forward to starting off the post-season in the always competitive Patriot District.  The top 15 individuals for both genders as well as the top four placing teams will advance to the Northern Region Championships.  Come out and support the West Potomac Cross Country teams this Thursday!!!!!

Coaches Corner

Uniform Collection: I need all uniforms turned into me ASAP.  They can be turned in at practice this week, as well as at the team dinner this Friday!  A few of you have already turned in uniforms so thank you very much!!!!

Team Dinner: Reminder that the last team dinner for this year’s Cross Country season is on Friday.  It is our senior night and we will be celebrating our awesome seniors, all athletes should attend!

Border Wars:  Thank you to those who have expressed an interest in participating in 2012 Border War meet on November 17, 2012.  It looks like we will have over 10 athletes and therefore will get the discounted $25 entry fee (covers race entry, Nike Singlet and amazing chicken dinner!).

So far the following have expressed interest in competing…if you would like your name to be added to this list please let Coach Dietz know so she has the correct list for information updates

Boys: James McNulla, Cullen O’Boyle, Eric Turner, Bernard Kluskens, Austin Whitney, John Whitney, Joseph Powell

Girls: Allison McNulla, Lauren Price, Nikki Amico, Gabby Bomberg, Melanie Bomberg, Laura Powell, Meredith Barber, Zoe Smith

Team Dinner and SENIOR NIGHT this Friday at the Rosenbergs

The last team dinner of the 2012 season will be held this Friday, October 26, at the Rosenberg home, 7975 Bolling Drive, Alexandria VA 22308.  It will also be Senior Night - so parents of our graduating athletes should plan on attending the dinner. There are still a few items needed, so please visit the Sign Up here if you are able. Thank you again to this year's hosts - the Genuarios, Halladays and the Rosenbergs, for opening their homes to the teams. Thank you to all the parents who have cooked up a storm and made the dinners so enjoyable for the athletes. See you on Friday evening!

Post-season Roster

The following should report to practice for the post-season....practice tomorrow at 12:45pm Ft Hunt Park (Area E). If you cannot make practice please ask Coach Dietz (jdietz3@vt.edu) for training instructions.

Boys: Corey Rosenberg, Luca Halladay, Nick Cucinotta, Eric Turner, Cullen O'Boyle, James McNulla, Crispin Bernier, Brian Spitnale, Shreyak Khanal, Michael Bell, Ben Slobodin, John Whitney

Girls: Katie Genuario, Katie Murray, Lauren Price, Sophia Passacantando, Allison McNulla, Maura Finn, Melanie Bomberg, Gabby Bomberg, Kristi Snow, Natalie Babiuch, Nikki Amico, Kelsey O'Hern

The post-season roster is based are the workouts, and races at Glory Days as well as today's performance.

For all those interested in competing in Border Wars but not moving on to the post-season please email Coach Dietz and let her know your plans to participate, take a week off from running and then you can return to practice for training.  We will start registering athletes next week.

Patriot Festival Information

The Patriot Festival is this Tuesday (October 16, 2012).  The bus departs West Potomac at 2:30pm!  All athletes should ride the bus to the meet.

The following athletes will NOT be competing (everyone else who is healthy and cleared to run will be participating in their respective division)
Girls: Katie Genuario, Sophia Passacantando, Katie Murray, Lauren Price, Allison McNulla, Maura Finn, Melanie Bomberg
Boys: Corey Rosenberg, Luca Halladay, Nick Cucinotta, Eric Turner, Cullen O'Boyle, James McNulla, Crispin Bernier
*This group will be working out on Monday & Thursday, but should still ride the bus on Tuesday and come to do a run in the park before the meet.


Race Schedule
2:30 pm - Course opens for review. Pick up team packets
4:30 pm - Freshman/Sophomore Boys Race
5:00 pm - Freshman/Sophomore Girls Race
5:30 pm - Junior/Senior Boys Race
6:00 pm - Junior/Senior Girls Race

There are awards for the top team in each division and the top 15 in each race

Park Location
Occoquan Regional Park
9701 Ox Road
Lorton, VA 22079

Coaches Corner

Future Practice

This week we have our final regular season meet with the Patriot Festival on Tuesday.  After Tuesday’s meet only the top 10-14 will be required to still attend practice in preparing for the post-season.

Uniform Collection

Uniform collection will take place as soon as an athlete’s season has concluded.  We ask that prior to turning uniforms in that both the singlet and bottoms are washed.  Uniforms should be turned in a bag with the athlete’s name attached so we can keep records of who has turned in their uniforms.

Senior Night/Team Dinner

The final team dinner of the season is on Friday, October 26^th where we will recognize all our cross-country seniors.  All athletes should attend, regardless of whether or not he/she is still competing.  There are still a few items we could use parents to volunteer to bring, sign-up is here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0949A4A92AAB9-xcteam

Battle of the Potomac: November 17, 2012

There is a meet open to all area high school athletes that West Potomac has participated in over the years: The Border Wars or Battle of the Potomac XC Meet at Smokey Glen Farm.  Coach Dietz has flyers that will be handed out at practice.  All interested athletes should talk to Coach Dietz about participating in this fun run. 

Included in the $28 entry fee is the opportunity to compete, a nice Virginia Nike singlet, and an amazing chicken dinner.  If we have enough athletes register then all athletes get $3 off their entry fee.

Glory Days Grill Invitational Recap

The Wolverines returned to Bull Run Regional Park (site of the first meet =PR= Kickoff Invitational) for their last major invitational of the 2012 cross country season.  With ideal weather and a fast course the team saw a number of 5k personal bests throughout the day with several teams placing in the top 10 of large fields.

Starting the day off with the Boys Freshman race, John Whitney and Ben Slobodin teamed up to have their best races of the season and demonstrate significant progress in their first season of cross country.  Whitney moved up throughout the race and closed strong to finish 15^th in a swift time of 17:56.  Slobodin held on to finish 37^th in a personal best of 18:15 and West Potomac placed 10^th out of 36 teams in the race.

For the girls Freshman race Lauren Airey (47^th, 21:47) and Jennifer Thomson (69^th, 22:26) returned to racing to lead the Lady Wolverines.  Classmate Meredith Barber was not far behind, crossing the line at 22:33 in 72^nd place.  Overall the team placed 15^th out of 26^th scoring teams in the race.

In the Junior Varsity races the boys were 10^th in the second division, out of 23 teams and the girls were 28^th out of 34 teams.  Brian Spitnale (37^th, 18:27) was the top finisher for the boys and Juliette Lash (141^st, 23:24) was the top performer in the race for the girls.

Maura Finn finished in the top 20 for the Varsity B Girls

West Potomac also competed in the Varsity B races and demonstrated their depth.  Sophomore James McNulla put together his best race of the season thus far and placed in the top 30 with his 27^th place finish and new 5k personal best of 17:20.  For the girls sophomore Maura Finn moved up into the top 20, crossing the line in 20:31.  The girls team placed 10^th out of 35 teams in the Varsity B races.

Corey Rosenberg and Luca Halladay led
for the Varsity Boys seeded race

The Seeded races were the last race of the day and the boys team put together its best race of the season.  The Wolverines moved up significantly during the last half of the race and were led by captains senior Corey Rosenberg (28^th, 16:27) and junior Luca Halladay (29^th, 16:28).  Both runners closed strong and took significant time off their 5k personal bests.  Sophomores Nick Cucinotta (45^th, 16:37) and Eric Turner (65^th, 16:47) continued their breakout season.  Classmate Cullen O’Boyle (17:16) rounded out the score for the team as they placed 7^th out of 31 teams.

Leading the way in the Seeded Varsity Girls race was junior Katie Genuario, as she was the top individual finisher for West Potomac with her 10^th place finish in a deep field.  Genuario set a new 5k personal best of 18:51 and was over a minute faster from her 2011 performance.  Seniors Sophia Passacantando (19:58), Lauren Price (20:14), and Allison McNulla (20:15) all ran new season bests.  The girls placed 8^th out of 24 teams.

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Patriot All Comers Recap

There were no team scores at this past Tuesday’s All-Comers meet, but most of the Wolverines got another opportunity to compete on the historic 2.98 mile Burke Lake course.  Both teams demonstrated their improvement over the past month since their last outing on the course at Monroe Parker.

Leading the way for the boys team was senior captain Corey Rosenberg (16:28) and junior captain Luca Halladay (16:31).  Sophomores Nick Cucinotta (16:42), Cullen O’Boyle (17:09) and Eric Turner (17:15) teamed up to all finish in the top 5 for the team.  Shreyak Khanal (17:43) and Crisipin Bernier (17:46) rounded out the top 7.

On the girls side senior Allison McNulla led the way for the Lady Wolverines with a new personal best of 19:49.  Katie Murray also set a new best time on the course with her time of 19:54. Sophia Passacantando (20:04), Melanie Bomberg (20:08) and Gabrielle Bomberg (20:22) packed in the next three runners for West Potomac. Sophomores Maura Finn (20:41) and Kristi Snow (20:49) kept the top 7 for the day under 21 minutes.

The times and splits for the West Potomac runners at Patriot All-Comers can be found here.