Pictures From Meet 1

Thank you to Emilia's parents for taking some pictures of our first meet last week.

Meet # 1 -- Edgar and Highland Park

The Spring Track Season opened up at Highland Park's new track along with some terrible rainy weather.  But some of our runners ignored the inclement weather and had outstanding performances.  Only ten of our distance squad made the trip.

Newcomers Shaina and Rishi established new PBs.  And Leah and Samyak lowered their PBs from 2023 by 2 seconds and 21 seconds respectively.

Shweta doubled and won her 800M race handily.

Shoulders and Waterfalls

Today was a very important and informative practice.  Below is a picture of the "shoulder" that exists between lane 1 and the infield turf.  When you race, stay in lane 1 and do not cross into the shoulder.

   

And here is the link for information and a video regarding waterfall starts and the auxiliary waterfall.  The video also shows an example of a "stand up" before the start--something we talked about.  And the race has an exciting finish!

Waterfalls

Time Trial #2

The rain finally disappeared and the squad moved to the front of the school to run some "1/3 miles."  The 800M runners ran four loops with a short recovery for a total workout of 1.33 miles.  The milers ran two doubles and then a single for a total of 1.67 miles.  

Time Trial #1

The distance squad ran their first time trial today.  It was held on the front lawn and the purpose of the time trial was to establish a baseline for our runners.

The times below should not be compared to career PBs because 1) they were running on a rectangle not an oval, 2) there was an incline and a decline on the lawn, 3) the surface was grass and not synthetic course material, 4) and they were not running under actual racing conditions.

800M Workout #1

 

2024 Distance Squad Roster

Below is the roster of the 15 students who make up the Distance Squad of the 2024 Middle School Track Team.

   

Middle School Distance Records

   

Girls 1600M - Bronwyn 5:39.46* - 5/17/2019 - South Brunswick

Boys 1600M - Adam 5:29.97 - 5/26/2021 - South Plainfield

Girls 800M - Charlotte 2:46.08 - 4/14/2022 - Pennington

Boys 800M - Luke 2:31.50 - 5/26/2021 - South Plainfield

* her time is faster than the Upper School Girls Record  

   

ROSTER

1600M

Lexington  7:00.04

Mimi       6:35.30

Shweta     6:27

800M

Anna       3:12.20

Arshi      3:38

Diya       3:55.63

Josh       2:56.10

Julia      3:06.22

Kemi       3:23.94

Leah       3:36.09

Mimi       2:53.22

Samyak     3:40.87

Sanjana    3:35

Shweta     2:57.60

New Runners

Rishi

Shaina

Tess

Two Weeks To Go

Two Weeks from today we will be meeting for our first practice.  If you're thinking of running for the Distance Squad, make sure all your paperwork is up to date.

One Month To Go

The Spring Track season will be starting one month from today on March 5th!  If you plan on being part of the Distance Squad, you should start getting into shape now.  Distance in the Spring is no different than X-C.

And get all your paperwork up to date.  If not, you will be sitting on the sidelines watching the other runners!

And start setting goals for yourself.  If you were on the squad last year, your PBs are on this blog last May.

2024 Tentative Spring Track Schedule - 1.0

The school has posted this Spring's schedule for our track team.  It is not complete yet; one meet that is missing is the Silver Spike Meet at GSB.

The season will be starting in a little more than two months from today.  It is NEVER too early to be thinking about getting into shape and actually doing it.  Runners who prepare for the season usually get the most PBs during it.

3/18 to 4/1 Spring Break

4/11  Thu  Highland Park & Edgar     

4/18  Thu  South River & Calvary Christian

4/25  Thu  Perth Amboy

4/29  Mon  Middlesex

5/2   Thu  New Brunswick

5/9   Thu  Carteret

5/16  Thu  GMC Championship at Sayreville

Cross Country Record Board - Updated For 2023

 Before...

...and After

Career Home PBs - Updated For 2023

Now that the season has ended, the blog goes into a bit of hibernation.  There will be an occasional posting but the blog will return in full force in March to cover the distance squad of the Middle School Spring Track Team.

But if you are a fellow X-C junkie, you can follow the not yet ended High School Cross Country Season on the Upper School blog.

And here is the up to date list of Home Course PBs for our fourteen MS X-C runners.

The Stagger Race

Tradition continued today at the Middle School Cross Country practice.  Our runners participated in the annual "Stagger Race."  The runners all had an equal chance at winning the race because they started at different times.  The first runner to start was the runner with the slowest career home PB.  Then the next slowest took off, and so on and so on until the fastest runner started.  Theoretically all the runners should cross the finish line at the same time.  Shaan won the race and he and four others threw down new course PBs.

The "starting line"

The winner

They gave their all

The Green vs Gold Intra-Squad Meet

 

   

At the end of each season, tradition takes over in terms of the events of the final week.  On Wednesday the team split up into two groups for an intra squad meet.  This was also an opportunity to lower their Home Course PBs.  And four runners did so!!   

    

    

Middle School State Meet - Results

The Middle School X-C squad participated in the State Meet yesterday for the second year in a row.  This meet is a good test for our young runners because the competition is definitely tougher than what they saw at the GMCs.  The unusual late October heat may have been the reason for our runners having only three PBs.

The results page was different than last year's.  It is the format that is commonly used for public road races.  But they did have a team result which they did not have last year.  A spot check of the team numbers did not match so I'm not sure how they came up with their numbers.  I re-did the team results and got different numbers but the same results.

Course = 3K = 1.86 Miles (a bit longer than our home course)  Girls race had 115 runners and the Boys had 116.

GIRLS RACE

58th Mimi 13:46.23

79th Shweta 14:41.52 PB

87th Julia 15:14.69

88th Shaina 15:24.59 New Runner PB

97th Leah 16:14.28

110th Sanjana 18:53.67

112th Anna 19:09.34

Team Average = 15:04    1-5 Split = 2:28

9th Place Finish

    

BOYS RACE

108th Rishi 16:31.29 PB

113rd Samyak 17:16.28 PB

     

Team Scoring

In the Girls Race there were ten teams that had the minimum of five runners.  There were also three schools that had just one runner.  And there were also eight unattached runners.

PBs From Last Year's State Meet at Skillman

 

 

Distance = 3 Km = 1.86 Miles

Anna   15:05

Jason   New Runner

Julia   14:27

Leah   15:05

Lexington   14:59

Mimi   13:34

Rishi   17:58

Samyak   17:49

Sanjana   18:01

Shaina   New Runner

Shweta   15:01

2023 Middle School GMC - Results

 

Another year and another very good Girls squad.  The team lost six 8th graders but the team simply reloaded with two new runners and the returnees stepped up their game.  Despite a 3-3 record during a rain soaked season, the Girls went to the GMC ready to make some noise.

The result?  Another awesome 4th place finish in the Varsity Race against nine large schools and six others that did not have the minimum five runners.  The winner was John Adams (85 points) followed by a newcomer to the top of the list, South Plainfield (101).  Third place went to Monroe (121) and we saw how good they were last week.  W+H had 131 points.  A lot of our runners passed multiple opponents in the kill zone which gave W+H the 4th place finish.  Fifth went to CrossRoads (134), Sayreville (137 & payback), and Wilson (143).  The Girls also paid back Sandburg which ended up in 9th.

The Girls also earned six medals!  Five in the Varsity Race and one in the JV race.

Girls Varsity

4th place - 12:04.86 average - 1-5 split 1:16

{Some of our runners thought the GMC course was a bit longer than the two races they ran in the past week.  Therefore, PBs will be based on past GMC races only}

Mimi - 15th - 11:27.09 - MEDAL

Lexington - 21st - 11:45.68 - PB by 0:48 - MEDAL

Shweta - 23rd - 11:49.92 - MEDAL

Julia - 45th - 12:38.30 - MEDAL

Shaina - 47th - 12:43.31 - New Runner PB - MEDAL

Anna - 62nd - 13:35.25

Ellie - 63rd - 13:36.24 - New Runner PB

Girls JV

Sanjana - 23rd - 13:24.50 - PB by 0:59 - MEDAL

Boys JV

Rishi - 110th - 13:40.19 - PB by 1:09

Samyak - 124th - 14:06.32

Shaan - 159th - 16:32.90 - New Runner PB

  

Click here to view full results

{The placements for Mimi and Anna are incorrect.  They should be switched.  A request has been sent in}

10-18 vs Monroe

Today the X-C squad encountered another crazy day at Thompson Park.  Last Thursday we were delayed by traffic on the turnpike and arrived to find that there was a quad meet that did not involve us.

Today we traveled down to Thompson Park for a dual meet vs Monroe MS which would serve as a good rehearsal for the GMCs on Saturday.  The bus arrived on time to find that we could not enter the park due to the re-paving of Fir Road.

After all of the coaches met with a representative of the paving company and a park ranger, it was decided that the race would take place on the section of the park between Fir Road and Monroe HS.  The distance is unknown but it was definitely shorter than the 1.5 mile course.

The Girls came up short against the home team and are now 0-3 and one cancelation versus Monroe.  W+H finished six places ahead of Monroe in last year's GMC so payback is definitely a possibility.

   

Boys Results

   

Rishi   32nd place   11:40

Samyak   35th place   11:57

Shaan   36th place   15:01

Jason   37th place   18:03

The 2023 GMCs - A Preview

 

When: Saturday October 21

           Boys Varsity 1:00 PM

           Girls Varsity 1:20 PM

           Boys JV 1:40 PM

           Girls JV 2:00 PM

Where: Thompson Park

Distance: 1.5 Miles

Trophies: To 1st, 2nd, 3rd place teams in all races

Medals: Top 50 in all races

Last Year: 567 Runners!!

2015 Squad

    

2021 Squad

                               2022 Squad

    

GIRLS

        

2014   JV Race    13th of 14 teams  15:16 average   1-5 split = 5:02

2015   JV Race     3rd of 15 teams  11:33 average   1-5 split = 1:42

2016   Vars Race   6th of 14 teams  11:19 average   1-5 split = 1:51

2016   JV Race    14th of 17 teams  14:55 average   1-5 split = 3:52

2017   Vars Race   4th of 11 teams  10:52 average   1-5 split = 1:35

2017   JV Race     7th of 19 teams  12:37 average   1-5 split = 2:12

2018   Var Race    5th of 11 teams  11:13 average   1-5 split = 0:50

2018   JV Race     17th of 19 teams 14:05 average   1-5 split = 3:27

2019   Var Race    7th of 10 teams  11:35 average   1-5 split = 1:57

2019   JV Race     14th of 15 teams 13:36 average   1-5 split = 0:52

2020   Canceled due to Covid

2021   Var Race    3rd of 10 teams  11:19 average   1-5 split = 1:19

2021   JV Race     6th of 15 teams        Times are unknown

2022   Var Race    4th of 10 teams  11:17 average   1-5 split = 0:45

2022   JV Race     Only two girls entered

   

BOYS  

2014   JV Race    16th of 16 teams  14:35 average   1-5 split = 4:32

2015   JV Race    15th of 17 teams  12:04 average   1-5 split = 2:31

2016   Vars Race  11th of 13 teams  11:09 average   1-5 split = 2:05

2016   JV Race    16th of 17 teams  13:05 average   1-5 split = 2:10

2017   Vars Race  only three runners entered

2017   JV Race    18th of 18 teams  12:24 average   1-5 split = 0:39

2018   Var Race   11th of 11 teams  11:14 average   1-5 split = 0:59

2018   JV Race    17th of 17 teams  15:24 average   1-5 split = 8:55

2019   Var Race   11th of 12 teams  11:26 average   1-5 split = 3:19

2019   JV Race    only four runners entered

2020   Canceled due to Covid

2021   Var Race   only two runners entered

2021   JV Race    only four runners entered

2022   Var Race   only one runner entered

2022   JV Race    only two runners entered

10-12 vs Churchill and Sandburg

Don't be mislead by the title of this post.  But more about that in a while.  This proved to be another one of those crazy bus/X-C/schedule days.  First our bus was the last of the four W+H hired for the day.  We left only a bit late, 6 minutes.  But then we hit a traffic jam about four miles before our exit on the Turnpike.  Turns out there was a crash earlier and now they were repairing the guardrail.  

We got to the park around 4:05 and the race hadn't started yet.  But we were surprised to find out that there was no Sandburg and Churchill was hosting a quad meet with Monroe, Sayreville, and Salk.  They didn't know we were coming!

We made a quick decision to jump into the separate boys and girls races and use it as a scrimmage (no team result) to learn the course for next week's GMC.  And to see what kind of times we can run.  So these are our results. 

Mimi - 3rd place - 10:28 - Course PB by 40 seconds

Shweta - 4th place - 10:30 - Course PB by 1:13

Lexington - 11th place - 11:18 - Course PB by 1:15

Julia - 12th place - 11:25 - Course by 1 second

Shaina - 18th place - 12:02 - New Runner PB

Anna - 25th place - 12:40 - New Course PB by 0:43

Sanjana - 49th place - 13:38 - Course PB by 0:45

Leah - 58th place - 14:33

Ellie - 60th place - 14:38 - New Runner PB

Sanaya - 86th place - 17:42 - Course PB by 2:07

**************

Rishi - 78th place - 12:55 - Course PB by 1:54

Samyak - 88th place - 13:53

Shaan - 94th place - 15:51 - New Runner PB

Jason - 103rd place - 20:39 - New Runner PB

10-10 vs Salk & Sandburg

The X-C squad traveled to Phillips Park in Old Bridge today for a tri-meet vs Salk and Sandburg.  Wardlaw has been coming to this course for many years.  It is one of the few courses that has a wooded trail.  The girls were able to defeat Salk again but fell just 4 points short of defeating Sandburg.  The girls will have a quick re-match against Sandburg on Thursday when they travel to Thompson Park for another tri-meet.  Monroe MS will be the third squad this time.

Everyone ran well today.  Course PBs are in yellow.  New course PBs are in green.  And key displacement efforts are in blue.

 

   

   

  

The boys had only 3 entries so there was no team result.

   

The first two boys crossed the line in 8:42 and 8:49.

Rishi was 36th in 13:27 Course PB

Samyak was 49th in 15:46

Shaan was 52nd in 16:56 New Course PB

10-5 vs Salk

The X-C squad hosted their second home meet of the season and the Girls came away with their second win by a score of 18-43.  This was the third meeting with Salk Middle School (Old Bridge) and the first time Salk has come to our campus.  The Girls are now 2-1 against Salk.  W+H split the two meets run at Phillips Park and Salk did not come north to us in 2021 because of bus issues.

Lexington and Sanjana threw down PBs and Ellie made her X-C debut with a PB time of 15:21.  The key to the race today was Julia and a Salk girl battling for third place.  In the first lap Julia was about ten meters behind the Salk girl.  In the second lap she passed her and held on thus giving W+H a 1-2-3 finish.  In a dual meet a 1-2-3 finish is a victory lock.

The boys only had four runners today so there was no team score.  A Salk boy won the race in 10:43.

Rishi was 20th in 17:22

Samyak was 26th in 18:09

Shaan was 33rd in 23:32

Jason was 34th in 28:18

We meet Salk again next Tuesday in a tri meet with Sandburg at Phillips Park.

9-30 vs Gill St. Bernard's

The team traveled to Peapack today for their annual visit to Gill St. Bernard's during their Fall Fair.  They will return the favor by coming to ours on October 14.  When they do it will be payback time because our runners today came up short against our arch-rival Knights.

New runners established new PBs and Mimi and Anna lowered their course PBs.  The boys had only two entries.  GSB had the first three girls across the line and in a dual meet that is an automatic win.  When they come visiting in two weeks we will have to break into that top trio.

Good job by Coach Liz in coaching our young runners today.  

     

    

   

9-28 vs North Brunswick

The Middle School Cross Country Team had their home opener today.  It was against GMC foe North Brunswick.  This was the fourth time we have run against them but it is the first time they have come to our course.  Despite the spongy and soggy condition of our beloved course, the team still threw down five PBs.  The boys had only four runners today so there was no team result.  And the girls won convincingly with a 21-38 victory.

Shweta won her first race with a PB time of 13:44.  Mimi was right behind and then came two NB runners.  And then this was where the race was decided.  Julia, Lexington (PB), and Shaina (PB) passed a few runners in the second loop and the victory was sealed.  Leah and Anna each displaced two NB runners to help the cause even more.

Next up is the trip to GSB on Saturday