Friday, November 28, 2008

National Rankings

With our performance at the Nike Southwest Regionals, the girls TEAM has moved back into the national rankings. We are currently ranked 22nd.
Link - Harrier Top 25
We will officially know if the girls receive an at-large invitation into the Nike Nationals on Sunday the 30th.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Nike Team Regionals

Darts -
We completed another great Davis Cross Country season this weekend at the Nike Team Regionals in Tempe, AZ. I have a lot of the same feelings that I get at the end of any season. It is kind of bitter - sweet. I am going to miss being in the cross country season, but I am extremely proud of the work and the sacrifices of the members of this TEAM. I look back at all of our successes from this year, both as individuals and as a TEAM, and I know that they have come because of our commitment to doing our best. Both the boys and the girls finished off the season with great performances against the best teams from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, and Nevada.

The boys team finished in 8th place. Going into the race we were not considered in the top 10. We finished 13th at the race last year, and the competition was much tougher this year. We were led again by a solid performance from Seth Gutzwiller. He finished 21st with a time of 15:55, and was the 3rd Utahn in the race. I was most impressed with the performances of our underclassmen. Logan Petty, Joe White, and Jason Thomas really stepped up. And I think we have a shot at placing much higher next year. In the Open race (JV runners) we were led by outstanding races by Jeff Taylor (16:53) and Curtis Carlisle (16:57) - both would have finished as varsity runners for us.

Boys Championship Results:
21. Seth Gutzwiller 15:55
84. Logan Petty 16:42
87. Joe White 16:44
92. Jason Thomas 16:50
105. Leland Stenquist 16:58
121. Michael King 17:08
122. Carston Feigleson 17:08

Team Scores:
1. 156 Albuquerque, NM
2. 172 Alta, UT
3. 190 Cibola, NM
4. 195 American Fork, UT
5. 205 Los Alamos, NM
6. 214 Rio Rico, AZ
7. 223 Timpview, UT
8. 286 Davis
*24 total teams

Boys Open Results:
24. Jeff Taylor 16:53
28. Curtis Carlisle 16:58
44. Devin Lang 17:14
66. Brian Alfaro 17:33
81. Derek Gallacher 17:54
95. Adam Mathias 18:04
98. Mike Murdock 18:08
115. Adam Seelos 18:26
116. Joe Albrechtsen 18:26
130. Bradley Fry 18:50
133. Andrew Steinicke 18:59
137. Caleb Ward 19:07
141. Keigun Kunz 19:12
166. Trevor Mills 19:54
170. Cade Cloward 19:59

Team Scores:
1. 52 Albuquerque
2. 109 Bear Cave (Varsity)
3. 115 Timpanogos (Varsity)
4. 116 Eagles (Varsity)
5. 150 Davis B Team
14. 365 Davis C Team
*18 total teams

On the girls side, there was some disappointment in the 3rd place outcome, but the girls ran as hard as they could trying to finish in the top 2 and earn a trip to the Nike Nationals in Portland (where we finished 9th last year). They really have no reason to hang their heads. It was an incredible accomplishment to be 3rd in the race after the injuries and challenges we have faced this year, and the season as a whole was filled with tremendous successes. There is still a small chance that the girls will get chosen as an at-large team and get invited into the national meet, but the odds are against us. We will find out this coming Sunday if we qualify as one of the 4 at-large teams. (There are 9 regions - each automatically qualifying 2 teams, then 4 at-large teams are chosen making 22 total teams). Candace Eddy was our top finisher in 8th place. Candace earned an individual invite to the Nike Nationals and will be racing on December 6th (hopefully with the rest of her team). Her comeback from injuries has been amazing. Meghan ran a tough race. She was struggling over the last mile, but held on to finish 26th. Katie and Emily ran together and pushed each other to strong finishes despite struggling with injuries for the past weeks. Jessie stepped up as she has all season to finish as our 5th runner (and had her strongest kick of the year). And Julianne was able to finish her race coming back from a stress fracture. In the Open race the 2 girls teams finished 2nd and 5th behind varsity squads from other schools. They were led by Brooke Stromberg in 20th and then some great performances by the freshman (Megan, Becca, and Brooke). Caitlin Miller also had a breakthrough race with a 2:06 pr.

Girls Championship Results
8. Candace Eddy 18:12
26. Meghan Hedquist 18:59
41. Katie Swanson 19:29
42. Emily Hansen 19:30
73. Jessica Wilding 20:00
88. Talya Kussee 20:17
95. Julianne Wirthlin 20:25

Team Scores:
1. 62 Fort Collins, CO
2. 105 Classical, CO
3. 146 Davis
4. 161 Thomson Valley, CO
5. 162 Mt Crest, UT
6. 187 Park City, UT

Girls Open Results
20. Brooke Stromberg 20:54
28. Megan Parker 21:15
29. Becca Albrechtsen 21:16
30. Hannah Firth 21:18
32. Caitlin Miller 21:27
35. Brooke Gutzwiller 21:31
53. Brittany Sumpsion 22:23
55. Missy Lott 22:29
56. Emily Prince 22:30
57. AnnaLisa Ward 22:31
58. Danna Stuart 22:31
73. Tracey Munson 24:06
79. Julia Anderson 25:55

Team Scores:
1. 38 Zuni (Varsity)
2. 53 Davis B Team
3. 88 Mingus (Varsity)
4. 95 Loveland
5. 103 Davis C Team
6. 121 Coco Striders

Full results can be found by following the links to the Southwest Regional from dyestat.com

A special thanks to all the athletes for coming and racing their best and making the trip memorable. Thanks to Dave King and Steve Petty for the huge amount of help they give me on the trips so that I can relax and think about the races. Thanks to the trip moms - Julie Wilding and Joan Hansen for their help and support. Thanks to Brad for spending the time with us, helping us prepare to race, and for bringing Spencer along (who was the most well-behaved kid on the trip).
Important information -
1. Uniforms - if you have any of the Davis uniforms, please wash them and then bring them back to me.
2. Time-off - I don't want any of you running this week (Thanksgiving week). You can stay active, but try to rest your mind and your body - because I am going to be working you pretty hard from December to May for indoor and outdoor track. Next week (Dec 1-6) - We will NOT meet as a team, but you can start your base training based on how you feel. I would like you to just do distance training or cross training. Don't run anything longer than six miles. If you feel good, then run, if you feel like you need a little more time off, then take it a little easier. Email me or come and see me if you have any questions. We will start meeting as a distance team on Monday, Dec. 8th, and the indoor track meeting will be Wednesday, Dec 10th - spread the word. 3. Blog - check out the blog for upcoming pictures of region, state, and NXN.

Once again, thanks for an amazing season and thanks for all the memories. I am honored to work with each of you. Continue to do your best in everything you do.
Coach Talley

Region Championships (Girls JV race)

Monday, November 17, 2008

CONGRATULATIONS NATALIE HAWS


Natalie finished 10th in the Mountain Regional Cross Country Championships in Fort Collins on Saturday. She ran 20:53 for the 6k course and was the top freshman and the top American in the race. She qualified for the NCAA Championships which will be next Monday in Terre Haute, Indiana. Best of Luck Nat!!!
Here is what Coach Paul Pilkington said of Natalie's race:
"Natalie ran a fantastic race today. She ran a very mature race for a freshman. She was 20th after the first mile but ran a steady, even pace and continued to move through the pack. She was the only freshman to finish in the top ten and the only American collegiate runner in the top ten as well."