Wednesday, November 23, 2011

XC Update - Nike Regionals

Darts -
I hope that you are all recovered from the trip to Arizona and that you are enjoying your break. Thank you for making the trip a success. Thanks for being well-behaved and for making it fun. And thanks for racing hard and giving your best efforts on Saturday. I know that it was a bitter-sweet day, but I felt proud as we came away from another strong race and another strong season.
Congratulations to the boys. They are on their way to Portland for the 2nd straight year. We finished 2nd in the region behind American Fork. And now we are going to be racing at the Nike Cross Nationals with a goal of finishing in the top 5. Brad Nye led us once again with a 6th place finish - good enough to earn him 1st team all-region. Preston Johnson really came through for us with a gutsy race to finish 12th (2nd team all-region) and Brayden Cromar finished in 16th (3rd team all-region). Skylar Williams was the 3rd fastest sophomore in all of the races combined. I thought Sam Haws, Alex White, Ryan Clark, and Isaac Clouse had particularly strong races and some huge PRs. We still have a young TEAM with most of the boys coming back. I challenge each of you to work with purpose and togetherness over the next 12 months so that we are in a similar position a year from now. It is amazing what you can accomplish with some determination, discipline, and hard work. I especially challenge the freshmen and sophomores that they will follow the examples of the older runners. I think at times our young runners were too content to let the experienced runners carry the TEAM. Getting to where they are does not just happen naturally, it takes commitment and pain. So, over the track season, you younger runners - don't be content just watching our good runners be good - but become part of that as well.
The girls race was not exactly what we had hoped for, but at the same time, I think it is an amazing accomplishment to finish 6th with so many young, new runners on the TEAM. I hope that you each felt a bit of desire to go back in a year more prepared, stronger, faster, and ready to qualify for the Nationals. It is realistically within our reach and our ability. There were some great things I saw in the races last Saturday. I loved how Kenzie, Hannah, Madi, and Aimee (all sophomores) ran together and helped each other in the open race. I thought that all of the girls in the open race fought hard and ran smart, tough races. In the championship race, I know that it was not our day, but I really felt that the girls did everything they could to run for their TEAM. All of the girls in the race ran like "horses". Joanna led the way with a solid PR of 18:48. Nearly a minute improvement from a year ago. Madi dipped under 19 in a 5k for the first time with a 18:55 (which was the 4th fastest 9th grade time in all of the races combined). And Ashley finished up the season with another big PR and huge improvement over a year ago. Lastly, I was really proud of the way that Shea still led the TEAM and ran as hard as she could - not just for herself - but for her teammates. Those type of races are definitely not the most enjoyable (they are flat-out miserable), but they are still important in the overall picture and experience as a runner. Our ups and downs make us stronger, more experienced, and more determined. Just watch, she will bounce back with some amazing track times.
A special thanks to Brad and Janae, the parents, and others who supported us with the trip and with everything else we do.

Nike Regional Times -
Davis Boys -
15:25 - Brad Nye
15:35 - Preston Johnson
15:47 - Brayden Cromar
15:57 - Logan Wood
16:00 - Skylar Williams
16:15 - Jackson Sagers
16:21 - Alex Hedquist
16:27 - Andrew Aposhian
16:28 - Hayden Hansen
16:45 - Phillip Baker
16:53 - Sam Haws
17:21 - Ethan Stuart
17:38 - Justin Schofield
17:39 - Alex White
17:39 - Taylor Goldsberry
17:51 - Josh Ward
18:01 - Ryan Tanner
18:02 - Ryan Clark
18:04 - Seth Thompson
18:17 - Isaac Clouse
18:19 - Tommy Moncur
18:31 - Ryan Lee
18:38 - Trevor Fry
18:44 - Devin Farnsworth
19:23 - Jackson Rayl
19:35 - Dan Wybrow

Davis Girls -
18:48 - Joanna Boyd
18:55 - Madison Garlock
19:00 - Shea Martinez
19:07 - Ashley Tyndall
19:48 - Hannah Albrechtsen
19:48 - Kenzie Weir
19:50 - Madison Bledsoe
19:53 - Aimee Vance
20:00 - Kami Dixon
20:08 - Chelsey Johnson
20:13 - Mikell Wood
20:25 - Katie Frandsen
20:27 - Sierra Graham
20:28 - Janice Hartvigsen
20:32 - Becca Albrechtsen
20:36 - Michaela Uresk
20:54 - Josey Hedquist
21:14 - Nalany Resek
21:20 - Brooke Gutzwiller
21:39 - Shaylee Argyle
22:09 - Whitney Williams
22:20 - Madie McCleary


Nike Photo - the boys TEAM has to submit a photo to Nike for the nationals. We had the photo shoot yesterday - go to my facebook page to vote for ("like") your 3 favorites to help us decide which photo to submit.

Uniforms - if any of you have uniforms that need to be turned in, please do so next week. Some of you borrowed uniform tops for the Nike Regionals. I need them back so I can get a good count before I make an order for track.

Training - I recommend taking the rest of this week off. No running - a mental and physical rest. Next week you are still on your own, but you might want to get in a few distance runs. Nothing too hard - just longer runs as we start to build another base for the track season. We will have our indoor track meeting on December 7th (Wednesday) at which point I will start giving you the daily workouts. Between now and then, listen to your body and enjoy your short break.

It's hard to believe that another season is over (other than the boys going to Nationals, of course). As I reflect back through the season and the past summer, I am grateful for the lessons I have learned. I am grateful for the good times and for the challenges. And I am grateful for our TEAM and for what each of you have brought to it. I hope that you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and that you remember how blessed and fortunate you are. Thanks for all you do -
Coach Talley

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Cross Country Update - November

Darts -
With one week behind us, the Nike Southwest Regional training is going very well. We have 3 more weeks of intense training, and then I think we will be ready for our best race of the season. I like the energy and excitement that you all brought this past week. Continue to commit yourselves to becoming the best you can in these next weeks. Keep doing the small things - stretching, abs, eating right, sleeping enough, preparing for hard workouts, hydrating, etc. Combined, the small things will make a big difference. I would like to see all of you make a big mental jump between now and the regional race. We are working to be physically and mentally as strong and confident as we can be. Again, if each of you can improve your prs by 10 seconds, we will be a tough TEAM to beat in Mesa.

Coming Up:
TEAM Banquet - We will hold the banquet on Thursday night at 6:30pm at the school (November 3). We will have pizza for dinner. You can sign up to bring a salad or dessert. The banquet is just for athletes (not parents). We will have a small awards ceremony as well as dinner. There will be no cost.

24 Hour Run Fundraiser - Will be on Friday and Saturday (November 4-5) on the track. We will begin at 1:00pm on Friday and run until 1:00pm on Saturday (relay style with 1-2 people running at a time). You will need to sign up for two 3-hour time slots - we will do the sign up on Thursday after school. The weather is not supposed to be great, so plan on dressing warm and bringing blankets and stuff to keep you warm. We will be allowed to stay at the school overnight, but there will be rules that must be followed (or the 24 hour run will be cancelled forever). The only access door that will be open for us will be the tunnel door to the track. We will go over all of the rules on Thursday. I have attached a fundraising form. The idea is to either get donations or pledges based on how much we will run during the 24 hours. You can use the money toward your trip to the Nike Regionals. Those of you not going on the trip, the money donated will go towards things that the TEAM does on a regular basis - it will all go back into the program. Even if you are not going on the trip, you are encouraged to participate. We could definitely use some money in the program at this point. It should be a lot of fun, and is a great way to raise some money. Parents - please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If any of you would like to stay through part of the night and help with supervision, you are welcome to join us. We will have coaches at the track for supervision. Someone will be awake during all of the hours of the night to make sure things are going smoothly. We will also have separate rest areas for girls and boys. If any parents would like to bring any type of refreshments during the 24 hours - I am sure that the athletes will eat whatever you bring. Thanks.

Nike Regionals - November 17-20. I have attached the itinerary with all of the information. I will also be handing out a waiver that will need to be signed by both parents and athletes. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Congratulations Brad Nye on setting a new Vita Course Record last Saturday - 43:35!!!
Alumni Update -We have many alumni who have been competing well for their college cross country teams this past season. The conference meets were this past week - here is how they did:UVU (Great West Conference) - Women finished 1st - Jessie Wilding was 11th with an 18:52 5k; Anna Ward finished 48th in 21:05. The Men also finished 1st - no Darts ran, but 2 former Darts who run for the Wolverines are on missions (Seth Gutzwiller and Logan Petty - almost)Weber State (Big Sky Conference) - Women finished 1st - Loren Storey was 20th with a 19:01 5k; Natalie Haws also runs for the Wildcats and is coming back from an injury. The men finished 2nd - Chris Burnett was 32nd with a 27:07 8k.Utah State (Western Athletic Conference - the meet was in Hawaii) - The women finished 3rd - Tessa Brown and Anni Andersen run for the Aggies, but did not run in the conference meet. The Men finished 1st - Devin Lang was 18th in 26:36 for 8k and Austin Neuner was 24th in 27:18. Adam Mathias is also running for Utah State. BYU (West Coast Conference) - The Women finished 2nd - Morgan Haws was 3rd with a 20:38 6k; Candace Eddy was 15th with a 21:42; Katie Swanson and Meghan Hedquist are also running for the Cougars. The men finished 1st (and are currently ranked 3rd in the NCAA) - Jared Ward was 4th with a 24:03 8k; Josh Adams is also currently running for BYU. Many of these athletes will be representing their schools at the Mountain Regional Championships on Saturday, November 12th at the East Bay Golf Course in Provo. The men will race at 11:00am, and the women will race at 12:00. We will be taking a group down to watch the races and support our former Darts.