Post-clubs commentary by Coach Jerry
We had a truly phenomenal day at Clubs, with excellent
performances across the board.
The
headline was the amazing 6th place finish of the women's team, which was the
best result for men or women in GRC history.
When I analyzed the entries last week, I was confident that despite a
very strong field, which included the entire top 10 from 2015 as well as some
strong squads that did not compete last year, if we ran well a top 10 finish
was a realistic goal. Being the eternal
optimist, I felt that if everything went perfectly, we might be able to place
as high as 7th. To finish 6th in such a
competitive field was beyond my most ambitious hopes, and I could not be more
proud of that result.
The team result
was the product of excellent individual performances, led by Steph's
outstanding 26th place, in 20:37, which is the second best placing ever at
Clubs by a GRC athlete. Steph has proven
this fall that she is a national caliber runner, and her dramatic improvement
will continue in 2017.
Emily made a
stellar GRC debut, finishing 29th in 20:41, which is the third best placing in
GRC history. Emily is a truly superb
talent, and we're going to see great things from her in the future.
Frances was 57th in 21:18, the 5th best
finish in GRC history, and that was a significant improvement over her
outstanding run last year. Maura ran the
best race of her career, finishing an excellent 60th, in 21:21.
Maura does not want to admit that she is an
outstanding xc runner, but she proved the point conclusively on Saturday.
In her first xc race in 11 years, Kerry was
70th, in 21:34, to cap off an excellent late season foray into shorter races,
which is going to make her a better marathoner going forward.
Elena ran a very strong race to close out her
outstanding rookie season with GRC, placing 76th in 21:43.
Liz was our 7th finisher, placing 98th place
in 22:12, which was a major breakthrough for her.
Elyssa was 119th in 22:42, followed closely
by Hannah in 22:44, and they both fought hard for their teammates. Alyson and Lindsay B ran strong races,
finishing in 23:55 and 24:34, respectively, and they are relieved to know that
they won't have to run that far again until Clubs 2017.
This was truly a fantastic performance from
the entire team, and every one of our athletes played a part in our great
result.
To put into context how much
depth we had, prior to Saturday the 5th best all time GRC women's performance
at Clubs was 76th place. In Tallahassee,
our 6th finisher was 76th place. To
further illustrate the point regarding our depth, if Steph had been
disqualified for throwing one of her competitors to the ground with a horse
collar tackle (which is something she is known to do now and again), and we had
scored our 2d-6th finishers, we would have placed 9th. Considering that our previous best women's
finish was 10th, that is impressive indeed.
I am beyond proud of our women, who came together when it counted, and
ran as a team to achieve an incredible result.
The women have made amazing progress since 2011 when our first team at
Clubs competed with 5 athletes, one of whom could have run in the masters race,
and we're just getting started.
Next
year, we're going for the podium!
The men also ran extremely well, placing 12th in a talented
field, which is the second best men's result in GRC history.
Luke led the way, placing 78th in 31:13.
This was Luke's 4th appearance at Clubs for
GRC, and it was his most impressive performance so far considering the myriad
health issues he has been dealing with.
Luke is now back close to full fitness, and I'm excited to see continued
progress from him.
Stewart was 80th in
31:15, which is a 10k PR, and he did it the hard way, getting out way too
aggressively and hanging on in the second half of the race. Stewart learned a valuable lesson in tactics,
and he will be better for it as he continues to develop into a true A level
runner.
Phil ran a very strong,
consistent race, finishing in 87th in 31:28.
David M ran his best race in a GRC jersey, finishing an excellent 100th
place in 31:42. Cabell ran a big 10k PR
of 31:47, placing 105th, as he continues to work his way back into shape after
injury.
Michael made an impressive 10k
debut in 32:12, and despite being in uncharted waters at the 10k distance, he
fought hard all the way to the tape.
Balmer rounded out our A team with a very strong 32:29, which is the
kind of reliable race he delivers every year at Clubs.
I was very pleased with the men's performance
up and down the line. Our top 3 of
Stewart, Phil, and Luke came through, and David and Cabell provided outstanding
support. Indeed, the spread from our 1st
to 5th man was a mere 34 seconds, which is far and away the tightest pack we've
ever had at Clubs. Even without two of
our superstars who were unable to make the trip, the men beat several
formidable teams that have consistently beaten us in the past, and when we're
at full strength next year, we'll be gunning for a return to the top 10.
Ryan, our final A team athlete, was unable to finish after
being assaulted mid-race by a less than sportsman-like competitor. Despite the testimony of an athlete from
another team who witnessed the incident, the wise folks at USATF did not feel
that a deliberate foul that resulted in a painful fall for Ryan (though
thankfully it wasn't anything that a few frescas couldn't cure) warranted a
disqualification for the perpetrator.
Ryan was running hard and would have been in the mix for our top 5, and
while his race came to a premature end, I was pleased with his effort, and I'm
looking forward to strong performances from him on the track this spring.
The men's B team placed 24th, the best performance ever for
a GRC B team, which was good enough to beat all other B teams, and many A
teams.
Steve led the way in a strong
32:47, which is an impressive performance as he returns to fitness after a
nagging injury.
Evan ran 33:22 in his
first xc race since college, and he ran a smart, consistent race, and moved
forward with authority in the second half.
Kyle was close behind in 33:28, and although Kyle paid the price for an
aggressive start, he is in great shape, and will be ready for some PRs on the
track.
Sean ran a steady 33:35, which
was the best he could hope for given a nagging injury that continues to limit
him.
Greg ran a solid 33:59, followed by
Tex Paul in 34:07, Matt in 34:42, Chris in 34:52, and Breezy in 37:51. I was really pleased to have Tex on the
starting line, and it is a measure of his love for GRC that no matter how
hectic his travel schedule, and how undertrained he is due to his severe time
constraints, he makes it to Clubs every year.
Breezy ran his final clubs as an open athlete, and next year as a
newly-minted master he will be able to compete on a level playing field, and make
some noise.
Speaking of the masters race, Dave Wertz turned in the best
performance of his storied career, placing 10th in a loaded field.
Dave's masters debut in 2015 did not go well,
to say the least, as he and I grossly underestimated the level of competition,
which resulted in an overly ambitious first 5k and a painfully slow second
5k. With an important tactical lesson
learned, Dave executed his race plan to perfection, as he got out
conservatively and settled in with a large chase pack. Dave bided his time in the middle of that
pack for most of the race, and then made a strong move with less than 2k to
go. Dave battled to the tape with
several athletes, and the finish was so tight that Dave was only 5 seconds out
of 5th place.
I've been working with
Dave for over 10 years, and to see his transformation from beginner to national
caliber master has been truly inspiring.
Well done, young fella!
We put a whole lot of time and trouble into preparing for
this weekend (after all, those van lists didn't write themselves), and our
success was months in the making. It's
fair to say that a very small percentage of our athletes view xc as their
primary season, but we make Clubs a priority by, among things, allocating a
significant portion of our budget to the meet, because it provides us with the
one opportunity all year to race as a team in a meaningful competition.
The joy in the room as we celebrated our
accomplishments on Saturday night made it clear that our priorities are in
order, and I'm already looking forward to even better results next year.
