MMC FINALS

Yesterday the seven MMC schools met for the last time in the 2010 season to compete for the league championship. With so many injuries from the long, tough season, in many ways we were literally limping into the finish line.

The F/S boys were first up on the course. Because of Guadalupe's injury it was necessary to move Alfonso up to varsity, so the F/S boys were a bit short handed. David led that way with his strongest showing since the early season Sierra Invitational. The entire group of seven F/S boys achieved a PR for their fast efforts.

7. O'Bryan 12:12 (:24 PR)
19. Bingham 12:52 (:35 PR)
25. Garibay 12:59 (:04 PR)
37. Solorzano 13:43 (:09 PR)
39. Freitas 13:46 (:37 PR)
40. Heltne 13:47 (:30 PR)
50. Foreman 14:20 (:30 PR)

Although I don't currently have the scores, I believe that the F/S boys finished 4th out of 7 teams this season in the MMC.

The varsity girls had the next race. With Rocio and Katie both unable to run, and Rory running injured, we weren't fielding our most complete and capable team. None the less, those that toed the line were indeed ready to race. Sierra again led the charge. She was with a very tight pack of the five top girls through 2.5 miles before the faster sprinters broke away. She crossed the line in a photo-finish for 4th place with a huge PR time of 19:46. The sub 20 min mark puts her onto a very exclusive list of only 21 other girls who have broken 20 min on this course in MMC history. She is in the 18th spot. She also improved her time as the #2 all-time Downey XC runner. Natalie also had a big PR, and her time of 21:42 puts her as #4 on the Downey all-time list. Ali and Araceli both scored huge PRs for their efforts today.

4. Durham 19:43 (:35 PR, #18 all-time MMC, #2 all-time TDHS, 1st team all-league)
15. Franco 21:42 (:46 PR, #4 all-time TDHS, 2nd team all-league)
21. Redding 23:19 (:03 PR)
22. Jimenez 23:31
24. Homan 23:43 (:24 PR)
30. Ortiz 25:00
38. Reynolds 25:50 (1:24 PR)
39. Reyes 26:08 (1:06 PR)
43. Flores 26:45 (:46 PR)

Although the girls should finish 3rd in the league once the results from the first three cluster meets are factored in, they finished a somewhat disappointing 4th yesterday: MHS 39, EHS 45, BHS 81, TDHS 83, GDHS 108, JHS 146.

The varsity boys' race concluded the day. Andrew O ran his smartest and toughest race of the season and finished in a strong 5th place. His time of 17:03 was a 34 second PR and moved him to the #1 all-time Downey runner on this course. Pierson missed by 10 seconds breaking into the TDHS all-time top ten runners on this course. Ryan ran a strong race and finished with a big PR. Alfonso survived his first venture into the world of varsity 3 milers. He had a very solid effort to build on for next year.

5. Osgood 17:03 (:34 PR, #1 all-time TDHS, 1st team all-league)
15. Devers 18:43 (:01 PR, 2nd team all-league)
21. K. Soares 19:08 (:12 PR)
24. Holloway 19:39 (:45 PR)
28. Limon 20:09
30. Urbano 20:24
36. S. Soares 20:57
42. Garcia 21:42
48. Nakai  22:58
Like the girls, the boys were not fielding their best team of the year and it showed in the results with their first lose to Beyer this season: MHS 24, GDHS 59, BHS 87, TDHS 90, EHS 103, JHS >123. Their overall placing in league with the cluster meet results should still be 3rd.

LINK TO PICT OF THE MEET:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42768&id=1807850130&l=a6c2e7abc4
LINK TO COMPLETE RESULTS:
http://rise.espn.go.com/track-and-xc/california/2010-xc/Road-To-State/Sac-Joaquin/Leagues/30-MMC.aspx?pursuit=TrackAndXC

DOWNEY MMC PREVIEW

The Running Knights take to the trails tomorrow for the MMC Championships at Legion Park. The F/S boys and girls will begin at 4pm, varsity girls at 4:30pm, and the varsity boys at 5pm. An awards ceremony will immediately follow the conclusion of the varsity boys' race.

The F/S boys are in 4th place and will likely finish in that position. The varsity girls are in a solid 3rd (they finished 4th last year). The varsity boys are in also in third. It apprears, barring a lightning strike, that all three teams will finish the season in their current positions. Keep in mind that the varsity boys last year were winless, so we are movin' on up. Perhaps even more importantly no member of the varsity boys' or girls' team graduates, so the future is indeed very bright for Downey cross-country.

Several Knights are in the running for individual all-league recognition. Sierra was second team all-league last year. This year she is shooting for first team status (places 1-8). She has been 4th or 5th in all three cluster meets this year, so her chances are very good. Also on the girls' side Karina, Rocio, Natalie, and Rory all have a chance at placing in the 16-22 range and being awarded "honorable mention" all league. Andrew O. is the boys' best chance of earning a top honor. His results have been varied, but if he runs a smart race he could place in the top eight, thus landing on the first team. Pierson and Kenji could place between 9th and 15th and be second team all-MMC. For a team that had only one all-league awardee last year, the possiblities this year are bright indeed.

The biggest challenge of the day may be the weather. It is supposed to rain. This could make the course slow and slippery. Sierra is on the brink of breaking the 20min mark on the Legion course. That would put her in the top female 20 marks on this course all-time. Andrew O. would land on the all-time Downey list with a solid effort tomorrow.

SCHOLAR ATHLETES!

Apparently those running Downey Knights have been working hard in the classroom as well as on the roads and trails. The cumulative 1st quarter GPA for the cross-country team was 3.285. Seventeen of the team members had GPAs at or above 3.5! Those 17 "smarties" in alpha order are Tyler, Pierson, Sierra, Natalie, Emanuel, Abby, Nick, Rory, Ernesto, Bryce, David, Andrew O., Rocio, Karina, Ali, Seiji, and Mai. Great job team, and always remember that your good grades will take you farther than you could ever possibly run.

WEEK 8--RUNNERS OF THE WEEK

Week 8 was an off week, no races. Many athletes are nursing injuries and we are beginning to gear down as we prepare for the last two meets and enter the championship phase of the season. The coaches look at this week as the perfect opportunity to recognized the season's hard work and efforts of a couple of our runners. These three athletes exemplify what cross-country is all about. There is no glory in our sport; no cameras, no crowds, there is only the self satisfaction that comes with hours of hard work.

TYLER BINGHAM--joined the team late and has been nursing an old football injury all season, however he never complains. He grits his teeth and runs through the pain. He is a solid and positive influence on the entire team. His hard work day in and out serves as a model for everyone else.

JACOB FOREMAN--is deaf, but he doesn't let that hinder him in life or in cross-country. He began the year unable to run a mile without stopping. His hard work, effort, and intense competitive spirit has earned him the respect of the entire team.

ARACELI REYES--what Araceli lacks in natural talent she makes up for in grit and determination. She is never slacking off. Her perseverance is inspirational as she is pushing and working as hard as the front runners.

WEEK 7--RUNNERS OF THE WEEK

This week included the MMC Cluster meet #3 and the Bella Vista Bronco Invitational in Folsom. There were some excellant performances and some signs of fatigue from a long hot two months of tough workouts. A couple of runners have risen out of the dust and deserve recognition for their superior efforts.

NATALIE FRANCO--came back to finish the Bella Vista Bronco Inv. as the #2 TDHS runner and the #11 runner for Stanislaus County just two weeks after breaking her nose and cheek bone. She is always smiling which masks what a tough competitor she is.

ANDREW HELTNE--Bubba as he is affectionately known by the team improved his 2 mi time in the most recent MMC Cluster #3 by a whopping 1:38 seconds. Andrew has a great attitude and work ethic.

BELLA VISTA BRONCO INVITATIONAL

A skeleton crew of Downey runners traveled to Folsom today for the Bella Vista Bronco Invitational. This was a HUGE meet that included runners from 47 large schools from Visalia to Reno to Redding and another 48 small schools. We were barely fielding full scoring teams (5 boys and 5 girls). With the difficulty of the course and the competition, it is important to note that attending this high powered meet was a step in planning the competitive future of our very young teams. This is the course that the Sac-Joaquin Section meet is held on. If we are going to have aspirations of qualifying for the section meet next year, we must be familiar and prepared for this course and this environment.

The varsity girls were first up on the 5K double circuit course. There were 205 runners in the field. The entire field had to funnel into a 6 ft wide path a mere 200m into the race. Sierra started a bit too slowly and was struggling to find space to move up for the first mile of the race (a learning experience to be sure). She would ultimately and gradually move forward to finish in the top quarter of the massive field at 43rd place. Sierra's time of 21:26 would have placed her 30th in last year's section championships and was an improvement of 1:27 over her time on the same course 6 weeks ago. Natalie who broke her nose and cheek bone barely two weeks ago had a solid return effort finishing 117th. The trio of Karina, Abby, and Rory all had good efforts on a tough course that they had never run on before. Abby nipped Rory at the line for bragging rights. As a team they were sorely missing Rocio. They still finished 19th out of the 23 scoring schools.

43. Durham 21:26 (improvement of 1:27 on this course)
117. Franco 23:39
142. Redding 24:39
147. Homan 24:56.4
148. Jimenez 24:56.8

The boys took on the dusty, hilly course next. This group was even larger, 252 runners. Andrew went out under control and look good for the first two miles. For runners from our county he was in second and in about 35th to 40th overall. Then he said he just had nothing left in his legs for the final mile. He eventually dropped to 66th. Pierson, Guadalupe and Kenji spent much of the middle part of the race close to each other in about 140th-150th. Just prior to the 2 mi mark Guadalupe turned his ankle. He bravely tried to continue, not wanting to let his team down, but his day was over. He is such a tough competitor that it broke my heart to pull him out of the race. The other four Knights pressed on over the difficult course. Kenji's 20:19 was a 38 second improvement over what he ran on the same course six weeks ago.

66. Osgood 18:29
141. Devers 19:50
160. Soares 20:19 (improvement of 0:38 on this course)
187. Limon 21:12

LINK OF COMPLETE RESULTS:
http://bvtrack.com/2010BVICCresults.htm

LINK FOR PHOTOS OF THE MEET:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41567&id=1807850130&l=4e166374e2

MMC CLUSTER MEET #3

Today was the "rumble by the river" as the seven MMC schools hooked up for the third time this year.

The F/S boys were the first Downey runners to take on the Legion loop course. David led the Downey youngsters for most of the race. On the third loop Alfonso and Tyler had closed the gap with David. Down the stretch, Alfonso pulled away from David to be Downey's top finisher. Andrew H. had a huge improvement from two weeks ago as did Jacob. There were 61 runners.

18. Urbano 13:15
19. O'Bryan 13:19
25. Bingham 13:21
33. Solorzano 13:52
38. Heltne 14:17 (1:38 improvement)
40. Freitas 14:23
47. Foreman 14:50 (1:04 improvement)

The short-handed varsity girls (missing Katie and Natalie) were first up on the full three loop, 3.03 mi course. Sierra went out strong. Roccio was in good position. Karina and Rory were next in the pack of girls. As the race progressed the gap between Sierra and Roccio grew as did the gap between Karina and Rory. Abby would eventually move up on the ailing Rory and nearly catch her at the line. Most of the girls would improve their times from 2 weeks ago, with Yaneli, Araceli, Aly, Sierra, and Abby all jumping more than 30 seconds. Sierra's time moved her to #2 on the all-time Downey list and Roccio moved into #7 on the same list. There were 46 total runners.

4. Durham 20:18 (:33 improvement)
13. Ramirez-Castro 22:10
20. Redding 23:11 (:11 improvement)
22. Jimenez 24:07
23. Homan 24:07 (:30 improvement)
26. Ortiz 24:24 (:48 improvement)
32. Urbano 26:38
33. Reynolds 26:39 (:41 improvement)
34. Williams 27:14 (:06 improvement)
35. Reyes 27:14 (:44 improvement)

The varsity boys were the final group up on the course. They learned only minutes before the meet that Andrew O. was ill and wouldn't race today. This was a real blow to their hopes of picking off Grace Davis and finishing second in the team standings. Pierson led the charge on the first loop. He went out WAY WAY too fast and would be swallowed up by a mass of cruising MoHi runners. Guadalupe and Kenji would catch Pierson after two loops, and the three of them would run much of the final circuit together.  Ernesto seemed to be making a move up on the second loop, however by the end of the third cycle he faded badly and Ryan passed him and pulled away over the final 800 meters. Kenji and Ryan were the only two boys who improved their times from Cluster #2.

12. G. Torres 19:13
13. Devers 19:15
15. K. Soares 19:20 (:07 improvement)
25. Holloway 20:18 (:06 improvement)
28. Limon 20:41
36. Ippolito 22:38
48. Nakai 27:17

LINK TO PICTURES:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41403&id=1807850130&l=1961931a78

 

WEEK 6--RUNNERS OF THE WEEK

Honestly, this is my favorite post each week. It is our opportunity, as coaches, to honor and recognizes those athletes that are working hard every day and seeing those positive results in their races.

KENJI SOARES--This is long over due recognition. Kenji was there for those hot summer workouts. Kenji was there...well heck, he is always there. He works hard every day in every workout. He runs with both heart and passion. He leads by example. Kenji does whatever he is asked, he is a coaches dream. At this weeks Castro Valley Invitational, Kenji was Downey's second fastest varsity runner.

KARINA REDDING--Karina has been the number 3 or 4 girl on the varsity team all season. After a mid-season bit of self-doubt, she is finding her confidence again. She ran with real heart this week in the hills at Castro Valley. She placed 28th overall out of 128. She was the 3rd Downey finisher. She improved her time from the same meet last year by 40 seconds.

CASTRO VALLEY TROJAN INVITATIONAL

A good portion of the team travelled to Castro Valley yesterday for the Trojan Invitational. The course was in excellant shape and the weather was sunning and warm (but not hot).

The first race of the day belonged to the coaches. Our very own Coach Soares tried his hand (er legs) at the rugged hills of the Canyon Middle School course. Although he was obviously suffering from a couple weeks of limited workouts, he ran respectably in the middle of the pack. He complete the 2.1 miles in 16:11 and finished 19th out of 31.

Our next group up on the course was the F/S girls. The four girls began somewhat conservatively and attacked the course as other girls were walking from going out too fast. Sierra finished a very strong 6th place (52 sec faster than she ran on this course last year). Roccio crossed the line in 19th, giving Downey two medal winners. Karina also also had a big improvement from last year (40 sec), and Abby looked very strong crossing the line in 41st place out of the 128 finishers.
6-Durham 14:56.2 (last year 15:48)
19-Ramirez-Castro 15:55.1
28-Redding 16:38.3 (last year 17:18)
41-Homan 17:13.8

The F/S boys ran next. Pierson had an opportunity to run in his true age division, and he took full advantage of it by finishing 25th out of 177 in a very strong field. Emanuel was Downey second finisher, and he had a huge (1:47) improvement over last year's time here.
25-Devers 13:18
84-Garibay 14:46 (16:33 last year)
93-Bingham 15:02
113-A. Urbano 15:35
137-Solorzano 16:25
142-Heltne 16:38
154-Foreman 17:17

In the Varsity Boys' race we had 4 runners. Andrew O., who probably has gone out too fast in his last couple of races, began a bit more under control. Much like the F/S girls, he was able to pass many runners in the tougher, later stages of the race. He finished a very strong and respectable 20th place. Ernesto caught Kenji on the last major hill, but Kenji would show his determination as he battled back over the final 1/2 mile to beat Ernesto. There were 118 runners.
20-Osgood 18:12
90-K. Soares 21:07.7
92-Limon 21:12.9
95-Holloway 21:48.7

The JV girls was the final race of the day that Downey participated in. Reyna led the group from Downey acroos the line. Aly improved her time from last year by 1:12. There were 52 runners
33-R Urbano 19:19.7
38-Reynolds 19:53.8 (21:06 last year)
52-Mora 22:57.9

HERE IS THE LINK TO PICTURES OF THE RACE:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41136&id=1807850130&l=b3266e37d5
LINK TO FULL RESULTS:
http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=32185#922

NEW COUNTY RANKINGS

The DOWNEY VARSITY BOYS broke into the Stanislaus County rankings today at #5 this week. Last Saturday they beat both Pitman and Turlock at Frogtown. They finished third at each of the last two cluster meets. They are a young team and the best is still in front of them. This ranking is a HUGE step for a team that didn't beat a single MMC school last year. Go Big Blue!

In the Stanislaus County individual Varsity Girls rankings, SIERRA DURHAM came in at #7. She had a tough week.  She started by falling during the Frogtown race. Then she finished 4th at the MMC cluster meet in a gutsy race that had her out racing Modesto's Lizzy Lehn (who she had never beaten before). Three days later, at the Pacific Tiger Invitational she lost to her own team mate, ROCIO RAMIREZ-CASTRO, who nipped her at the line.

ROCIO RAMIREZ-CASTRO is unranked but also mentioned in the rankings as someone to watch. She had a mixed week. At Wednesday's Cluster Meet #2 she had a slightly off day, finishing 9th. She came back Saturday with a very strong performance at the Pacific Tiger Invitational, placing 10th and beating her teammate, Sierra, at the line.

For the link to the complete rankings: http://runninruben.blogspot.com/

WEEK 5--RUNNERS OF THE WEEK

This week has been a busy one. We ended last week with the draining all-day venture to Frogtown. At mid-week we suffered through a very hot day and the MMC cluster meet #2. Then some of the team traveled to Stockton for the Pacific Tiger Invitational to close out the week. Given all of this there were some superior performances and perhaps the most difficult decesion yet for the Runners of the Week.

RORY JIMENEZ--had a great week. She placed 19th overall at Wednesday's MMC cluster meet. She was Downey's 5th finisher. She is currently the third frosh girl in the league. She PRed by 0:21. She also placed 28th at the Pacific Tiger Invitational. She was the 4th frosh finisher in the varsity race. Rory is juggling both band and cross-country. She has a strong work ethic.

PIERSON DEVERS--also had a huge week. He placed 12th (second for TDHS) in the varsity division at the MMC cluster meet. He PRed in that meet by 1:03. He also placed 27th in the varsity race at the Pacific Tiger Invitational in Stockton. Pierson has brought both humor and strength to the varsity boys team.

PACIFIC TIGER INVITATIONAL

While most of the team took the weekend off after a hot and exhausting week of workouts and racing, six Downey Knights were up for more and ventured to UOP/Stockton for the Pacific Tiger Invitational. Sierra, Rocio, Rory, Aly, Pierson, and Kenji made the trip. The girls (all running varsity) were first up on the surprisingly hilly and difficult 5K course. Rocio got out well from the start in about 15th. Sierra was dealing with some hamstring tightness and was struggling in about 22nd. Rory was in about the middle of the pack when they all rounded the stadium in for the first set of hills. They then left the stadium hills and moved down onto the levee behind the school. Rocio and Sierra began to gradually move up on some of the other runners. Aly was toward the back of the pack but was beginning to pass several runners who had apparently gone out too fast. Sierra would finally catch Rocio on the final hill with about 400m left. The two of them would battle to the very finish. Rocio finished a strong 10th and Sierra placed 11th (both with the same time). Aly took a wrong turn along the course (at about 2.5 mi). She eventually knew that she was off the course, but she was unsure where it happened. She decided to just stop and call it a day. Rory finished strong and was the 4th frosh to cross the line.

10-Ramirez-Castro 21:58
11-Durham 21:58 (Sierra's first loss to another TDHS girl in almost a year...way to go ROCIO!)
28-Jimenez 24:00
DNF-Reynolds

The duo of Downey boys were next up on the course. The field include two very tough, highly rated teams (Chico and Franklin of Elk Grove). Both boys struggle for most of the race in the middle of the pack. Pierson ran in 25th to 35th most of the race. Kenji was about six places back of that. Upon entering the stadium the second time, the runners were susposed to loop the stands and then cross over the slower runners entering the stadium as the faster runners exited the stadium. It was a bit confusing, especially in the last 1/2 mile of a 5K race. While Pierson was on the stadium loop, Kenji entered the stadium. He got caught in the flow of the faster runners who were leaving the stadium. He left the stadium without looping it. He jumped from about 30th to 7th in the blink of the eye. I immediately stopped him and sent him back to go around the stadium (aly you're not the only one who got confused). However by this point, he had lost several places and all of his momentum. He would still push, and all things considered, run a fairly solid 5k time.

21-Devers 19:20
46-Soares 20:42

LINK TO TOTAL RESULTS:
http://home.surewest.net/zenrider/Web/Index.html
LINK TO PICT OF THE MEET:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40664&id=1807850130&l=82fc049a4a

We were back at the school by 11:30AM and another good Downey performance was in the books. Next Saturday is Castro Valley (10/9). We will leave school @ 7am.