How well do you know the TJ boys?

How well do you know the Thomas Jefferson boys who will be representing the state of Virginia this weekend at Nike Team Nationals? Probably not too well as they came onto the radar late for many with little fanfare compared to some of the other top teams in the state. Take a second to find a little more about each member of their top seven as they travel across the country on Thursday to Oregon by reading their questionnaires they have filled out for MileStat.com. 

Brian Landry (Age 17, Senior)

Photo by WingedFootPhotos.com

How many years have you been running? 5
Why did you first start running? 8th grade
What was your best race this season? States
What was the team's best race of the season? NTN SE Regionals
What was your best workout this season? 3 800's (2:30 2:27 2:24) a mile jog then a 4:34 1600
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying? He calls me Landriod because of my knee braces
What is your favorite cross country course? Bull Run
List your superlatives for each member of the team's top 7 (most likely to, etc)?
Evan: Most likely to be a confederate general
Brian D: Most likely to get a hot wife
Aaron: Most likely to blow up something
Timmy: Most likely to become a master thief
Alex: Most likely to run a marathon
Joey: Most likely to be mistaken for a 10 year old
 What running shoes do you train in? Nike Air Pegasus
What spikes do you race in? Nike Zoom Waffles

What is your current GPA? 4.1
What do you want to be when your older (job)? Neuroscientist
Who is your favorite band or artist? Dispatch
What are your favorite TV shows? Heroes
Favorite movies? Memento
Favorite quote? "If I faltered, there would be no arms to hold me and the world would be a cold and forbidding place."  - Roger Banister
Who are your favorite sports teams? UNC
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ? Chemical Analysis Lab
What are your hobbies outside of running? Biking
 Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have? I can't say the letter R

What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season? Winning States
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals? Crazy. I drove to Indiana to see NCAA Nats and then Florida and then to Hoover in 6 days.
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for Nike Team Nationals? Holy crap
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the state title or the team qualifying for NTN? Winning States.
What are your most looking forward to in Portland? Running on a national stage

 

Evan Heflin (Age 18, Senior)

Photo by Don Rich of penntrackxc.com 

How many years have you been running? 4/5 (I ran non-competitively during 8th grade)
Why did you first start running? 8th grade
What was your best race this season? District meet
What was the team's best race of the season? NTN regionals
What was your best workout this season? 3 800s (2.30, 2.27, 2.24) mile jog, mile fast (4.29 - 69,69,69,62)
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying? - "Look at Nick Saban, what a toolbag"
What is your favorite cross country course? - McAlpine Park in Charlotte
List your superlatives for each member of the team's top 7 (most likely to, etc)?
Brian L - Most likely to do something stupid
Timmy - Fastest
Brian Davenport - Thank God for Brian Davenport
Alex W - Most TJ-esque
Joey – Smallest and skinniest
Aaron - Most mature
Who are your role models in running? I dont have any. Maybe Brian Landry because he always leaves absolutely everything on the course and seems to never, ever have a bad race.
What running shoes do you train in? Brooks Addiction
What spikes do you race in? Nike spikes - Whatever Jason Witt and the entire Oakton team wears. I don't remember the name.  At NTN I'll be wearing the cross milers, which I found.
What is your current GPA? 4.1
What do you want to be when your older (job)? Bio-molecular engineer
Who is your favorite band or artist? Counting Crows
What are your favorite TV shows? 24
Favorite movies? Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, Ocean's 11
 
Who are your favorite sports teams? UNC anything - basketball mostly, but anything.
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ? Chemistry Analysis Laboratory
What are your hobbies outside of running? Sleeping, eating, and hanging out with friends.
What is your top non-running achievement or honor? Eagle Scout/National Merit Semifinalist
Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have? I once caught 14 pieces of chicken in my mouth in a row at a Japanese Steak House, the 15th hit everything else in my mouth and bounced out.
What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season?
Looking back at Brian L in the chute at the district meet, and realizing that we had swept the top 5.
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals? Great.  Everything went as well as we could have expected, except that one of our team member almost lost his stick (the massage thing) at airport security.  Apparently, it was a weapon.  Also, I'm still not sure why they chose to host the Regionals in Alabama.  NC would have been much better or Virginia.
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for Nike Team Nationals? I hope they didn't screw up the chips.  Then I realized that they did.
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the state title or the team qualifying for NTN? State title.  NTN is just icing on the cake.
What are your most looking forward to in Portland? The race.  I think if we can all run solid races, we can beat Midlo's finish of 14 last year.  I also really want to beat Oak Ridge.

 

How many years have you been running? 1 1/2
Why did you first start running? I liked running
What was your best race this season? State Championship
 What was your best workout this season? When I got a 12 second pr on a mile interval
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying? "If you ask this question I'll punch you in the back of the head"
What is your favorite cross country course? Great Meadows
Who are your role models in running? Alan Webb, Brian Landry   
What running shoes do you train in? Asics 2120's
What spikes do you race in? Old orange Puma's
 
What is your current GPA? 4.0
What do you want to be when your older (job)? aerospace engineer
 What are your favorite TV shows? I don't watch T.V. I do homework.
Favorite movies? The Replacements
Favorite quote? "My customers can have a Model T in any color they like, as long as it's black."
Who are your favorite sports teams? Cowboys, Spurs, Navy
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ? All of them
What are your hobbies outside of running? Lacrosse
What is your top non-running achievement or honor? I was third chair in All-district band in 7th grade for trumpet.
Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have? I lived in Japan and now I take Japanese. 
 
What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season? Being state champions
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals? It was fun, especially the flight there.
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for Nike Team Nationals?  That I was going to Nike Team Nationals and
I was relieved. 
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the
state title or the team qualifying for NTN: Winning the state title,
the qualifying just made me more happy about the future.
What are your most looking forward to in Portland:  Getting free stuff and meeting people. 

 

Aaron Bernstein (Age 18, Senior)

Photo by Ted Plunkett 

How many years have you been running? Since the winter of my freshman year.
Why did you first start running? I was always good at the mile in P.E., and I didn’t think I could make the basketball team.
What was your best race this season? Regionals at Burke Lake. I got 7th place when I wasn’t even expecting top 10, and I PR’d by 14 seconds.
What was the team's best race of the season? Every meet since the Manhattan Invite. We just kept getting better and better.
What was your best workout this season? One Saturday we did a 5-minute mile, 3 800s slightly above 5-minute pace, and an all-out mile. It was tough, but satisfying.
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying?  On the day before districts, he said to us: “the season starts today”. Up until then, my season had been lousy, so it was encouraging.
What is your favorite cross country course?  Burke Lake. I know it inside out, and it lets you run fast without getting punished by hills.
What running shoes do you train in? The Brooks Adrenaline.
What spikes do you race in? The Asics Hyper XC (black and gold).
 

What is your current GPA? 4.1
What do you want to be when your older (job)? Not sure yet, but it probably won’t involve running.
Who is your favorite band or artist? Muse. I saw them live, they’re amazing.
What are your favorite TV shows? House, 24, Seinfeld, The Simpsons.
Favorite movies? The Prestige, Casino Royale, Star Wars (original).
Favorite quote?  “When it’s game time, it’s pain time! WHOOOO!”—Terry Tate, Office Linebacker
Who are your favorite sports teams?  Baltimore Ravens (sadly), New York Mets (also sadly).
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ? Driver’s Ed. Seriously. I didn’t know the “Blindzone Glare Elimination settings”, so I got a 60 on the first test, and it took a lot of work to make up for it.
What are your hobbies outside of running?  Super Smash Brothers 64, basketball, watching videos online.
What is your top non-running achievement or honor?  I’m a National Merit Semifinalist.
Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have? I perform well. I can act, rap, and play the piano.

 

What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season? When we beat Oakton to win regionals. It was our only real upset. We’d lost to them two years in a row, and all season long, everyone had thought they were clearly the top team in the state. When we beat them, I knew we would be state champions.
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals? Pretty uneventful until the race. The euphoria afterwards was the best part.
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for Nike Team Nationals? I was relieved that this amazing season didn’t have to end yet.
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the state title or the team qualifying for NTN? Qualifying for NTN was great, but to finally win a state title after two heart-breaking losses (I didn’t run in ’04) felt much better at the time.
What are your most looking forward to in Portland? Getting a ton of new gear for free...and completely trashing it on race day.

 

Alex Witko (Age 16, Junior)

Photo by Don Rich of penntrackxc.com 

How many years have you been running? 3 years
Why did you first start running? Freshman year XC
What was your best race this season? The Manhattan Invite in New York. It was my highest finish on the team (3rd) and I just loved the course. I made up a lot of ground on the back hills.
What was the team's best race of the season? Liberty District Championships. A perfect score and 5 under 16. Its hard to do better than that.
What was your best workout this season? We had an interval workout that was a 1600 just under 5 minutes, 3 controlled 800s around the TJ fields (2:38ish to around 2:30), and finally a 1600 in racing shoes on the track. I almost ran a mile PR in one of these workouts. Brian Davenport had back-to-back mile PRs in at least two of these workouts as well. 
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying? "Bonus Round" (in reference to an additional set of an interval workout)
What is your favorite cross country course? Burke Lake, I ran my first race freshman year there and have run well there constantly.
List your superlatives for each member of the team's top 7 (most likely to, etc)?
Evan: Most competitive
Brian L: Most goofy
Aaron: Best beard
Timmy: Most outgoing
Brian Davenport: Most likely to succeed

Joey: Best hair
Who are your role models in running? Any and everyone that has ever run a 5k in under 13 minutes; its just sick. Specifically, Craig Mottram is a beast. I hope he has fixed whatever happened at the world championships.
What running shoes do you train in? Every time I go to buy running shoes, I end up getting ones I have never worn before. Currently, I am wearing Adidas Supernovas, which are incredibly comfortable.
What spikes do you race in? Saucony Kilkenny (the white ones)

What is your current GPA? 4.1 (about)
What do you want to be when your older (job)? I'm not really sure. I'm really enjoying the computer science classes at TJ, especially the programming, so maybe I would sign on with a programming company. I'm too good at the troubleshooting or tech support.
Who is your favorite band or artist? Probably the Offspring or RHCP
What are your favorite TV shows? House
Favorite movies? The Bourne Ultimatum, Ferris Bueller’s Day off, Talladega Nights
Favorite quote? "When its game time, its pain time" -Terry Tate
Who are your favorite sports teams? Redskins
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ? Advanced Optics with Research Applications
What are your hobbies outside of running? Soccer (pick up games, not club or house teams)
What is your top non-running achievement or honor? Won the Best Overall Student Award in middle school
Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have? I have never been injured

 How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals? Amazing, the course was set up with markers every 200 meters, flags lining most of the course, and hay bales. Plus, free hats. There were a bunch of little things that really made the meet very enjoyable.
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for Nike Team Nationals? I had helped my team go on to the national meet.
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the state title or the team qualifying for NTN? The state title. NTN looks like it will be the most amazing meet ever, but Coach said we need to take care of things in our own backyard, and it is completely true. Plus, VA had so many truly amazing teams that a win at the state meet was a sign to us that a trip to Nationals was within reach.
What are your most looking forward to in Portland? Potentially, it could be my first XC race in the snow, which would be pretty cool. Also, having so many World-Class athletes there is going to be too cool.

 

 

Timmy Galvin (Age 16, Junior)

Photo by Ted Plunkett 

How many years have you been running?  3
Why did you first start running?  I was following in the footsteps of my older brothers, Andy and Danny (both ran cross country at Lake Braddock Secondary School).
What was your best race this season?  Knight's Crossing Invitational
What was the team's best race of the season?  Northern Region Championships
What was your best workout this season?  3x800, 1600 jog, 1600 fast
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying?  "Time for a bonus round."
What is your favorite cross country course?  Veteran's Park, Hoover, AL
Who are your role models in running?  Bernard Lagat
What running shoes do you train in?  Brooks Addiction
What spikes do you race in?  Saucony Kilkenny

What is your current GPA?  3.97
What do you want to be when you're older (job)?  Computer designer, engineer, and programmer
Who is your favorite band or artist?  Metallica
What are your favorite TV shows?  South Park, House, 24, Simpsons, Seinfeld
Favorite movies?  The Boondock Saints, The Bourne Anything
Favorite quote?  Forewarned is forearmed
Who are your favorite sports teams?  Navy (especially men's lightweight crew)
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ?  Computer Artificial
Intelligence
What are your hobbies outside of running?  Ultimate Frisbee, computer games, video games, weightlifting
What is your top non-running achievement or honor?  In 8th grade, I scored high enough on the SAT to get into most colleges.
Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have?  At age 7, I was the youngest athlete in a 193-player, 10-hour-long marathon lacrosse game (All Lacrosse the Ages).

What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season?  Winning states
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals?  It was a lot of fun.  Trips with the team always are, but that coupled with getting a bid to NTN Nationals made it awesome.
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for Nike Team Nationals?  I thought back to our summer running camp when one of the visiting speakers talked about it.  At the time, I didn't pay much attention because I didn't think it was even remotely possible--and now we're going there!
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the state title or the team qualifying for NTN?  State title
What are your most looking forward to in Portland?  The challenge of racing on a much different type of course than I've run on before.

 

Max Dreo (Age 17, Junior)

Photo by Ted Plunkett

 

How many years have you been running?  3
Why did you first start running?  Freshman year
What was your best race this season?   Liberty JV districts at Lake Fairfax (though I haven't really had any great races this season)
What was the team's best race of the season?    Liberty Districts at Burke Lake
What was your best workout this season?   Long 800 workout with 8 200's and a timed mile
What is your favorite Coach Ryan saying?    "Time for a bonus round" (after a hard workout)
What is your favorite cross country course?   Glory Days
List your superlatives for each member of the team's top 7 (most likely to,
etc)?  

Brian Landry - Most likely to get injured for some stupid reason
Evan Heflin - Most likely to become a renegade
Brian Davenport - Most likely to win Nationals as a senior :)
Aaron Bernstein - Most likely to  be a model
Alex Witko - Most likely to live in Alaska
Timmy Galvin - Most likely to be a comedian
Joey Jachowski - Most likely to swerve around in the lanes on the track
Who are your role models in running?    Alan Webb, Christo Landry
What running shoes do you train in?    Brooks Adrenaline
What spikes do you race in?    Nike milers/cross country shoes

Non-Running Related Q&A
What is your current GPA?   4.10
What do you want to be when your older (job)?   Biomechanical systems architect
What are your favorite TV shows?   Heroes, Family Guy, The Office
Favorite movies?   Transformers, American Pie, Batman
Who are your favorite sports teams?    Patriots
What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ?    Advanced Organic Chemistry Analysis
What are some of your hobbies outside of running?   tennis, video games
What is your top non-running achievement or honor?   I went to Europe in a jazz band and played the trumpet
Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have?   I can whistle

What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season? Winning VA AAA States.
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals?  Lots of fun and a great chance to test myself against other top class runners on a challenging course
What were your first thoughts when you realized that your team had qualified for
Nike Team Nationals?   "Nice, we're going to Oregon!!!"
Which was more meaningful to you...team winning the state title or the team
qualifying for NTN? Qualifying for NTN.
What are your most looking forward to in Portland?  Being able to meet and relax with all the other great runners, both students and professionals.

 

Joey Jachowski (Age 16, Sophomore) 

 

 

How many years have you been running? Between 1 and 2 years.
Why did you first start running? My brothers did it and I wanted to be in shape.
What was your best race this season? Regionals
What was the team's best race of the season? Districts, scorewise
 What is your favorite cross country course? Glory Days
What running shoes do you train in? Asics Gel-Cumulus
What spikes do you race in? Nike Waffle

What is your current GPA: 4.0
 Who is your favorite band or artist? Nirvana
What are your favorite TV shows? Chuck, Heroes
Favorite movies?  Ferris Bueller's Day Off
 What is the hardest class that you ever took at TJ? AP Computer Science
What are your hobbies outside of running? Juggling, 3-Card Monte, Baseball
 Name a random fact about yourself or talent that you have? I am Hawaiian and lived in Hawaii.

What has been your most memorable moment this cross country season? Winning States
How was the trip to Hoover for the NTN Southeast Regionals? The trip was worth it.  
Which was more meaningful to you: team winning the state title or the team qualifying for NTN? States
What are your most looking forward to in Portland? Racing on the course.