XC Practice Tour - Albemarle Boys MileSplit Staff Sep 29, 2010

MileStat.com visited the "No Name Bunch" as Coach Buz Male sometimes coins his Albemarle boys at their home course Panorama Farms for a 4x1200 meter workout on Tuesday, September 28th. The nickname is given because the Albemarle team has enjoyed in recent years having some star runners on their squad including Anthony Kostelac and other members of their national record setting 4x800 meter relay from two years ago. However, this might be the best true cross country team for Coach Male since joining the staff at Albemarle after coaching previously at the Miller School, University of Virginia, Langley, and Episcopal. The Albemarle boys last year finished second at the Northwest Region Meet after some did not expect them to even qualify out of the Commonwealth District Meet.

 

 

With only Kostelac as the major graduation loss (albeit a big lone loss), the Albemarle boys figure to be even stronger this year through five runners. Adam Visokay, Ben Deal, and Austin McPhillips are all key returnees from last year's squad, while Lousa County transfer Chris Springer was a mid 16 minute 5K runner and Jefferson District cross country champion last year to make them solid through four runners. Springer is coming back off an outdoor season ending injury, but Tuesday's workout was his major test as he passed with flying colors running up front with his new teammates for all four repeats under 4 minutes (sub 5:20 mile pace).

 

 

Following one of their best showings ever at Maymont after historically not racing well on the last weekend of September the past few years on that same course, Albemarle enters a very important two weekend stretch of races where they look to point towards another state meet appearance in November. The Patriots race this weekend as one of the top teams in the seeded invitational (2nd best division) at Great American and follow up the next week on their home course at the Albemarle Invitational. Senior captain Austin McPhillips organized members of the team to purchase red pen striped and 1970s era-esque shorts to compete in this season, but the team had to make a bet with Coach Male that in order to actually race in those shorts which obviously would draw attention to themselves, that they would have to win a major invitational this season. After completing a successful 1200 meter repeat workout as a whole for their squad, the Albemarle boys hope to notch a first place trophy in the next two invites in order to bring out their flashy shorts in championship season.

 

 

Watch the workout video with the Albemarle boys and interviews with Coach Male and the top four runners for the Partiots below!

 

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach Buz Male

The Warmup

4x1200m Workout

Post-Workout Interview w/ Coach Buz Male

Interview w/ Adam Visokay, Ben Deal, Austin McPhillips, & Chris Springer

XC Practice Tour Stop - Riverbend MileSplit Staff Sep 21, 2010

The Riverbend boys were arguably the best team in the state not to advance out of their district meet last fall after finishing fifth in the very competitive Commonwealth District. Returning their top three runners (Shaquon Wilkins, Ryan Kuhns, & Gabe Fisher) who all qualified individually to compete in the outdoor state championships despite not having an indoor season with Spotsylvania County getting rid of the winter sport last year, Riverbend is determined and motivated from last year's end of season disappointment to not only get out of the district this fall but go onto compete for a state meet podium finish with their current Group AAA #3 ranking.

 

One major change from last year's team starts at the top with new head coach Brian Treakle, who is trying to put the emphasis on his runners posting their fastest times and adding in the speedwork later in the season than in past years. Tuesday's workout at Riverbehind High School saw the athletes competing for varsity seven spots running a loop shorter than a mile close to a 1500 meter distance with limited recovery for 4 repeats. Last year's Northwest Region individual runner-up Shaquon Wilkins led the boys squad on the workout negative splitting the 1500 meter intervals with the first two repeats around 5 flat with the group before dropping down and separating from the pack with 4:35 and 4:32 clockings on his last two repeats to close the workout strong.

 

Meanwhile, Riverbend's top two female runners in Lauren Givens and Peyton Lowe started off running together right at 6 minute pace consistently for much of the repeats before running under the time in the final two. Lowe was the team's top runner last fall and finished her 2009 season strong with a 21st place finish in the Group AAA state race. She is slowly working herself back into top form after a summer knee injury setback. Meanwile, Givens has led the Riverbend girls so far in 2010 cross country season after running 2:23 in the spring for 800 meters. The Riverbend girls finished fifth at the Northwest Region Championships last November and if they are able to get out of nearly as strong Commonwealth District for girls, they will be a darkhorse challenger for a top 4 spot in the region once again.

 

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach Brian Treakle

The Workout - 4x1500 Meters

Post Workout Interview w/ Coach Brian Treakle

Interview w/ Shaquon Wilkins, Ryan Kuhns, & Gabe Fisher

Interview w/ Lauren Givens & Peyton Lowe

 

XC Practice Tour Stop - Lee-Davis MileSplit Staff Sep 16, 2010

MileStat.com visited the Lee-Davis cross country team on their home course and venue for the Central Region Championships at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville. Lee-Davis team ran a fairly challenging workout on a humid day with 4x1 mile repeat with 400 meter jog/walk recovery (roughly 4-5 minutes rest) with the first repeat at tempo pace, second fastest at even splits, third fastest at negative splits, and fourth finishing strong as the fastest. Lee-Davis coach Neil Mathews has a boys and girls team this fall which both have goals of winning the Capital District title and advancing onto the state meet as one of the four teams from the Central Region, but also has two returning All-State caliber individuals in Cody Snyder and Bonny Turnage.

Snyder was an All-State finisher in cross country last November, but has primarily been known as more of a middle distance runner with a sub 2:30 1000 and sub 4:20 mile to his credit. However, Snyder as a senior is starting to really apply his talent to the 5K distance as seen with his season opening runner-up finish at the Great Meadow Invite in late August. Snyder looked fit in the workout as he dropped down from 5:18, 5:12, 4:58, and 4:45.

Turnage was one of the state's top new distance running stars as a freshmen last year as she posted one of the faster 5K times ever at Pole Green in 18:14. She finished her freshmen year of cross country making it on the podium in an All-State top 15 finish in the Group AAA race. Turnage, who also ran 11:08 in the 3200 in the spring, will be one of the top contenders for the Central Region title with returning champion Erica Dobbs of Deep Run and Megan Moye of Cosby. She consistently ran in the 5:50s for all four of her mile repeats around the practice fields at Pole Green Park.

 

The Warmup

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach Neil Mathews

4xMile Repeats

Bonny Turnage Interview

Cody Snyder Interview

Post-Workout Interview w/ Coach Neil Mathews

XC Practice Tour Stop - Western Albemarle Boys MileSplit Staff Sep 15, 2010

 

MileStat.com visited arguably the #2 ranked team in Group AA and top team within the competitive Region II at this point of the season in the Western Albemarle boys for a combination of hills workout on their school grounds in Crozet, Virginia on Tuesday, September 14th. Last year was a rare for longtime coach Lindy Bain (23 years) and the Western Albemarle boys without a team or single individual competing at the state meet. Injuries and illness as well as a tough and competitive region played a role in snapping their long streak of state meet berths, so the key for this year's team success is staying healthy especially their top runner Derek Armstrong who missed virtually all of cross country and outdoor track last year as a junior. The team has started off the 2010 season healthy and strong with two back-to-back wins at the Ragged Mountain Cup and Judges Classic.

 

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach Lindy Bain

The Warmup

Combo Hills Workout

Post-Workout Interview w/ Coach Lindy Bain

Interview w/ Derek Armstrong, Henry Giles, David Taylor, & Ben Schiller

XC Practice Tour Stop - Brentsville District MileSplit Staff Sep 15, 2010

 

MileStat.com visited the Brentsville cross country program on Monday, September 13th at their school in Nokesville, Virginia. The program has been in transition the past few years with longtime successful coach Rob Dulin slowing getting out of coach to focus on his running store business to leave the program with past assistant Darrell Earman, who has continued many of the things which made the Tigers one of the state's top teams in Group A for many years and Group AA for the last decade.

 

The Brentsville boys and girls have been sending teams to state meets for years, but the boys had that streak snapped two years ago when a young group was trying to step into a big role left by a mass graduation of their 2007 state champion squad. Not forgetting that tough early experience, that same group of runners are seniors now and ready to not only making a second straight trip to the state meet but contend for a top 3 podium position. Meanwhile, Morgan Price is the lone girl left from the last podium squad for the Brentsville girls when she finished 17th as a freshmen at the state meet for the 2007 Group AA runner-up squad. As an individual All-State hopeful with two near top 15 state meet finishes in past seasons, Price will look to lead a young team which aims to come on strong at season's end.

 

The Warmup

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach Darrell Earman

6x1200 Meter Workout

Circuits

Interview with Zach Morrow, Matt Earman, & Andrew Hull

Interview with Morgan Price

Post-Workout Interview with Coach Darrell Earman

Preseason XC Tour Stop #12 - Mills Godwin MileSplit Staff Aug 31, 2010

MileStat.com visited the Mills Godwin cross country team in the West End of Richmond on Tuesday morning for a high quality workout which included a 20 minute tempo run, an all out 600, and 4x200 meter repeats. The Mills Godwin boys had one of the most successful seasons in school history last fall led by Grant Pollock, but graduated six of their top seven as this fall will be a rebuilding year behind lone top 7 varsity returnee in junior Dan De Nijs.

The potential for great success shifts to the Mills Godwin girls this year as not only should they be vying for one of the four state meet berths out of the Central Region, but their great returning depth could help them challenge Maggie Walker for the Colonial District title. A lot of the program's recent success and improvement has to be attributed to their young coach Jon Lauder, who has challenged the Godwin runners to become more competitive since coming on board several years ago as an assistant coach to long-time coach Kemper Towler. The former University of Richmond and Oakton runner has since become a head coach in cross country and track.

The Godwin girls have six girls back who have ran under 6 minutes in the 1600, three under 12 in the 3200, and three in the 19 minute range for the 5K. The big key for their success this season might be finding a front runner or at least finishing reasonably close to their rival team's top finishers. Lizzie Powell and Katie Wood look to be the top candidates as both were just a few places away from qualifying individually for the state outdoor championships as Powell ran 5:20 in the 1600 and Wood ran 11:45 in the 3200.

With experienced seniors Catelyn Hill and Anne Menefee and a rising talent in sophomore Courtney Burton, Mills Godwin has a top five pack of girls in place which as they move up together can take their program to new level. Watch workout video and interviews below!

 

The Warmup

Interview w/ Coach Jon Lauder

Workout Video - 20 Minute Tempo Run

Workout Video - 600/4x200

Strengthening Exercises

Interview w/ Lizzie Powell, Katie Wood, Catelyn Hill, & Ann Menefee

Interview w/ Dan De Nijs

 

Preseason XC Tour Stop #11 - Cosby MileSplit Staff Aug 30, 2010

Cosby's tempo run at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield made for stop #11 in MileStat.coms cross country practice tour. Despite being a fairly young school with its first class of seniors attending all four years at the school graduating this past spring, Cosby has enjoyed some quick success in cross country as district runners-up numerous times, sending a girls cross country team to the state meet, and few All-State individuals including 2010 returnees Megan Moye (2008, 2009) and Evan Niciphor (2009). The girls team last fall was decimated by the H1N1 swine flu virus affecting for four of their top seven runners. A young squad last fall and again youthful this year with few seniors vying for top seven positions, the Cosby girls are hoping to regain its form when healthy earlier last cross countr and return back to the state championships after their school's first state meet berth in 2008.

 

Megan Moye excelled as a freshmen in cross country with a seventh place finish at the state cross country meet and only continued that development into her sophomore year with another All-State finish while lowering her track PR's significantly down to a sub 5 mile equivalent of 4:37 in the 1500 and debuting in the 3200 with a season best of 11:01. Since the dominant  high school career of Kathleen Lautzenheiser has ended, Moye has become be one of the top contenders to challenge for the Dominion District and Central Region titles in 2010 with her 18:15 5K best.

 

Cosby's Evan Niciphor got an early taste of the state meet experience as sophomore but it was a bitter taste as his attempt to give it a go at the state cross country championships two years ago with a hamstring injury was a futile one as he was forced to drop out early in the race. In his second trip back to Great Meadow, he made the most of his next opportunity by snabbing his first All-State honor with the final podium position of 15th place. Following up with two more state meet appearances in indoor and outdoor track as a junior and PR's of 4:22 1600 and 9:39 3200, Niciphor enters his senior season as an athlete to look out for not only within a strong and competitive Central Region for the boys individuals this fall but at the state level as well.

 

Watch interviews with Moye & Niciphor along with Cosby coach Chris Averill and video of their tempo run workout at Pocahontas State Park below!

 

Pre-Workout Talk from Coaches

The Workout: 25-30 Minte Tempo

Coach Averill Interview

Megan Moye Interview

Evan Niciphor Interview

Preseason XC Tour Stop #10 - Western Albemarle Girls MileSplit Staff Aug 26, 2010

MileStat.com has now visited the "Big 3" as far as the top three Group AA girls programs, which all are national caliber programs after checking in with the Western Albemarle girls on Wednesday afternoon in Crozet, Va following previous visits at Blacksburg and Hidden Valley. The Western Albemarle girls did their annual two mile time trial on the famous training grounds for current and past Western Albemarle runners at Dick Woods Road, a long gravel and dirt road with its share of hills and flat portions for training runners. The two mile time trial helps determine who will run on the varsity relays at the team's season opener every season at the Ragged Mountain Cup held at Panorama Farms next week.

 

Mattie Webb's high level of fitness had been lauded after the High Performance Distance Academy in early July, but MileStat.com got to witness potentially this year's breakthrough cross country star in the state in person with a eye opening performance. Webb, who struggled last fall running within the team's top five while battling an iron deficiency, nearly matched her track PR with a 11:03 two mile performance in Wednesday's time trial. Webb is pre-season #2 ranked in Group AA and her huge improvement gives the Western Albemarle girls the front runner which they lacked last fall racing against Blacksburg and Hidden Valley.

 

Also making a jump and running a very solid time trial performance of 11:56 as the second finisher for the Western Albemarle girls was senior Killian O'Connell. O'Connell has been able to stay close and run up with teammate Webb in workouts and runs this summer, which would indicate to Coach Katie Pugh that she may have another all-state cross country finisher in O'Connell.

Claire Johnson is one of four seniors among the team's top five returning runners and she was the lone individual on the team to earn All-State honors last fall in the team's third place state meet finish. Johnson along with the other seniors look to pull their tight pack from a year ago more closer to the front of the field in their quest to add another title to the Western Albemarle girls' rich tradition and past of state team champions. Johnson (12:27), senior Katie Farina (12:32), and Peri Bowser (12:36) rounded out the top five finishers for the Western girls in their time trial, while probable top five runner and senior Emily Moffett did a training run while easing her way back from an injury.

Coach Katie Pugh enters her sixth season as the head coach for the Western Albemarle girls and has continued on many of the traditions for the program, while adding her own wrinkles into the training and team atmosphere which her senior group has certainly bought into as the team is position to challenge for their first state title under Coach Pugh. With a veteran group, the Western girls figure to be well prepared for competing well against two well coached and talented teams in Blacksburg and Hidden Valley, while also ready to race in big meets such as Maymont and Great American to prepare for a likely post-season trip to the Nike Cross Southeast Regional.

 

Pre-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Katie Pugh (Part 1)

Pre-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Katie Pugh (Part 2)

Drills & Stretching

Warmup Run

2 Mile Time Trial

Team Cheer & Cooldown Run

Interview w/ Mattie Webb, Killian O'Connell, & Claire Johnson

Post-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Pugh

Preseason XC Tour Stop #9 - Hidden Valley MileSplit Staff Aug 26, 2010

MileStat.com visited the Hidden Valley program on Tuesday afternoon in Roanoke. Their girls' squad  is pre-season nationally ranked by Marc Bloom's Harrier Rankings and last year their team won their first state cross country team title over district rival Blacksburg and also qualified to compete at the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon as an at-large berth which they finished 13th in the national championship meet. They lost three of their top six runners from a year ago, but return one of the best top three in the state in Annie LeHardy, Haley Cutright, and Carolyn Bethel.

On Tuesday afternoon following a heavy downpour earlier in the day, the rain lightened up for the Hidden Valley team to take to their home cross country course for hill repeats on a steap but winding hill which Coach Daniel King had them work the crest with a surge of 50 or more meters. After three repeats on the hill, the team shifted gears to 6x250 meter repeats on a flat portion as they worked on turnover.

LeHardy, Cutright, and Bethel are all returning 18 minute 5K runners, which Coach King believes all three are capable of running under 18 minutes this season. The biggest question or key to Hidden Valley's success this season will be the improvement and development of their #4 through #6 runners to round out their scoring five. Greta Weidner (40th place finisher at 2009 AA State XC) and Roanoke Catholic transfer Patricia Sorrentino (5:44 1600/2:29 800) are the likely the best bets so far to complete their top five.

MileStat.com enjoyed a great sit-down and in-depth interview with Coach Daniel King prior to the team's workout. His methods and philosphy may be different to some of his team's rival programs, but the results and success validate those methods and philosophy. Watch below interviews with Coach King, the Hidden Valley girls top three and videos from their workout day.

 

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach King (Part 1)

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach King (Part 2)

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach King (Part 3)

Team Meeting Before Workout

Coach King Trimming Branches

Workout Video: Hill Repeats

Workout Video: 6x250m Repeats

Coach King's Team Pep Talk

Interview w/ Annie LeHardy, Haley Cutright, & Carolyn Bethel

Post-Workout Interview w/ Coach King

Preseason XC Tour Stop #8 - Maggie Walker MileSplit Staff Aug 23, 2010

MileStat.com stayed local on Monday morning before a week of traveling around the state again to visit the Maggie Walker program and one of the state's most respected and accomplished high school coaches in Jim Holdren. The team did their second hill workout of the season on a 200 meter hill repeat with a 400 meter jog or walk recovery at Byrd Park in Richmond. The varsity level runners for both boys and girls did as many as 10 repeats total in the workout.

The Maggie Walker girls are attempting to rebuild quickly after graduating five of their top seven. Despite the losses, the tradition and continued full attention and development by Coach Holdren with his younger and developmental runners each year seems to always have the program always ready to reload for another state meet bound squad. The team is led by senior Anna Spiers, who was All-State indoors at 1000 meters and ran personal bests of 2:15 in the 800 and 5:06 in the 1600 meters this past spring. The rising star for the Maggie Walker girls is sophomore Rachel Galton who really came on in the outdoor season as a freshmen running a 11:28 3200 then finishing her season with a 18:53 5K performance on the track at the MileStat.com Gala. Behind Spiers and Galton is a group of five girls who have 5K personal bests in the 20 minute range who look to close the gap on their front two in order to make their team more competitive this fall.

The Masters of Overachieving is a good way to describe the Maggie Walker boys program, who despite often being dwarfed by their successful girls program and each year more concerned about getting out the district with a top four finish, seem to have taken the rest of the region and maybe themselves off guard when they have snuck into the top 4 at the regional meet and moved onto the state meet. The past two years, the Maggie Walker boys have finished the same place in the region as they did in the district meet which last year they went from third in the Colonial District to a solid 7th place finish in the AAA state race. This year's team will not be fooling anyone that they can turn it on when it matters come championship season time as there is hope among the squad that they can snap the seven year drought from the Maggie Walker boys' last district team title in 2002. Senior Marc Breidenbaugh leads this squad as he had a very strong close to this 2009 cross country season as the 8th fastest returnee from last year's AAA state race, ran a PR of 16:03 at Foot Locker South, and earned All-American honors with a top 20 finish at the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals.

 

 

Watch Maggie Walker workout video & interviews below!

 

The Workout: 200m Hill Repeats

Core Workout (following hill repeats)

Interview w/ Coach Holdren

Interview w/ Anna Spiers & Rachel Galton

Interview w/ Marc Breidenbaugh & Colin Puckett

Preseason XC Tour Stop #7 - Bishop O'Connell Girls MileSplit Staff Aug 21, 2010

The three-time private school state cross country champion Bishop O'Connell girls enter this fall with six seniors among their top ten who are seeking to complete their high school career as four-time champions. Under the guidance of Coach Cindy Walls, who seems to especially work well with her female runners through positive coaching, the O'Connell girls were visited by MileStat.com on the pre-season cross country tour stop #7 for their one mile time trial on Saturday at Bluemont Park in Arlington.

 

Top returnee Emily Blagg who had received the #1 pre-season private school ranking on Friday and her teammate Sarah McCarthy who made huge improvements during the track season as well as this summer, both runners finished within a second of one another in Saturday's time trial. Bishop O'Connell might have the top two individuals this cross country season between Blagg and McCarthy. Their entire top seven is ranked among the private school top 25 pre-season rankings, but their biggest individual honor might be their top 10 t-shirts which are up for grabs and change hands after each race.

 

The Warmup

Pre-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Walls

TIME TRIAL

Top 10 T-Shirts Awards

Post-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Walls

Interview w/ Sarah McCarthy, Emily Blagg, Michelle Van Horn, & Alex Nihill

Preseason XC Tour Stop #6 - Colonial Forge MileSplit Staff Aug 19, 2010

MileStat.com visited one of the deepest programs in the state currently on Thursday with the Colonial Forge boys and girls conducting their first time trial of the year to test their fitness after a solid summer of training and 2 1/2 weeks of official practice. With music blaring and unique but actually true to form time trial with a "Tour de France" style as each runner started individually in 30 second intervals on the 2 mile loop at H.H. Poole Middle School in Stafford, the Colonial Forge squad looked very strong and fit. Despite having staggered starts, Colonial Forge boys and girls had their fastest four times each within a slim margin of separation.

The Colonial Forge boys had four just over 11 minutes in the time trial with junior Brian O'Loughlin (11:02), senior David Klimek (11:09), junior David Penesi (11:09), and senior Donnie Lozier (11:11) as the team clearly has four runners capable of not only being All-Region in the Northwest Region, but capable of finishing within the top 25 at the state meet. The Colonial Forge boys have put together a lineup for this fall to seriously challenge for the school's first state cross country title.

The Colonial Forge girls had five girls within 18 seconds of one another in junior Shaina Manuel (13:06), junior Makenzie McDonald (13:14), senior Colleen Wade (13:16), sophomore Jenna Walker (13:18), and senior Hannah Dickinson (13:24). While an impressive overall effort in their time trial, the Colonial Forge girls are not close to full strength with two likely top seven runners in Hannah Somers and Alyssa DeVane still coming back from injury who did not run in Thursday morning's time trial. Senior Wade, who was a member of a regional champion cross country team as an underclassmen, looks to lead a somewhat inexperienced but certainly talented Colonial Forge girls squad into big invitationals and championship season this fall.

 

Despite being only eight years removed from their last cross country season as runners themsevles for the Eagles, Colonial Forge coaches Michael Porter and Sean Leyh both have not only used their personal training and racing experiences but learned a great deal from some of the top older coaches in the state including in their annual summer trip to the Blue Ridge Running Camp to apply the knowledge gained to their team with their own successful philosophy which has both boys and girls for the Colonial Forge cross country team ready for a potentially big season. See time trial video and interviews below!

 

Photo Gallery - 460 total photos from Colonial Forge visit.

The Warm-Up

Pre-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Leyh

Pre-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Porter

THE TIME TRIAL (2 Miles)

Interview w/ Colonial Forge Boys Top 4

Interview w/ Colonial Forge Girls Top 4

Post-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Leyh

Post-Time Trial Interview w/ Coach Porter

Preseason XC Tour Stop #5 - Osbourn Park MileSplit Staff Aug 18, 2010

The two-time defending Northwest Region girls cross country champions of Osbourn Park were stop #5 on MileStat.com's Pre-Season XC Practice Tour on a rainy and muddy Wednesday morning at their school in Manassas, Virginia. Despite graduating their top two runners from a year ago including 1000 meter indoor state champion Ariel Karabinus, the Osbourn Park girls are certainly capable of claiming a third straight regional title with their remaining returnees including four 19 minute 5K runners in Natalie Geleta, Kayla Tyrrell, Brandy Wybersky, and Kaitlin Mulder. Tyrrell was a regional champion at 800 meters this past spring, while Wybersky joined her as a state meet qualifier in the 800 as a sub 2:20 performer. Sophomore Kelly Russell expects to round out their top five after running 11:49 for 3200 meters this past spring.

 

The Osbourn Park boys are looking to make steps in improvement and set themselves up for a state meet berth in 2011 with a junior heavy varsity squad as seven of their top nine returnees will be back next fall led by top runner Daniel Rimkus, who placed 21st at the 2009 Northwest Region Championships as a sophomore. Workout videos and interviews below from Osbourn Park practice.

 

The Warmup

Pre-Workout Interview w/ Coach Mike Schuster

Tour of The Practice Field Loop

The Workout

Post-Workout Interview w/ Coach Mike Schuster

Interview w/ Natalie Gelata, Kayla Tyrrell, Brandy Wybersky, Kaitlin Mulder

Interview w/ Daniel Rimkus

Preseason XC Tour Stop #4 - West Potomac MileSplit Staff Aug 17, 2010

MileStat.com was on-site at West Potomac High School in Alexandria on Tuesday morning for the first visit of week #2 in our pre-season cross country practice tour. Both boys and girls team got over the "hump" last year to qualify for the state cross country meet and return this year with five of their top seven runners from 2009 back for both squads.

Jenn Dietz takes over as head coach from longtime coach Don Beeby after serving as an assistant coach for the past few years under Beeby and as a head track coach this past year. The West Potomac runners appear to be transitioning very well in the coaching change after a very successful track season under Coach Dietz with many lifetime best performances recorded.

Tuesday's workout saw West Po's varsity level runners getting some quality and quantity in their daily mileage with a fartlek on and off workout as they alternated between one mile hard at tempo pace or faster and one mile easy as recovery. Including the workout, warm-up, and cool down, the varsity boys got in at least 11 miles for the day and varsity girls put in a total of 9 miles. Workout videos & interviews posted below.

 

The Warm-Up

Coach Dietz Pre-Workout Interview

The Work-Out

Coach Dietz Post-Workout Interview

Sarah Jane Underwood & Dale Lescher Interview

Brady Corum, Mark Hanak, & Ben Alexio Interview

 

Preseason XC Tour Stop #3 - Ocean Lakes MileSplit Staff Aug 14, 2010

MileStat.com visited arguably the Eastern Region's consistently top cross country program over the past decade in Ocean Lakes on Friday morning at Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach. With the flat terrain of the sea level area, Mount Trashmore is one of the few places for teams like Ocean Lakes to get hill work in and prepare for racing more challenging cross country courses later this season. Their workout on Friday included repeats on a 1 mile loop which hit several hills and drills as well on a hill incline. More to come from the practice including photos. Workout videos & interviews posted below.

 

Coach Nestor Pre-Workout Interview

The Warm-Up

The Work-Out: 2x1 Mile Hill Loop

Coach Nestor Post-Workout Interview

Jon Winters Interview

Audrey Batzel Interview

Preseason XC Tour Stop #2 - Blacksburg MileSplit Staff Aug 14, 2010

MileStat.com visited one of the state's top cross country programs on Thursday with the Blacksburg boys and girls working out at Brown Farm in Blacksburg, which included a 20 minute tempo run and 5x460 meter repeat workout. More to come from the practice including photos. Workout videos & interviews posted below.

 

The Warm-Up

20 Minute Tempo Run

460 Meter Repeats

Coach James DeMarco Interview

Hannah Brown & Sarah Dorrell Interview

George Carter & Frank Locascio Interview

Preseason XC Tour Stop #1 - Trinity Episcopal boys MileSplit Staff Aug 10, 2010

After finishing fourth at last year's Virginia Indepedent Schools state cross country championships and returning five key members from that team, the Trinity boys are looking to make a historical run this year if not next year with no seniors among their top seven. The last time that Trinity Episcopal won the Prep League title was back in 1981 and the school has never won the private school state cross country title.

 

Under the guidance of their young coach Marcus Jones, who ran at Trinity Episcopal (2000 graduate) and ran collegiately at Bucknell University, the school has definitely put its name on the map most notably by Barbara Strehler who won multiple state titles before taking her talents to the University of Virginia. Strehler's younger twin brothers, Mac and Reider, are part of a strong young core of Trinity runners including junior captains Guy Shelby and Chris Cantone, who expect to compete for a state cross country title over the next two years.

 

 

MileStat.com visited the Trinity boys on Tuesday morning in their first workout of the season as they ease their way off their summer base mileage with a 2x2 mile tempo workout at Bandy Field (former venue for the Central Region Championships) in the West End of Richmond. Video of their workout session and interviews with Coach Jones and captains Guy Shelby and Chris Cantone below!

 

Team Preview by MileStat.com

The Warm-up

The Work-out

Post Work-out Interview w/ Coach Jones

Post Work-out interview w/ Guy Shelby & Chris Cantone