Friday, October 7, 2011

Boys Set Team Record at Golden Gate Park

Full Results: CLICK HERE


Golden Gate Park, San Francisco - It was Fleet Week in San Francisco as the Warriors traveled to Golden Gate Park to compete in their first West Catholic League Race of the season. The United States Naval Aviation celebrated 100 years of service to our country with spectacular displays of power and discipline, and WCAL competitors were in awe as the famous Blue Angels orchestrated practice runs over the race course.

“Non Sibi Sed Patriae”, “Not for self, but country” is the unofficial motto of the US Navy.

If the Warriors had a motto for competition this season it would be “Not for self, but team”.

The inspiration could not be more perfect.

For both Varsity and JV girls and boys, this race was about working together and running as a team. As much as people think of distance running as an individual sport, the attitude of a Cross Country team is never ‘every man for himself’. You win as a team and loose as a team and the reality is that every runner on that seven man team matters. As the saying goes, “In Cross Country, you are only as strong as your seventh runner”. This race proved the strength of all our athletes.

Coach Small gave the Varsity Boys and Girls a very specific race strategy: run the first two miles together as a team, and then accelerate the last mile. Running a race like this allows the team to feed off of each others energy and allows the 5, 6 & 7 runners to gain confidence and find the momentum they need to break through to the next level.

Varsity Boys:
A combination of talent and teamwork lead the Varsity Boys to set a new team record for Golden Gate Park. According to plan, the guys ran the first two miles together passing through the first mile in 5:35 and 11:45 for 2 miles. Then, like clock-work, the boys picked up the pace and went to work. Sean Davis broke from the pack and finished the race with an impressive 5:08 last mile, completing the race in a time of 16:59. Juniors Eyobed Mesfun (18:12) and Ryan Ensor (18:15) ran a tight race to finish within a few seconds of each other while Dustin Laucella crossed the line in 18:58. Laucella put all of himself into this race and came through setting a new PR and reaching his goal of breaking 19 min. Veteran runner Alex Ascencio rounded off the team with a 19:23. The numbers continue to confirm that this exceptional group of athletes is one of the most talented Varsity Boys teams to come through Valley Christian.

Varsity Girls:
All that team bonding definitely paid off as the Varsity girls encouraged one another to succeed. The team stayed together through two miles as Megan Gillespie set the pace coming through the 2 mile in 14:30. Morgan Lira, Jessica Xu, Ashley Lara and Kellianne Connolly picked up the pace and worked together to all cross the line together in 21.54. Karen Mac worked together with Megan Gillespie to finish in 22.34. All that teamwork helped Sophomore Megan Gillespie beat her last years time by over 30 seconds finishing in her lifetime best of 22.36.

JV Boys:
Eric Ortiz has had a brutal week. After a grueling workout on Friday last week he came back and competed in the Artichoke Invitational. He came back for WCAL and finished an amazing 18:44 at Golden Gate Park and raced again just 2 days later. In just his first year Ortiz has become one of the most consistent runners for the Warriors and quite frankly just loves to run.

Corey Bentley is another talent who had a late start joining the team in September but has stepped up huge for the team earning a spot on the Varsity team. Running 19:28 Bentley ran his personal best for 3 miles. Not far behind was Nick Staub (20:53) and Jontom Trieu-Phan (21:21) who have also been quietly improving.
Samuel Han was the top freshman finisher running 21:28 followed by Senior Derek Seaman (22:02). Paul James was next to finish for the Warriors with 22:28, which was more than a 1 minute improvement at the distance. Josh Profio and Inigo Garcia also had amazing improvements finishing nearly 3 minutes better than just 1 month ago!

The JV Girls:
Amanda Ernenwein is just a freshman but has quickly become one our strongest new athletes. She worked together with Lindsay Folden throughout the entire race as both ran outstanding crossing the finish right around the 25 minute mark. Elaine Ma and Morgan Haag had breakthrough performances running 26:30 and 26:33 respectably. Both athletes have shown huge potential running their best times of the year. Allison Mai also continues to improve running the challenging 3 mile course in 26:43 a personal best for the distance. The most improved runner of the day is Lisa Grossman who finished in 28:48 who has improved 2:24 for the 3 mile distance since her first race this season at the Early Bird Invitational.

“This race demonstrated how much each individual is committed to helping their teammates succeed,” said Coach Houp. “It really shows how physically and mentally tough all our athletes have become.”

There was some rain, mud, and a blue angel air show but in the end it was a great day for the Warriors. When asked his opinion of the Golden Gate course Freshman Paul James remarked matter-of-factly, “Coach, there were just not enough hills.”

The Warriors return next Tuesday to compete in their second WCAL race at the historic Crystal Springs course in Belmont.



Boys Results - WCAL #1 @ Golden Gate Park (3.0 mi)










Team Record: Sean Davis 16:59 2011


















Mile 1 Mile 2



Sean Davis 12 16:59 5:35 12:15



Eyobed Mesfun 11 18:12 5:40 12:05



Ryan Ensor 11 18:16 5:40 11:55



Eric Ortiz 12 18:44 5:43 12:15



Dustin Laucella 12 18:58 5:48 12:30



Alex Ascencio 11 19:23 5:35 12:36



Corey Bentley 11 19:28 5:48 12:43



Nick Staub 11 20:53 6:17 13:41



Jontom Phan 12 21:21 6:27 13:57



Samuel Han 9 21:28 6:40 13:53



Derek Seaman 12 22:02 6:26 14:09



Paul James 9 22:28 6:52 14:40



Peter Sohn 10 23:18 7:12 16:12



Wilson Ye 9 23:27 6:37 15:09



Josh Profio 12 23:36 7:16 16:35



Inigo Garcia 9 23:37 6:51 15:22



Mario Orlando 10 30:31 8:10 18:33




















Girls Results - WCAL #1 @ Golden Gate Park (3.0 mi)









Team Record: Jennifer Bergman 18:32 2008















Mile 1 Mile 2



Jessica Xu
21:54 6:35 14:30



Morgan Lira
21:54 6:35 14:30



Ashley Lara
21:54 6:35 14:30



Kellianne Connolly
21:55 6:35 14:30



Karen Mac
22:34 6:35 14:30



Megan Gillespie
22:36 6:35 14:30



Isabel Garcia
23:15 7:08 15:13



Shannon Luu
23:16 7:08 15:13



Amanda Ernenwein
24:58 7:35 16:32



Lindsey Folden
25:02 7:35 16:32



Elaine Ma
26:30 8:04 17:08



Morgan Haag
26:33 7:55 17:00



Allison Mai
26:43 8:05 17:11



Lisa Grossman
28:48 8:06 18:20




















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