Stanislaus Invite Results

Lead bike, lead bike, lead, lead, lead 'em in! The Stan State Invite was a smashing success this year in all aspects. Men dominated, women won, logistics were great, and crowd support was incredible. At the biggest home meet in recent history, (7 men's teams and 9 women's teams), the Warriors ran some impressive times Saturday in Turlock.

The men's team scored 32 points for the victory, finishing 2-3-11-12-13 overall with lots of unattached runners mixed in that group. Warrior Alum Jose Morales won the race in a time of 25:43, just out-kicking Joey "Man-o-War" Nunes by 6 seconds. They were followed by Dawson "Stache-Dash" Vorderbruegge, who crossed in 26:18. Both Joey and Dawson had pr's of more than 30 seconds, despite training through the race and having virtually no one to pace with. Ivan Bojorquez, Shane Brookshire, and Kanwar Dhaliwal were next for the Warriors, finishing in 27:34, :37, and :42, a close pack indeed. Kanwar and Ivan had great breakout races, moving up in the squad and posting strong times.

Women-wise, Denali Foldager continued to lead the team, placing 2nd overall in a behemoth pr of 23:22. She ran much more conservatively and used her finishing speed to her advantage in a well timed attack. Andrea Johnson really stepped it up this week and finished 4th overall, bumping up a spot in the lineup, just ahead of Rubye Foldager, who also had a great race. Mary Courtright and Chelsea Deerinck came in together and looked strong the whole race. They were followed by Lindsay Garcia and Al-Face Thiele. Liz LaMadrid finished her first collegiate race; she's been battling injuries all season, so it was nice to see her out there competing. The women had strong pack running, just several separate packs instead of one united pack. If they can join up and run together as a unit, they could really surprise some people come the end of the season.

As well, unattached runners Marina Ghabbour and Stephen Lenz raced well in their second race of the season.

Many thanks to all the spectators who came out and supported us at this meet. It was great to see people dressed up, fired up, and pumped up to watch a local XC meet. It's a fantastic representation of school spirit, and it really encourages all the racers to have a loud fan base.

Finally, thanks to all the teams who came and competed, especially to the Warrior Alumni, who helped pace and push the men.

The Warriors will have two solid weeks of training before they compete again at the San Francisco State Gator Invite. The 8k race in Golden Gate Park is a preview of the West Regional race scheduled for November 7th. There will be plenty of competition at the Gator Preview, including schools from all up and down the West Coast. We'll see ya in SF!

Stanislaus Invite Preview

This Saturday, September 26th, the Warriors will stay in Turlock to compete in the annual Stanislaus Invitational Cross-Country Race, sponsored by Adidas. The course is on the CSUS campus, starting by the ancient dirt track and looping around campus several times, with the finish just across Warrior Bridge. It is a flat, fast, and hot course, about 50% grass and 50% road, so good times are in order from all competitors. Men's 8k race starts at 9 am, followed by the women's 6k at 10 am.

The field should be an interesting one, with teams from D2, Naia, D3, and Junior College levels in the mix. Simpson, Cal State Monterey Bay, Las Positas College, Fresno Pacific, Holy Names, UC Merced, and of course Stanislaus will be lacing it up for the men's race, as well as Sonoma and UOP for the women's race.

Looking for her second collegiate victory, and her second of the season, Denali Foldager is the Vegas favorite to win the women's race, though it won't come easily. Foldager won the CSUMB Invite 3 weeks ago, and was the top Division 2 finisher at the Sac. State race two weeks ago.

The Sophomore Stud Selection of Andrea, Rubye, Chelsea, and Lindsay Garcia hope to tear it up on Saturday, moving as a pack to keep the team score low. Freshmen Al-Face Thiele and Liz LaMadrid are both anticipating good races as well. This will be Liz's first race as she has battled injuries thus far into the season. Mary Courtright and Elena Gardner are prepared for big races on Saturday, and are gunning for pr's.

For the men, two questions remain:
1. Winner?
2. Best individual race?

Front-runner Joey Nunes and Kick-master Dawson Vorderbruegge will be duking it out for the win on Saturday. They've been training well together all season, and have split the top spot for the Warriors in the first two races. It will definitely be fun to watch what these two do on Saturday, and to see who crosses the line first. Besides finish place, each is expecting a huge 8k pr, so keep an eye on these two.

As for best individual race, 4 men are vying for this title, hoping to have the breakout race of the season and post a big pr. Palmer Thiele has been having excellent workouts, but has struggled in races this season. Look for him to gun after the top two men and make a name for himself as a young sophomore. Shane Brookshire had a rough summer of training, but is getting back in top shape and looking to use his 5 years of experience as his secret weapon. Ivan Bojorquez is still getting into good shape after only a few weeks of summer running, and has been closing the gap in practice; the rest is up to him on race day. True Freshman Kanwar Dhaliwal has been adjusting to college workouts, but handling the mileage well, this could be his day to make a break to the front of the pack. This is a crucial race for the secondary pack of Warriors, and should prove to be a great test to conclude the first half of the season.

Terrance Ellis has been terribly sick all week, so whether or not he competes will be a game time decision. Also, Tyler Thiele has been dealing with some calf and shin injuries, so his race status is undecided as of now.

Redshirts and Alumni will also be running this weekend. Bret Young, Steve Lenz, Jose Morales, and JD Bhatia will toe the line on Saturday, hoping to help the team to a fast finish, as well as individual pr's. Marina Ghabbour should have an exciting race as she lines up alongside the women, also with Tomara Hall and April Montgomery in the race.

You can find a course map and additional info here:
http://warriorathletics.com/sports/2009/9/9/MXC_0909094236.aspx?path=wcross

See you at the races!

Sac. State Results

Sorry for the late update Warrior fans, but here's the recap of the Sacramento State Hornet Jamboree of Sep. 12, 2009.

The course was fantastic, I was a huge fan. All on dirt, several decent hills, long smooth trails that were wide enough to pass people. Good spectator viewing, well marked miles, good crew and officials, I just can't say enough. Well done Hornets.

The men lined up for a 4 mile alongside the D1 likes of Berkeley, Davis, Sac St, Santa Clara, USF, and Saint Mary's, along with D3 William Jessup. Dawson "Karl Marx" Vorderbruegge was first across the line for the Warriors, finishing in 20:26, good enough for 13th place overall. Joey "Flava Flav" Nunes was next in 20:35, rounding out an impressive top-two for the Warriors, putting 2 in the top 20 at a D1 meet. Shane "Denis the Peasant" Brookshire and Terrance "Rally-Do" Ellis were third and fourth for the Warriors, finishing together in 21:43 and 21:44, good enough for 59th and 60th overall. Ivan and Palmer also crossed consecutively in 22:16 and 22:25, followed by Kanwar Dhaliwal in 23:01.

As a team, the men were 6th of 8, beating out Saint Mary's and William Jessup, and only losing to USF by 30 points.

The women raced a 5k, and Denali "She-Beast" Foldager crossed the line first for the women in 27th place with a time of 18:50, a great time for her. She was followed by Rubye in 19:28, and then Andrea in 19:50. Mary, Chelsea, and Al-Face all finished together consecutively in 20:01, :05, and :07, exhibiting some excellent pack running technique. Lindsay Garcia crossed in 20:24, followed by Elena in 22:11, rounding out the Lady Warrior crew.

Besides the official team, Turlock Elite sent some runners to the meet, and had an impressive showing. Jose Morales, Mosquito Blaylock, Martin Ramos, and Stephen Lenz ran in the men's race, and all helped pace the Warrior men. Marina "Crazy Face" Ghabbour ran unattached in the women's race and helped pull the Lady Warriors to some impressive times.

Suck State XC Hornet Jamboree Preview

This Saturday, September 12, the Warriors will make the drive up to Sacramento to compete in the Hornet XC Jamboree, hosted by Sacramento State. The course is at Sacramento Granite Regional Park. This is the first time CSUS has been up to the Hornet Jamboree in a few years, and we aren't too sure what the course will entail.

The day involves Varsity and Freshman High School races, as well as men's and women's Collegiate Open races. The Women's 5k race kicks off at 9:15 am, followed by the Men's 4 mile at 9:45 am. The Jamboree will be the premier NorCal XC race this weekend, featuring teams from Sac State, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, USF, Fresno State, San Jose State, Sonoma, UoP, and Nevada. Stanislaus will be the only D2 school in the men's race, and one of two D2 teams in the women's race. Thus, the competition should be fierce, and there will be a lot of hard runners there to push us along.

For the women, Sophomore Denali "She-Beast" Foldager is looking to follow up her win last week at CSUMB with another impressive performance this week. She will most definitely have some girls to push with, which will force her to respond and hang tough if she wants to show she can compete outside the D2 level. Her twin Fubye will also be looking to have an breakout race, as she has had some injury trouble the last few weeks. Newcomers Mary Courtright, Al-Face Thiele, and Liz "808" LaMadrid are anticipating a big pr this weekend, as their heavy summer and altitude training should be yielding early results. Returners Andrea Johnson, Lindsay Garcia, and Dreamweaver Deerinck should have good races as well, using their experience to guide the team up towards the front of the secondary pack in the race.

For the He-Man-Woman-Haters, Joey Nunes and Dawson Vorderbruegge are prepared to make a name for themselves among the ranks of Nor-Cal's best D1 XC teams. They both hope to hang onto the back of the lead pack for as long as they can and then finish strong. Shane Brookshire is hoping to close the gap between he and the front runners as he gets into better and better shape with time. Palmer, Ivan, Tyler, Terrance, and Kanwar are looking to run as a strong pack and move up the ranks, picking off many runners by working together and pushing as a unit. Overall, the goal for Saturday is to post some fast times, and prove that D2 ain't a joke.

Besides the current team members, Stan is sending some unattached runners to the race. Stephen Lenz and Jose Morales will make their 2009 XC debut, both itching for a fast race after a summer of hard training. Also, freshman redshirt Marina Ghabbour will be running with the women, and she should place well for her first collegiate race.

We'll see ya in Sac-Town!

Monterey Bay XC Invite

Before you continue reading this recap, realize just one thing. It just doesn't matter. Even if we won, even if we lost, even if every runner got mortally injured, even if every runner qualified for world XC championships, it just doesn't matter.

That being said, it was a fascinating day as the Warriors lined up for their first race of the year on Saturday September 5 in Monterey, CA. The weather was great, cool but sunny, and the Warriors were ready to get back in racing form after training all those long and lonely miles over the summer. CSU Monterey Bay, East Bay, Notre Dame de Namur, Sonoma State, and San Francisco State were all there to see where they are at this early in the season as well.

This was the first time CSUS had traveled and competed at the CSU Monterey Bay Invite, so we had no idea what to expect from the course. As it turns out, not much. I'll list a few pros and cons I observed from the course and let you make the call:

Pros:
1. Almost exclusively dirt or sand. In other words, no concrete.
2. All on trails
3. Well marked and maintained

Cons:
1. A lot of very thick and heavy sand, so it was hard to get good footing on a lot of crucial turns and coming off big downhills
2. The trails were narrow, nearly impossible to pass people in most spots.
3. The trails were very twisty and winding between mile 2-3, very hard to go fast in such a technical twisty trail
4. Turn a corner and finish 20 meters onto cement with no time to react or initiate a kick. The finish line wasn't visible before this, so it was hard to judge how much of the race you had left.

Anyway, I can complain more, but I'll leave it at that. To CSUMB's credit, it was a very traditional XC course, which is fun in an age where XC races are becoming more and more like road races with a bit of grass thrown in. They did a great job of organizing and running the meet, there were no problems I observed, and it would have been an accomplishment to go the wrong way or miss a turn, as they had great volunteers and directors. It just wasn't a course made for speed, which is actually nice every now and again.

Moving on, the Lady Warriors had a strong showing despite a few injured or redshirting runners. Denali "She-Beast" Foldager won her first collegiate race, coming in ahead of the field in the 2.75 mile race. She looked really strong down the stretch, and is showing she will be a force to be reckoned with in the CCAA. She was followed by teammates Rubye, Mary, Al-Face, Andrea, Chelsea, and Lindsay Garcia to round out the top 7 for the Lady Warriors. All had a good first race, and there are more exciting things to come.

In the men's race, Joey "Portuguese Man-o-War" Nunes also won his first collegiate XC race, coming in first for the men's 4 mile in a time of 22:05. Joey took the lead at mile 3 and brought it in strong to hold of a SFSU runner and teammate Dawson "Man-Beard" Vorderbruegge for second and third places, respectively. Palmer, Shane, Ivan, Tyler, Kanwar, and Terrance brought in the rest of the points for the Warriors in that order.

Overall, the times were slow on a junky course, and nobody really felt like they ran the best they could, but it's freaking September 5th! Unlike a lot of schools, the Warriors are exclusively concerned about peaking and running our best on October 24 and November 7, when it matters. It was a good tune up race, and provided a fun day of racing for everyone involved.

But remember, it just doesn't matter!

CROSS COUNTRY SEASON BEGINS

THE FIRST RACE OF THE SEASON BEGINS ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH AT MONTEREY BAY, STAY TUNED FOR RESULTS.....GOOD LUCK WARRIORS!!