CCAA Recap

Sorry for the late update folks, but here's the results of a great weekend up at CCAA Champs in Humboldt.

All-CCAA Performances:

Joey Nunes, 8th overall, 25:32, 2nd consecutive all-conference performance
Denali Foldager, 10th overall, first All-CCAA run
Rubye Foldager, 12th overall, first all-CCAA run

Coach Taylor had the highest finishing teams in her coaching tenure at Stanislaus, with the men placing 4th and the women 5th, each a spot better than last year.

The men edged out UCSD by ONE POINT! Big props to hard finishers Shane Brookshire, Kanwar Dhaliwal, and Dawson Vorderbruegge, who combined to pass 6 UCSD runners in the last 400 meters to help secure the victory. They finished with 118 points, behind 3rd place Humboldt who scored 75 points.

The women ran very well and finished 5th as a team. The beat Humboldt by 4 points, 142-146, an excellent demonstration of strong pack running.

You can see the women's results here:
http://warriorathletics.com/custompages/season_stats/xc/ccaa_wxc.htm

And the men's here:
http://warriorathletics.com/custompages/season_stats/xc/ccaa-mxc.htm

Warriors Set PR's at Golden Gate

This past Friday, October 9, the Warriors ran in the San Francisco State Gator Invite at Golden Gate Park. The course is the site of the 2009 West Regionals in November, so the race served as a preview of the championship course. It was by far the largest and most competitive race the Warriors have been in this season, sporting 118 Men and 164 women. The field included some of the best D2 schools on the West Coast, including:

Alaska Anchorage
Chico State
Humboldt State
Western Oregon
San Francisco State
Sonoma State
Academy of Art University
Notre Dame de Namur
Cal State Monterey Bay

As well as D1 teams from Cal Berkeley, Santa Clara, UOP, and San Jose State. Obviously an impressive field for a mid-season race.

And, as always, the Warriors fared well against strong competition, representing the Greater Turlock Metropolitan Area with dignity and pride. In the Women's 6k, Denali Foldager placed 10th overall in 22:31. She maintained strong positioning in a very strung out race (2 minutes between 1st and 10th place). Her sister Fubye Roldager was next for the Warriors, crossing in 27th place in 23:26, a good finish for Fubye who showed mental toughness in the midst of a large pack. Next was Dreamweaver in a personal pr of 23:53, dipping below the 24 minute barrier for the first time in her career. Mary Courtright and Alyssa Thiele rounded out the top 5, finishing in the mid 24's. The Lady Warriors finished 7th as a team, just 15 points behind conference foe Humboldt State, but totally dominating peak rivals Sonoma and San Francisco State.

The Men's race was a Kenyan affair, with all kinds of Kenyans from Alaska and Academy of Art running in the front of the pack. From the gun, the Speedy Africans formed what was affectionately known as the "Great Wall of Kenya," controlling the race by running 7 wide around the polo field loop. It was beneficial to everyone though, as the top 20-30 runners rolled through the mile in about 5:05 - 5:10, a conservative start for a flat 8k. As the race progressed, the pack strung out and developed into minor packs of 3-4 as well as separated strings of runners. Sophomore Dawson Vorderbruegge consistently moved up throughout the race and finished 11th overall in a 25 second pr of 25:53. Senior Joey Nunes was 36th in 26:44, exhibiting his yearly "Azusa Revisited" race. Captain Shane was next for the Warriors, crossing in 27:17, good enough for 52nd place. Palmer and Kanwar were next, closely finishing in 66th and 71st in respective times of 27:43 and :50. The men finished in 6th place as a team, beating out peak rival San Francisco State.

Overall, some Warriors ran well, some struggled, but it was good for all to get on the Regional course and race in Bay Area conditions.

Men's Results:
http://www.runnercard.com/runner/data/512/2200/Result/Mens_8K.htm

Women's Results:
http://www.runnercard.com/runner/data/512/2200/Result/Womens_6K.htm

2009 XC Media Guide

The 2009 Men's and Women's XC Media Guide has been uploaded onto warriorathletics.com, you can view it here:

http://issuu.com/warriorathletics/docs/09_xc_media_guide

Sweet Brian Sell Interview

A little inspiration for all you runner freaks out there, roadsmillslaps.com has recently posted an interview with Brian Sell, one of my all-time favorite runners. An average high school runner, Sell walked on to a D3 team for college, and several years later qualified for the 2008 Olympics in the Marathon. Incredible story of hard work, here's a teaser:

"But luckily with the marathon, it’s not so much whether you can break 4:00 in the mile or run an 11-second 100m dash, it’s more like going out and pounding the miles, not skipping days, and just getting out there and getting it done."

Check it out at:
http://www.roadsmillslaps.com/RML/Brian_Sell.html

Golden Gate Getaway

This past Saturday, the men and women Warriors took a trip to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and yes, they wore some flowers in their hair. The site of the 2009 D2 West Regional race, Coach Taylor thought it might be a good idea to become familiar with the course that is hosting the pinnacle meet of the season. The day trip, well, morning trip, was quite an experience, to say the least.

We all piled into cars at 6 a.m. on Saturday and made the 2 hour drive into the Windy City. Once inside the City that Never Sleeps, we drove straight to Golden Gate Park, the most famous recreational area in the Twin Cities region. The City of Angels was just stirring from it's Friday night slumber as we rolled in at about 8 am. It was a glorious affair to be running in the Mile High City, or what some might term the Birthplace of the American Revolution.

Once arriving at GGP, Captains Joey Nunes and Shane Brookshire led us on a wild goose chase to try and figure out the course, which is quite tricky when it isn't marked at all. After a few minutes of wandering, the women finally gave up and left out on their own, because women obviously have a superior sense of direction (Cat's words, not mine.) Needless to say, the men figured out the course about 2 minutes later, while the women still searched.

Finally, after all the course was figured out, the workout began. Run an hour. Hard. Continuous 2k loops of the course. However, there was a catch. Block part of the course with giant stages, gates, fences, and mobile golf carts. Fill the rest of the course with dirty hippies and bearded bluegrass enthusiasts who are too stoned out of their minds to coherently get out of the way when a runner comes busting through the sidewalk, and you're getting a good picture of what the tempo looked like.

Yes, it was the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate, a yearly event featuring free live music by some of the best bluegrass bands in America. This year the set list included such greats as the Austin Lounge Lizards, Dr. Magpie, and Poor Man's Whiskey! Nothing pumps up a runner for a hard workout like some blaring banjo and mandolin!

All sarcasm aside, it was nice to get out of Turlock for awhile and get on the Regional course. We got a good view of the course, and I think it will produce some fast times this weekend and again in November. Our next race is this Friday, October 9th, the SF State Gator Invite, on this course in GGP. Stay tuned for a preview of the Gator Invite, and don't forget to put some flowers in your hair!

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!