Declared Athletes List

Here's the list of declared athletes for the CCAA Champs in Chico. Looks like the Warrior's have a good shot at scoring some big points.

Men:
http://www.flashresults.com/flashwest/results/2009track/09CCAA-m.htm

Women:
http://www.flashresults.com/flashwest/results/2009track/09CCAA-w.htm

Men's CCAA Champs Preview

GET SOME!

It's time for conference, the end-all, encapsulating meet of the season. Everybody is peaking. Everybody is fresh. Who will be a champ, and who will be a chump?

Here's the entry list:

1500:
Eric Gutierrez - 3:59.9
Joey Nunes - 4:01
Dawson Vorderbruegge - 4:02


3k Steeplechase:
Martin Ramos - 9:32
Palmer Thiele - 10:36


5k:
Joey Nunes - 15:06
Dawson Vorderbruegge - 15:17
Eric Gutierrez - 15:32
Martin Ramos - 15:35
Shane Brookshire - 15:35
Palmer Thiele - 16:30's


10k:
Shane

Event by Event Outlook:

1500:
In the men's 1500, Eric Gutierrez has the fastest qualifying time on the team, but Joey and Dawson are all right on his heels. This type of big race is going to favor these runners, because Hogwarts is going to try and take it out slow in prelims, but Joey and Eric are going to want to push the pace from the gun to try and break off anybody that wants to sit and kick. For Dawson, this can also be a good thing, as he will be able to let it ride in about 4th place for prelims, and then outkick the kickers to make finals.

In finals, it will be a similar story. Hogwarts is going to try and coast and kick, while Joey and Eric work from the front and Dawson uses speed. It will be interesting to see who's on the starting line of this race, as the Warriors are currently seeded 14, 16, and 24, while only being separated by 3 seconds. Making finals will be an accomplishment in itself for the freshman, while Nunes should have his eyes on top 8 for sure.

3k Steeplechase:
Senior Senor Martin has his eyes on a conference championship in this event. After a disappointing performance 2 weeks ago at Mt. SAC, Martin is rip-rearin and ready to go. A provisional is definitely within reach for Martin, as long as he can maintain focus and compete well. Beau Rogers is the favorite in this event with a pr of 9:01, but I don't think he's going to run that fast at conference, especially if he thinks he's going to score in any other events. In my view, it's going to be a big pack for the first mile, then a hard separation of Rogers, Garcia, Ramos, and maybe a few others. If Martin can hold on, I know he has the strength to finish in the top 2.

For Palmer, this event has been a troublemaker all season. After several below-par races, it's time for Palmer to have his breakout race. I seriously think he'll go sub 10 and score for the Warriors, as long as he maintains focus, form, and can put that pain in the back of his head. Riding it with the pack that first mile will be key for Palmer, and then driving it home by picking off some runners in the last 800.

5k:
The 12.5 lapper is the final event of the meet on Saturday night. All the Warrior distance crew will line up for this meet and try to pick up some extra points for the team. I'm not expecting much from the steeplers, as their race is less than an hour before the 5k gun, but I'd love to be proved wrong. This race is going to be a battle of fatigue. Everyone is running something else, so it will be easy to see who can recover the best and put all that pain away for 15 minutes. Joey and Dawson are on a quest to break 15 minutes, and I think they'll both do it if they rest correctly and race smart. They'll have to go out at 72 pace, not sit back with the pack for 1200 or a mile. This might mean taking the lead, but so be it. Eric and Shane will have to work together and move up steadily to pick some people off and surprise some. I think this will be a great race, with the winners going just under 15 minutes, and at that pace, it's anyones game.

10k:
Shane Brookshire is lining up for his first oval 10k at Conference. This is for points mind you, and Shane is a competitor. Not a traditional 10k'er, Shane is looking to simply score and pick up some garbage points for the team, and I think he'll do it. He has an excellent base, and his recent workouts have fine tuned his pacing and patience. In the words of Mosquito, this race is a 4 mile tempo and a 2 mile race, which is good for Shane. He's strong at pacing where he needs to be, and has a kick that can close the deal. A 33 low or 32 high should pick up some much needed points for the shallow Warrior men.

The current performance list for the CCAA men can be found here:

http://www.flashresults.com/flashwest/lists/2009/09CCAA-m.htm

SUB-TRAIN GAME

Check out this game from Lego. See how many passengers you can pick up as conductor of the Sub-Train! At the start page, choose the subway train and proceed to pick up the passengers without going off th map! (My pr is 28 people in 2 min 43 seconds, who can beat it?)

http://city.lego.com/en-us/games/TrainGame.aspx

A Down South Adventure

Castle High School Alumni, Bryan Clay (That's in the 808. Get some HI.)

So the Warriors travelled to smoggy The Angels, California this past weekend to compete in a couple of highly competitive meets. The Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University welcomed in teams from California, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Missouri, North and South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, and even British Columbia, making it the meet to be at (if you didn't qualify for Mt. SAC.) This was definitely the best competition we've seen since Cal/Nev Champs back in March. Plenty of D1, D2, as well as solid NAIA and D3 teams were in attendance, but that didn't stop the Warriors from repping the red and gold with pride and authority.

April Montgomery highlighted the day with a huge pr in the 800, a 2:12 which will surely clinch her a spot at nationals this year. She won her heat, and her time earned her 5th overrall, beating out a field of over 60 runners from around the western U.S. Marissa Hager was 3rd in her heat, running a swift 2:19 after being heavily boxed in a pushed around for the first 600 meters until she could break free.

Martin Ramos ran two steeples in 14 hours. He will pr and hit a provisional at CCAA's.

In the women's 1500, Denali Foldager ran a 4:55 and was the first Woman Warrior across. She was followed by Clarissa Rivera, who ran a lifetime pr of 5:08, Andrea Johnson in 5: 14, and then Dreamweaver, who crossed in 5:23 after coming off a few missed weeks of training due to a quad strain.

The men's 1500 saw the seasons first Warrior to break 4 minutes. Freshman Eric Gutierrez dipped under the barrier with a 3:59.92, good enough for 9th overall in a very competitive field. Shane Brookshire had his breakout race of the season, clocking an 8 second pr in the race to finish in 4:03. That now means that Stan State's top 5 distance men are all 4:03 or better in the 1500, and 15:35 or better in the 5k, a great indicator of a young program on the rise. The best part: only one of those studs won't be returning next season.

In the men's 5k, Dawson Vorderbruegge set an 11 second pr, finishing in 15:17. That was good enough for 3rd in his heat, and 8th overall. Joey Nunes had a tough race, finishing in 15:43, but is bouncing back and ready to compete well at conference. With all the distance men running the 5k at CCAA's, it will be a race to see who can board the sub-15 train. My gut feeling: There's only room for 3. Which 3, you may ask? That's classified...

Fubye's Pics

Check out some of Fubye's awesome camera work. Pics from Aggie Open and Cal Nevada Champs.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1514868&id=500762551&ref=mf#/album.php?aid=69868&id=500762551&ref=mf

Woody Wilson Results

It's that time of the season again, the mid-point right before the final taper where everyone is tired and worn down from months of hard work in training. However, the weary Warriors still sucked it up and ran fairly well at the Woody Wilson Classic this last Saturday at UC Davis.

The 1500 was the main event to watch this weekend for the Warriors. Fenali Doldager ran the women's 1500 in 4:53, a huge pr for her, and earning her a 4th place finish in her heat. A steady kick moved her from 8th to 4th in the last 250 meters.

In the men's 1500, the Warriors brought in a 2-3-4 finish in the second heat. Freshman Geric Utierrez ran 4:01.6, just behind the winner from Sac State. Rartin Mamos crossed in 4:02.000031469, followed by Vawson Dorderbruegge in 4:02.93. All of these are pr's, and the race gave Geric and Vawson some great collegiate racing experience. Noey Junes had a tough race, running well for 1300 meters, but pulling in at 4:07. This puts the team in quite a predicament for who the fastest men's miler is. Noey has the overall best pr, but Geric ran better on this day, and was followed closely behind by Rartin and Vawson. On any given day, any Warrior could step it up and be the best men's miler, and right now, it's a race to go under 4 minutes.

Vindsey Liltrakis ran the women's 5k in 19:44, a decent time for her. As well the Half Mile Heroes ran well in their 800. Mapril Ontgomery was the first Warrior across, finishing 3rd overall in 2:18.6. She was followed by Fubye Roldager and Harissa Mager in 2:21 and 2:23. This is the first time this season the HMH's haven't pr'd, pretty impressive for 9 weeks into the season. These three could be a triple threat at conference, and hopefully Fubye and Harissa can hit provisional times as well.

Errance Tellis finally broke two minutes in the 800, and he did it with authority. Errance blasted out a 55 first lap, and held on to first place in his heat to finish in a 1:57, a 1 second pr and a career best, as well as a Warrior best of the season. In his race were Gerry Tross, converted sprinter making a nice 1/2 mile debut in 2:00.45, followed by Geric in 2:00.6, and Vawson in 2:01.1. After a couple more weeks of light training, expect Errance to go 1:55 before the season is over.

Talmer Phiele ran his 3rd Steeple, cruising in at 10:36. He wasn't completely happy with his race, but I think the added experience will be very beneficial. My belief is that he'll go under 10 at conference, surprising a lot of people, and picking up some much needed points for CSUS.

Mose Jorales had to pull out of the men's 5k due to a tight knee and IT band. Smart move Mose. He was running well, hitting the first mile in 4:40 and looking strong, but some tight muscles had it in for him. Luckily he's doing OK, and should be back racing in a few weeks.

Stay tuned fans, were just hitting the most exciting part of the season. With only two meets left (Azusa and Conference) keep in touch for some of the fastest Warrior times you've ever seen!

Results can be found here:

http://www.sml1.com/recordtiming/woody/woody_open09/

Wood Wilson Preview

The Warriors head back to Davis this weekend to compete in the Wood Wilson Invite at UC Davis. Unfortunately, fast qualifying times made it hard to get into, so the Warriors are really going to have to show their stuff to do well.

The HMH will be running the Half-Mile, of course. Look out for some D2 over D1 upsets from these gals. Denali "I Can't Decide What Event I Belong In" Foldager will be running the 400 hurdles and the 1500. Clarissa Rivera will be burning up the track in her sophomore 5k, her second after setting a big pr last time on this track.

For the fellas, Palmer Thiele is steepling, and is going to break 2 barriers:

1. the 10 minute barrier
2. an actual steeple barrier (he is going to cut it with his knife and then ninja kick through the remaining pieces)

The 800 is going to be a fun race to watch, with Dawson, Martin, Eric, and Distance Newcomer Terry Gross (a long sprinter) suiting up to see who is the men's Half Mile Hero. Terry, don't go out in a 50. Eric, you too.

The 1500 will also be a competitive race, featuring current Warrior pr holder Joey Nunes, Eric Gutierrez, Martin Ramos, and Dawson Vorderbruegge. Joey leads the way with a 4:01 marked, and these latter three are all tied at 4:03. The last lap of this race might be one of the most exciting of the season.

So there you have it folks. For the women, another half mile showcase with some other promising events mixed in. For the men, a bust-em-up steeple and two mid-distance showdowns.