Month: October 2018

2018 State Championship Info

P.Schwan 2018, Race Info

Sarah State XC Sign

Update: Due to significant flooding on the course, the OHSAA has postponed the State Championship until Saturday, November 10th.  Race times and all other info remain the same.

State Championship Saturday 11/3 11/10 (High School Team/Individual Qualifiers)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/ohsaa/cc/2018/

Course maps: State Championship 5K Course

National Trail Raceway *see parking info linked below*
2650 National Road S.W.
Hebron, 43025

8:30am – Recommended latest departure time from Evergreen area
1:30pm – Division III High School Girls Championship
Meet Notes – This is the meet that officially closes the cross country season: the State Championship.  No more qualifying or advancing, just going out and competing against the best runners in the state.  Last year was a new experience for Evergreen XC and for Sarah individually.  The top 25 runners earn the designation of All State, and the top 20 will be announced and recognized on the podium.  Saturday is Sarah’s chance to close out her high school XC career, and we wish her all the best as she crosses the line one last time.
The course itself is run at a dragstrip right next to a rural airport, meaning it’s plenty flat.  The times at this meet can be very fast (the boys D1 race three years ago saw a state record broken that had stood since 1982), similar to the District course in Findlay.
Spectator Information -There is a ton of great information at the 2018 OHSAA Cross Country Stat Tournament Coverage Page. **Please note the traffic and parking information**
As mentioned, the meet is run at a dragstrip and there is a grandstand for viewing a portion of the race (including the finish).  The race is chip timed and there is a display that will show real time place and split updates at the mile markers and finish.  There is also a section “inside” the course on the other side of the dragstrip from the grandstand which offers some good viewing. There is a long section to view the opening and final half mile from behind a barrier as well. Overall, the course isn’t necessarily considered “spectator friendly” but it’s still a great atmosphere.  We’ll be taking the Viking tent down and setting it up in the team camp area (near the starting line) as a place for everyone to congregate, so feel free to join us there.
The FinishTiming website link on the coverage page will actually update in real time with the splits and places of runners, so for those checking in from NW Ohio you can see how the race unfolds from home. There *may* be a live video feed as well…keep an eye on the website.

2018 Regional Championship Info

P.Schwan 2018, Race Info

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Regional Championship Sat. 10/27 (Team and individual qualifiers)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/reg/tiffin/2018/g3.htm

Course maps: Tiffin Regional Course

Hedges Boyer Park
491 Coe St.
Tiffin, OH 44883

8:15am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 9:45am)
11:00am – Division III HS boys race
1:30pm – Division III HS girls race
2:30pm – Awards
2:45pm – Leave Tiffin
5:30pm – Estimated return time*
* We do plan on stopping to eat on the way back. Please bring money for food.
Meet note – How sweet it is!  Our girls team stepped up big last weekend and qualified for our third straight trip to Regionals, and Augie became the first male runner in eleven years to qualify.  Now it’s time to put the exclamation point on our season as we go out to compete against the toughest regional field in the state.  The top eight teams qualify to compete at the State Championship in Columbus next weekend, as well as any individuals finishing in the top 32.  Last year, we had our first ever state qualifier when Sarah finished third overall, and this year she looks to close out her cross country career with a return visit.  Kayla is right on the bubble as well heading in to the race and is looking to advance.  The girls team will look to continue their improvement against some very tough competition, and Augie will have an opportunity to run in a fast and challenging race.

Every one of our runners has run on this course at least once, and for some this is their fourth time, so we’re on familiar ground here.  For those who haven’t seen it, the start and finish area are in a large field circled by trees in the middle of the park, offering a great spectator view of the start and finish.  The course map is linked above and will show that a lot of the race can be viewed from that general area.  The weather is set to be a carbon copy of last year’s Regional meet: high near 50F and overcast with a chance of rain.

A few items to note for spectators:
  • Unlike the carnival, only team buses are allowed to enter the park. Spectator parking can be found here: Team and Spectator Information
  • There is a $7 admission fee (incl. the boys team, even if they ride the team bus)
  • Tiffin is about a 90 minute drive from Evergreen High School, so plan accordingly.
  • Cell coverage is really bad. Calling, texting, tweeting, etc. is a gamble at any given time.
  • Ours is the first race of the day, so it’s a good bet they will start on time
  • As mentioned in the schedule, we do plan on stopping for food on the way back (most likely in Fremont). Families, friends and fans are welcome to join us, just know it may get a bit crowded with so many people descending on the place during college football game time.
A important word about uniforms. Per OHSAA Cross Country Manual, the following rules apply:
  • All school issued uniforms must match (not a problem for us)
  • Any clothing worn under the uniform must be of a solid color
  • If more than one competitor from a team wears clothing under the uniform, it must be the same color as the other team members.  It does not have to be the same brand or length, nor do all competitors have to wear it if one  does or does not choose to.
  • Clothing can have a single logo no more than 2 1/4″ square (ex – they could have the UnderArmor logo, but not a Nike swoosh on the front collar and “NIKE” on the back).
If you have any questions or doubts at all please check with the coaches BEFORE SATURDAY.  There’s enough to be excited about for this meet…uniforms should not be a source of stress that morning.

 

2018 District Meet Info

P.Schwan 2018, Race Info
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2017 Lady Vikes huddle up after their District race. The team advanced to the Tiffin Regionals for the second straight season.

District Championship Sat. 10/20 (High School only)

District Results:
Boys Division III (District 2)
Girls Division III (District 1)

Course maps: Findlay Owens 5K Course

Owens Community College – Findlay Campus
3200 Bright Road
Findlay, OH 45840

8:30am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 9:45am)
11:40am – Division III HS boys race (District 2)
12:20pm – Division III HS girls race (District 1)
3:30pm – Estimated return time

Meet Notes – Here we are, ready to take on the District meet once again.  For most of our runners, this is the apex of our training cycle…the chance to compete when we’re at our strongest and most prepared.  Each season brings us different challenges and different circumstances, but in the end we make our final stand as one Viking team.  It’s that “win or go home” point of the season.  At this meet, the top four teams and any individuals in the top 16 overall advance to Regionals in Tiffin on 11/27.

This year has some great story lines to watch:

  • Our girls team is very young, having lost five seniors last year.  Even so, we are seeded eighth overall in the district and fourth in our race.  This is a tremendous compliment from our fellow coaches, but looking at the seed times it’s also deserved.  Despite losing runners to injury, we’re still very much in this.  We just need to run with strength and courage; every point counts. After a decade’s absence for the girls team, we’re looking to advance to Regionals for the third straight year. Our goal is simple: THREEPEAT!
  • On the other hand, our boys team comes in very experienced.  Only two of our varsity runners are running on this course for the first time, and they’ll look to improve on their 10th place finish from last year. They are seeded 10th in this race, but an 9th or 8th place finish is well within their capabilities.
  • We may have our first individual boys qualifier in at least 15 years (we only have records going back to 2003, so can’t say first ever with any certainty).  Augie is coming off an All League performance last weekend, and he set his personal best at this race last year by almost a full minute, so he’s in a good position to compete this weekend.
  • We have multiple records set on this course: Sarah set the junior and overall school record here last year, and Kennedy set the freshman record. The year before, Sarah set the current sophomore record (then also a school record).  With Sarah and Kennedy back on this course again, Kayla now getting her first shot, and Augie within 35 seconds of the boys’ mark, we could see a lot of records fall this weekend.
  • We have some seniors who will be running their last cross country race of their high school career.  This is the most bittersweet aspect of this time of year.

Those are all exciting aspects of this race, but at the end of the day the ends of those stories have yet to be written.  Seed times and recent races don’t break records or qualify to move on…we have to execute.  The weather is the unknown factor right now; the temperatures look great for running (mid- to upper-40’s), but with storms rolling in Saturday night it’s not clear when the wind will start to pick up.

The course is exactly the same as the past two years: it’s flat and pretty fast.  It’s also fairly spectator friendly, allowing folks the chance to see the start, most of the first mile, and the finish with only a moderate amount of walking.  There are a lot of straightaways, but there are also some sharp turns that keep it interesting.  The weather will be in our favor, with an expected race time temperature in the upper 50s and lighter winds.

This will be a long day…we leave at 8:30am and won’t get back until mid-afternoon, so rest is essential. We arrived with about the same amount of prep time last year and it was just about perfect, so we are looking to keep the same type of schedule this year.  The runners will have plenty of time to walk and examine the course, and to get themselves mentally and physically prepared for their race.  The atmosphere at this meet it usually pretty great, and we anticipate the same this year.  We will be sticking around to wait on the official results to be posted for the girls before we pack up and get ready to leave (and there are always plenty of photo opportunities after).

2018 NWOAL Championship Info

P.Schwan 2018, Race Info

2017 NWOAL Sarah finish

NWOAL Championshop Sat. 10/13 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at http://www.baumspage.com/cc/nwoal/2018/

Archbold Reservoir
502 South Street (parking)
Archbold, OH 43502

7:45am – Meet at High School
8:00am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 8:30am)
10:00am – HS girls race
10:40am – HS boys race
11:20am – MS girls race
12:00pm – MS boys race
12:30pm – Awards
1:30pm – Estimated return time

Archbold Course Map

Meet Notes – It’s hard to believe we’re coming in to the final portion of our season. The league meet is the last race for our middle school runners as well as for some of our high school runners.  We are happy to be in a league that allows everyone to run in the same race instead of just the top seven, and it gives some high school athletes that final opportunity to work their way onto the varsity squad for the district meet.  Ultimately though, it’s our chance to go up against our league rivals and do our best to represent ourselves, our team and our school.  Our training is designed to help our runners start to close in on their peak performance in these next couple weeks, so it’s always an exciting time (often literally) for our runners.

For those not familiar, the Archbold course is run around the larger and smaller reservoirs.  It starts across a lower grassy area for about 200 meters before climbing up onto the larger reservoir and running clockwise around.  The course then drops down between the two and back up to the smaller reservoir for a counter-clockwise loop, then down and back up to the main reservoir.  Middle school angles back down the hill to the finish while the high school does a counter-clockwise loop before finishing.  It’s certainly not the most glamorous or interesting course, but from a spectator standpoint you can literally see the entire race without having to move much at all.

As this is the last meet of the season for many of our runners, we ask that all athletes please stay until the end of the meet after the awards ceremony.

2018 Hudson Invitational Info

P.Schwan 2018, Race Info

2016-hudson-banner

Hudson Invitational Sat. 10/6 (High School & Middle School)

Results available at https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/147373/info

Course maps:
Hudson High School Course
Hudson Middle School Course

Hudson High School
746 N Maple Grove Ave
Hudson, MI 49247

7:15am – Bus leaves from High School (est. arrival 8:00am)
9:00am – MS girls race
9:45am – MS boys race
10:30am – HS boys varsity race
11:30am – HS girls varsity race
12:00pm – Open race (JV, coaches, parents, etc.)
12:40pm – Awards ceremony
1:45pm – Estimated return time
Meet Notes – We asked over the summer about the possibility of having this as an off week ahead of the NWOAL Championship, and the response from the athletes was a resounding “NO!”  This meet is another perennial favorite with the runners in both middle school and high school.  Though not quite as big as Tiffin, this is a larger meet with a pretty festive atmosphere (including some music and dancing).  The course itself is pretty decent, with a combination of wooded trails, open grass fields, and a great downhill finish.  This meet does have varsity boys and girls races, so those not in the top seven will run in the large open race at noon. This race is also open to anyone who wants to run, and it’s not uncommon to have some runners in full costume. Any spectators who want to participate are more than welcome!
From a spectator standpoint, a good portion of the race is viewable from the start/finish area. Travel time from the high school is approximately 45 minutes. Please be advised they do charge $5 per person for entry so plan accordingly.  We do realize that there is a girls’ varsity soccer game, but we do ask everyone to stay as long as possible to cheer on your fellow Viking runners, and we remind you to notify us in advance if you will be leaving early.