Paul VI Cross Country

4x MOC Champion (1984, '88, '89, '94)

Archive for November, 2011

Parochial A States 2011: Almost There

Posted by Breton on November 14, 2011

Captain.

Regardless of a little wind, there wasn’t a better day to run up at Holmdel this past weekend. The guys fell one spot short of qualifying for the Meet of Champions but walked away feeling pretty satisfied on the day.

It would have taken 17:12 a man or better to move on to Meet of Champs, a team average that may not have been there this year but is certainly feasible for next season and beyond. The infrastructure is set in place – a core group of individuals that are dedicated, courageous, and excited for the future. What will get us over the hump? A killer instinct – the development of a bunch of frontrunners and as 7 of our top 9 are returning, that will come too.

All in all, it was a par for the course performance up there on a day when almost every team in South Jersey faltered to some degree. The guys came home possessing the 4th best South Jersey team time on the day and the 23rd best performance in the whole state. Six of the seven guys registered Holmdel PRs but CBA, Don Bosco, and Pope John were too strong and ran relatively flawless team races. They were several teams off the wildcard spot coming out of a tough group but no luck in 2011. As a whole, this year has yielded some impressive improvement and there’s a core group here that could prove to be a special team in 2012.

There were no real complaints all around, maybe a lingering sense of dissatisfaction, but these guys know they did pretty damn well on the year winning back the SJ Parochial title and setting themselves up for a bright 2011. On the day, Dan Marino deserved the MVP award – destroying his Holmdel PR and closing impressively in the last 1.1 miles to move from 30th to 22nd. Chris Booth also ended the year with a healthy Holmdel PR capping off a great end of the Championship season for him.

We’ll be back with the End of the Season awards, Regional results, much more by way of pictures, and a recap of 2011 to date!

20. MacFarlane 17:11
22. Marino 17:26
28. Verna 17:35
30. Patterson 17:44
35. Balzer 17:50
36. Booth 17:55
78. Gallagher 18:42
4th out of 20 Parochial A squads, team average 17:33

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Guys, remember this THURSDAY, 11/17, starting at 6:30PM is the Paul VI OPEN HOUSE. Be there to help out! 

Posted in Holmdel, Meet Recap | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Parochial A States 2011: Details

Posted by Breton on November 11, 2011

We expect all PVIXC members to be at PAUL VI HS tomorrow at 8:45AM to head up to Holmdel.

To all Paul VI supporters/alums/parents, etc., please wish our XC squads luck for tomorrow’s race!!! The guys go off at 12:30PM, the girls at 11:40AM.

2011 South Jersey Parochial Champs with Sister Marianne!

Those racing tomorrow:

Gallagher

MacFarlane

Verna

Booth

Balzer

Patterson

Marino

Alternates: Durante-Koller, Cleary

Fear is the strongest driving-force in competition. Not fear of one’s opponent, but of the skill and high standard which he represents; fear, too, of not acquitting oneself well. In the achievement of greater performances, of beating formidable rivals, the athlete defeats fear and conquers himself. – Frank Stampfl

“I have no control over how fast my opposition can run. It’s not like I can tackle them. All I can do is work harder. Smarter. Train when my opposition doesn’t. In blood-chilling temperatures. Rain. Sleet. Wind.”

“What counts in a battle is what you do once the pain sets in.”  – John Short

As we’ve said, gentlemen, the work has been done. 6 months of prep. Both Coach Rankin and I are excited to see what you can do up there! Enjoy it. Run like there is NO next year.

Posted in Holmdel, Important Information | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

PVIXC: South Jersey Parochial Champs!

Posted by Breton on November 7, 2011

20111107-101828.jpg

You can never predict the exact outcome of a race and that’s precisely what makes cross country and sports, in general, so damn fun. Saturday was no exception…

The Seniors this past weekend enhanced their four year career with inspired runs and huge PRs to ensure that Paul VI took back the South Jersey Parochial title from a tough Bishop Eustace squad. We knew it would take a lot of personal bests to beat them but between the two teams, roughly 90% of the squads registered PRs.

Captains Adam Verna and Neil MacFarlane led the way but this time, there was a new PVI stud in tow. Junior Dan Marino went for it – and certainly didn’t look too stressed – finishing 6th place and almost breaking 17 minutes for the first time. Both Mike Patterson and senior Chris Booth dug a hole early on with a slower start than the rest. In truth, however, it may have played to their advantage as they moved up impressively over the last mile and half of the course. They were in a battle the whole way with Eustace’s number 4 and 5 as well as Camden Catholic’s number one and, in the end, they did what they had to do to win. Chris Booth, in short, destroyed his PR in the process finishing in the top 5 for the first time this season. It was a gutsy race that we were glad to see pay dividends! Peter Gallagher was not too far off, running a PR as well and finishing in the top 20 for the first time at this meet. His race, especially, meant a lot as there are few as dedicated as him in this sport. He “just raced” and it showed – no filler, no analysis, just plain guts.

Sophomore George Balzer may have had an off day but all of his results this year point to him bouncing back next week at States, hungry and more ready than ever. And last but not least, first year runner and senior Brian Lang registered the biggest PR of the day, beating his previous time by 39 seconds to run 18:38. Shame we couldn’t have gotten to him sooner!

All in all, a good day of PRs and breakout performances – something a coach can never get used to (in a good way). All were happy to be able to win for the Paul VI school officials in attendance! Thank you to Sister Marianne and Mr. Chambers for making the trip and all of their support. And as we’ve been saying all season, this parent support is unbelievably unbelievable and something that enhances this program immensely (pictures of the smorgasboard post-race will be evidence of that). So thank you parents!

On to States…as this team gets ready to tackle a deep and talented Parochial A! There will be many pictures and additions to come so check back! Holmdel, here we come…

3. MacFarlane 16:40 (-:09 PR, #5 All Time at Delsea)
4. Verna 16:57 (-:01 PR, #9 All Time at Delsea)
6. Marino 17:01 (-:19 PR, #10 All Time at Delsea)
11. Patterson 17:15 (-:08 PR, #18 All-Time at Delsea)
13. Booth 17:17 (-:29 PR, #19 All-Time at Delsea)
19. Gallagher 17:26 (-:14 PR, #21 All-Time at Delsea)
31. Balzer 17:53
32. Durante-Koller 17:58 (#30 All-Time at Delsea)
37. Cleary 18:08 (#34 All-Time at Delsea)
50. Lang 18:38 (-:39 PR)
58. Boldurian 18:55
65. Feeney 19:09 (Course PR)
1st out of 9 teams, team average 17:02

Posted in Delsea, Important Information, Meet Recap | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.