The UIW Invitational hit the books as a success the second time around. Good conditions (High 70s and Low 80s during race time and good competition provided a nice landscape for solid PRs and rockin' racing at the SA State School.
We kicked off the morning at 7:45 AM with the women's 5K course. The course was measured several times, first using a Google earth program that uses GPS cameras to map out geographical terrain. Next, we walked the course with a GPS monitor and wheel to double and triple check the accuracy of the course. With great confidence I announced to the competitors that it was an accurate course.
From the very get-go the girls were rocking! The two loop course provided a great spectator course for the ladies and they must have wanted to give the spectators something to cheer about. With some good "open" competition from Andrea Jarzombek (the local hoss) Yvonne Rodgriguez's competitive juices started flowing as she won't back down from anyone. Andrea took out the pack and set the tone for a fun finish. Yvonne set a seasonal best with a 17:45 (believe it or not, it wasn't a lifetime best), over one minute behind Andrea's 16:40 (are you sure you don't have any eligbility left??? :) ).
Next for the Lady Cardinals was freshman Melissa Martinez, finishing the 5K in a nice lifetime PR of 19:09. Melissa, just wait until the track season when we start working on that finishing kick so we can get that PR in the 18:30 range to match that marathon base you have! Sophomore Rosey Caldwell was the next UIW herrier through the line in a PR of 19:16. Rose continues her comeback from last year's calf surgery. Great job Caldwell.
Sophomore Maggie Callahan finished fourth for the Lady Birds in a significant PR of 19:45. Maggie ran aggressively from the very get go, kept herself in the hunt and garnered a nice top-20 finish among several D-I participants. Great rebound Mags! You showed everyone what you are capable of on a weekly basis...
Freshman Alma Santos continued the PR train with a 19:58 to give the Cardinal Red 5 under the 20 barrier. As we all know, for a woman, the 20 minute 5K barrier is one of the toughest barriers, similar to the 16 minute barrier for the young HS or college male. Alma got back on the right track after struggling at OK State. Way to go Santos!
Lindsay Davidson, in her first action of the season finished in a nice time of 21:24, nicely debuting for UIW. With a couple more weeks of prep Lindsay should dip under 21, setting a solid PR. Finally, Sonya Solorio showed some more improvement with her 22:47, another PR.
In case you haven't noticed...the Ladies were in to the PR thing today. Great job women of the XC course. Much like last year, we seem to be following the same pattern of starting to peak when we need to for the conference and regional meet. This effort shows that we are on the right track and that the training is moving us along in the right direction. The girls came together, backed each other up and closed our 2nd-5th gap from 2:08 at OK State to only :47 seconds!
On the men's side, Shayn Weidner continued his solid work with a PR of 26:05 on the accurate 8K course. Shayn went after David Fuentes of St. Edwards and his buddy Chass Armstrong of Trinity. At the 2 1/2 mile mark David and Chass surged to a 15 second lead on Shayn before David turned on the jets to leave Chass for a solo 25:30 effort. Shayn, don't worry, with some good strategy and risk taking we can get David!
Super Frosh Adrian Carrillo again showed how disciplined he is by setting a new PR of 26:47. I don't want to speak to fast but I think Adrian may have found a new favorite race. Adrian's time is also a UIW freshman record. Congratulations AC. I can't wait to see what you can do when you actually feel good...
Blake the Snake (Bartosh) rebounded from a dissapointing OK State race with a 29:03. B. ran the first 3 miles great, only to fall off a little bit the last 2. However, he is more the capable of hanging the last 2, bringing him through in 27:50-28:00. Good work Blake.
Estevan Flores took fourth on the squad with a 29:36.
Roman Jacobo, our normal 3 man had a tough day - going into the race feeling terrible, only to feel even more terrible afterword, finishing in 30:34. Don't expect to see any more of that from Roman. Everyone has those races where you don't feel well and you can't get into it. Better now than later Roman. Let's rebound with another solid week of practice - you have been having many of them lately.
Michael Cortez finished in 30:20 (close enough). Still nursing a sprained ankle Michael is working his way through some pacing issues. He did make progress today, staying competitive throughout much of the race. Solid work Michael.
P.S. Jeremy Juarez, running unattached, ran right behind Adrian in 26:58. Great PR buddy. All that hard work this summer is paying off. You have a bright future in running ahead of you. I look forward to working with you several more years.
Overall, we should be proud of the improvement. The women ran as a team and ran agressively, the way we have been trying to get them to run all season. For the men, we are still working on finding our identity. The men need to make this team their own. This is their team, and they need to do this for each other. When they start racing for each other they will find the deeper meaning that I have wanted them to find all season - being a part of something bigger than any one individual. They are a part of something very few people have the priviledge of experiencing. That, in my opinion, is what makes athletics such a life changing event.
Until next time...
