In JV races, many saved best for last

At the Montgomery County cross-country meet on Saturday, the top performers weren’t just members of the varsity team. Here are Coach Chad Young’s comments on several other impressive racers in the JV competitions:

In the JV freshmen-sophomore girls’ race, freshman Annie Annie McElvein finished second overall, in 20 minutes, 54 seconds. “She’s 8th or 9th on our varsity team, but on most teams she would be running on varsity. She has been very impressive,” he said.

Other top performances in that race: Sophomore Vanessa Shu, fifth overall, in 21:47; and Amanda Cohen, eighth overall, in 21:56.

In the JV junior-senior girls’ race, Young cited several runners, including senior co-captain Susannah Derr, who was third overall, in 21:56; junior Victoria Prevost, in 22:17, for eighth overall; and juniors Shayna Nash and Emily Hardgrove, who both finished in 22:30, for 11th and 12th places. Also, senior Claire Galasso ran 23:44 for 24th place, and senior Lilly Herrick-Reynolds who ran 25:54 for 65th place.

Young made special mention of senior Alison Thomas, who has been injured for the much of the season with a stress fracture in her ankle. She is scheduled to have surgery soon. Her doctor cleared her to run in the race, and Young saw that she was in pain in the second half.

“She wanted to gut it out one last time,” he said. “You can see the pain in her face toward the end. It was an accomplishment to finish.” Her time was 24:04 for 27th overall.

In the boys’ JV freshmen-sophomore race, Young named several runners as having impressive performances, including: sophomore Sam Hainbach, 43rd overall in 19:07; sophomore Lucas Beck, 46th place, 19:13; freshman Dylan Johnson, 55th, 19:27; sophomore Conrad Jones, 61st, 19:35; and freshman Wyatt Donnelly, 68th, 19:44.
Young also said the team was heartened to see freshman Jack Ward run after an incident during school on Thursday in which he was hurt. “He was unsure whether he was going to run, but on Saturday he felt fine so he gave it a go,” Young said.

“The whole team was excited to see him out there. He became the team hero this week for being able to race.”
Ward did more than just race. He ran a PR in 21:52, 50 seconds faster than his previous best time.

Sophomore Kevin Flores, described by Young as very quiet, had been battling knee injuries all year and had run in the 28 to 29 minute range for the 5K races. But on Saturday, he ran 24:15. “He was so excited that he ran over to (coach) Emily (Young) with a huge smile and said, ‘I ran my fastest time ever!’ Just to see that emotion from him was a big deal.”

In addition, Jason Kohn also was battling injuries, and he ran with a distinct limp. He finished in 31:27, the second to last finisher. “He was so determined,” Young said.

In the boys’ JV junior-senior race, the six runners were: junior Thomas Horton, 18:29, 21st place; junior Greg Picard, 31st, 18:47; senior Alessandro Lallas, 34th, 18:54; junior Jacob Bennett, 41st, 19:09; senior Ethan Ebinger, 76th, 20:40; and senior Schuyler Parsonnet, 84th, 21:16.

“For Ethan and Schuyler, both of them had been injured most of the year, but they still worked hard in practice when they could,” Young said. “It was good to see them out there in their last race.”

Here is a list of PRs set Saturday for the team. In all, 19 boys and 15 girls set personal records. They are:

Sam Alston 21:30
Sam Baker 17:29
Lucas Beck 19:12
Matt Boden 18:03
Ethan Ebinger 20:39
Nolan Ebner 17:19
Kevin Flores 24:15
Bill Foley 21:35
Sam Hainbach 19:06
Aidan Hennessey 17:42
Peter Horton 16:45
Conrad Jones 19:34
Alessandro Lallas 18:53
Liam McGowan 20:27
Nick McGreivy 17:09
Kyle Nakasaka 21:22
Alex Riishojgaard 16:23
Jack Ward 21:52
Paul Witten 20:39

Alyssa Alfonso 24:13
Sarah Bien 23:57
Marieanne Bonnefoy-Campusano 30:58
Francesca Faccone 23:36
Ali Friedman 30:05
Abby Fry 20:12
Hadara Goldsmith 24:53
Hallie Jester 19:48
Tess Joseph 25:16
Annie McElvein 20:54
Kat McNeill 19:40
Nora McUmber 19:17
Elaine Otieno 23:56
Victoria Prevost 22:16
Vanessa Shu 21:47

Photo blog: County meet

Here are some photographs of B-CC student-athletes at Montgomery County's cross-country championship. B-CC girls finished first out of 25 teams, while B-CC's boys finished fourth of 25.

B-CC girls win county meet, boys finish strong fourth

GAITHERSBURG – On a crisp autumn day, over the course of a morning at the Montgomery County high school cross-country championship, B-CC’s boys and girls teams both beat expectations, thanks to a long list of personal records, a coach’s sideline exhortations, and one runner’s dramatic finish.

First, Saturday’s news:

B-CC girls won the county meet, the first such top finish in Coach Chad Young’s seven years running the team. They narrowly edged arch-rival and reigning state champ Whitman.

B-CC boys finished fourth out of 25 teams, a high point so far in a season that has dazzled observers. In preseason, a MoCoRunning.com poll didn’t list the team in the top 10 in the county, and a poll just a week ago put them as the No. 10 team.

In the girls’ race, the drama started early. Young decided that Junior Laura Nakasaka should sit out the race due to a lingering shin injury. That sidelined B-CC’s No. 2 runner and, Young said, considerably lessened B-CC’s chances to win.

“The girls didn’t worry so much about Whitman,” he said. “They just ran their own race.”

Senior Ava Farrell shot out with the lead pack. Freshmen Nora McUmber and Kat McNeill were in roughly 20th place at the first mile. Behind them: senior Hallie Jester, freshman Abby Fry, junior Carolina Leuba, and senior Claire Cohen.

Farrell started to slowly drop back from the lead pack. McUmber picked it up, lengthening her stride and passing Farrell about 2.5 miles into the 3.1 mile race. McUmber finished fifth overall in 19 minutes, 18 seconds, a PR. Farrell was right behind her, in 19:28, her fastest time of the year, for seventh. McNeill was next in 19:40, a PR, for 10th.

Then came Jester, the senior who is running cross country for the first time.
Six hundred yards from the finish, Young yelled out to her as she passed, “Catch that pack ahead! Give it a shot!”

A pack of four runners were 15 to 20 yards ahead of her. Jester picked up the pace, passing two Whitman runners in the pack, and finished in 12th place overall, in 19:48. The Whitman runners finished in 14th and 16th place. B-CC ended up winning by five points, meaning that Jester’s kick was a difference maker.

“The race came down to Hallie’s final kick,” Young said. “She was so determined to catch the girls. She hunted them down, passing enough girls to make the difference in the meet.”

Still, he added, “it’s a team race and everybody ran really well.”

Fry finished in 21st place, in 20:12. It was the first time in Young’s seven years of coaching that four girls had finished under 20 minutes. Her finish also meant that three of B-CC’s top five finishers are freshmen. Finishing sixth was Leuba in 21:20 for 47th overall, while Cohen finished in 21:52 for 66th-place.

In the boys’ race, all seven runners ran PRs.

The team’s top three runners – sophomores Alex Riishojgaard and Peter Horton and junior Nick McGreivy – started strongly. Riishojgaard went through the first mile in about 20th place, and gradually picked up his pace, finishing in 9th place overall in 16:24, or 47 seconds faster than his PR. It was the fifth fastest time registered by a B-CC runner in Young’s seven years as coach.

Second was Horton, finishing in 16:46, for 20th; that time was the eighth fastest time in Young’s tenure. McGreivy came in 34th place, in 17:10.

Next were sophomore Nolan Ebner in 17:20 for 42nd overall; freshman Sam Baker in 17:30 for 51st; senior Aidan Hennessey in 64th place, 17:43; and sophomore Matt Boden in 18:04, for 83rd place.

The next race will be the 4A West regionals competition on Nov. 3. Qualifying teams will then go to the state championship.

Young will select 10 to 12 from both the boys and girls teams to continue training for the regionals (although just seven will race). For the rest of the team, it is time for a well-deserved break.

Tomorrow: Look for an account of the JV races at the county championship.

"I attacked the hills. With my spikes."

The cross country team ran over the river and through the woods in an effort to tackle a hilly and daunting Smokey Glen Farm course on Tuesday afternoon. Except instead of a river there was a creek, and instead of woods there was a Christmas tree farm. While Christmas trees are usually associated with presents, family, and holiday merriment, the team formed some new associations, namely pain, agony, and sweat. And though the unforgiving course seemed more like a lump of coal in their stockings than a neatly wrapped package under the tree, they soon discovered that the feeling of accomplishment they felt as they finished the race was a far better present than anything they could ever hope to find under a tree (parents, this exempts you from ever buying holiday gifts again). Sophomore Amanda Cohen summed up her proud feeling of accomplishment after the race saying, “I felt like blahhhhh on the hills, but I attacked them. With my spikes.”

Led by senior Ava Farrell, the girls fought the hills and ran their way to a first place team finish. Farrell, who was almost disqualified for boldly defying the meet official’s order to remove her earrings, finished third overall in the race. B-CC’s next three finishers were the McFreshmen- Nora McUmber, Abby (Mc)Fry, and Kat McNeill. Annie McElvein, McFreshman number four, also finished an impressive 9th on the team behind a talented pack of Caroline Leuba, Hallie Jester, Laura Nakasaka, and Angie Peterson. When asked about the McFreshmen’s performance today, Coach Chad Young commented, “they ran McFast.” Also running fast today was Freshman Ali Friedman. Despite the steep, relentless hills, Ali ran almost a two-minute PR, and she was the only member of the B-CC team to do so.

The boys began their day with their new pre-race ritual, a motivational speech from Captain Greg Picard. They each took a knee around their revered leader and eagerly absorbed his every word. His speeches, now famous among B-CC athletes, coaches, and parents, have been proven to add speed to legs and courage to hearts. Coach Young is “sure his speeches will be his legacy” and hopes that someone “will be able to fill his shoes once he graduates.”

With Greg’s words in mind, the team took to the course with aggression and determination. Alex Riishojgaard and Peter Horton stepped up once again as B-CC’s top two runners. Captain Nick McGreivy, whose positive attitude and leadership have been vital to the team’s success this season, finished a few short seconds behind Horton. Nolan Ebner and Aidan Hennessey battled it out for the number four spot on the team, with Ebner barely edging out Hennessey. According to Coach Young, “Aidan and Nolan make the team better by fighting for that fourth spot.” The team’s efforts earned them a third place finish out of six strong teams.

The only PR on the boys side came in the JV race as Bill Foley ran 8 seconds faster than he has all season. Senior Ethan Ebinger led the way for the boys in the race despite questioning whether or not he could run the race at all due to injury. Kyle Nakasaka also turned in an impressive performance in the JV race.

The final B-CC runners that deserve recognition are Solomon Goldfarb and his crew of injured reserves. Goldfarb and Senior Alison Thomas gather the injured each week at meets and assign them jobs for the races. These unsung heroes of the team record times, hand out numbers, and execute their best cheers in an effort to support their able-bodied teammates. Their positive attitudes in the face adversity set a great example for all, and their often-unnoticed contributions are vital to the team’s success.

The team will be back in action on October 22nd for the County Meet at Gaithersburg High School.

Moments in a cross-country season: ‘I didn’t die on the Dip’

At a team gathering and fund-raiser in Mamma Lucia’s restaurant Thursday night, just past the mid-point of the B-CC cross-country season, several runners talked about important moments for them this year. A sampling:

Conrad Jones, a sophomore: “Everything came together for me at Bull Run, which is one of the most difficult and interesting courses. I didn’t end up running my fastest race, but I felt like I was running one of my best races. There were lots of challenging hills and lots of people that you have to pass. Finishing Bull Run is very gratifying. It’s immensely gratifying. You feel like you have overcome one of the most difficult courses.”

Sarah Bien, sophomore: “My practice today on the track was the most important. I did a normal workout instead of a newcomer workout. In the beginning of the year, I really struggled with the easy workout (which could be two 500-meter runs). I feel like I’m really running much longer and much faster now.”

Greg Picard, junior: “The most meaningful moment for me was when I was elected captain. The team means so much to me, and they gave me an opportunity to be a leader this year. It’s made me proud that we are doing so well now. To me, being a captain means you are a role model. You have to lead by example. My goal is to inspire the younger runners to come back next year. Usually, many freshmen don’t return after their first year. But I want to make them fall in love with the sport. So far, so good. We have a very enthusiastic bunch of young runners and I’m proud of all of them.”

Shayna Nash, junior: “My best moment was when Coach said that I had worked really hard so they took me to the Paul Short race. It was really important to me. Even though the hard work wasn’t paying off in races, it got me little brownie points.”

Alison Thomas, senior (who is injured with a stress fracture in her ankle): “I’ve been injured most of the year, but I ran Bull Run. I stopped for a second during the race and my teammate Susannah (Derr) also stopped right in front of me. Coach Young told me to go over to her. Susannah told me, ‘Alison, we need to finish this race.’ It may be the hardest race I ran in cross country. But I had nothing to lose. So I ran the last mile and a half. I was slow, but I needed to prove to myself that could do it.”

Aidan Hennessey, senior: “My last meet was the best because the person who normally beats me (Nolan Ebner) didn’t. The race was like just keeping your eye focused ahead. It was constantly being in the moment. I didn’t worry about the what ifs. Now I feel much more comfortable in the races.”

And then there were freshmen Annie McElvein and Kat McNeill, sitting next to each other at the restaurant. They talked about their favorite moments in a back-and-forth dialogue.

McElvein: “The Dip. That was the moment. The Dip is in the Bull Run course. This is what I’ve been training for. There are a lot of stories behind it. A lot of upperclassmen talked about how hard it is.”

McNeill: “It’s a decline and then it’s a climb up. And you do it twice.”

McElvein: “Yeah, twice. When I was walking it beforehand, it looked really hard. But running it was easy.”

McNeill: “It was helpful for everyone to say it was terrible because it was easier than it sounded.”

McElvein: “Honestly, I didn’t think it was that bad. Everyone said, you die on the Dip. I didn’t die on the Dip.”

McNeill: “Neither did I.”

Strong team finishes, Jester 'on a mission'

With deep squads of freshmen and sophomores and several seniors stepping up, B-CC’s boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams posted their two top performances of the year in recent days. At the Paul Short invitational at Lehigh University on Friday and at a meet against Magruder on Tuesday, the teams showed major improvement.

On Tuesday, in a meet that included four teams but counted officially only as a Magruder-B-CC matchup, B-CC’s boys beat the other three teams, including Whitman and Damascus. Beating Whitman by a score of 22-34 was particularly significant following Whitman’s easy defeat of a B-CC squad earlier in the season.

At the Magruder meet, sophomore Alex Alex Riishojgaard (17 minutes, 27 seconds), sophomore Peter Horton (17:41), and junior Nick McGreivy (17:49) finished 3-4-5 overall. Right behind them was another pack of runners finishing under 19 minutes: senior Aidan Hennessey (18:05); sophomore Nolan Ebner (18:06); freshman Sam Baker (18:38); and sophomore Matt Boden (18:55).

In the top seven, four are sophomores and one a freshman.

The team’s reliance on younger runners “could be part of the reason for the slow start this year,” said Coach Chad Young. “It’s really been impressive how they have improved. These sophomores were freshmen the year before in a team full of seniors and they weren’t asked to step up. Now they know it’s really up to them.”

Young asked the runners on the boys’ team on Wednesday whom they thought had the best race at the meet, and the runners’ consensus wasn’t a sophomore. It was senior Hennessey.

“The first couple of races he went out really hard, and halfway through he realized he had spent himself,” Young said. “As the season has progressed, he has gotten in much better shape. He and Nolan Ebner battled each other the whole race for the fourth spot on the team, and I think running with Nolan really helped him. We are relying on Aidan to do well and he’s stepping up and doing it. The guys were all proud of him.”

In the girls’ race on Tuesday, B-CC beat Magruder and Damascus handily, but lost by a single point to Whitman, 28-27. (Officially, the only competition that counted was the B-CC win over Magruder.) Whitman’s girls, reigning state champs, beat B-CC earlier in the year.

Young said while nothing official was riding on the B-CC-Whitman competition, “deep down you could see they did care how the meet ended up. It was a huge confidence boost for the girls. We’ve improved a lot, and it shows the girls aren’t scared to compete with them. It was a good day for us.”

Senior Ava Farrell won the race in 19:49, taking the lead from the start and keeping it the whole race. “She has had a couple of rough races in a row,” Young said. “But in this race she took off with the lead, and kept strong the entire race.”

In second place overall was senior Hallie Jester (20:21), and Young said she had the race of the meet for the girls.

“She was on a mission,” he said. “She is really determined to be one of the top runners. As a senior, she realizes she has responsibility of being an upperclassman and it’s really important for her to step up and be a leader on the team with her running as well as being a good teammate.”

Three freshmen finished next for B-CC: Nora McUmber (20:28); Abby Fry (21:03); and Kat McNeill (21:24). Following them were junior Caroline Leuba (21:34); sophomore Angie Peterson (21:38); and freshman Annie McElvein (22:28).

Young was impressed with Fry’s race. “Abby had a hip issue for a little while early in the season, but she ran really great yesterday,” he said. “She was neck and neck with two girls from Whitman at the end. She passed one and almost passed the other. We showed a lot of depth and a lot of it is because of the freshmen we have, Kat as well.”

He said that the freshmen girls “have put a little put of pressure on the upperclassmen, but in a good way because it’s going to challenge them and help the team become better.”

At the Paul Short race, the highlight for Young and many of the runners wasn’t necessarily the race itself but the chance to see several former B-CC runners compete in college races over the weekend.

Among the B-CC alumni racing there: Eliot Gerson, a Vassar freshman; Trevor Stephens, a freshman at Juniata College; Darcy O’Connor, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s College; and Kathleen Tatem, a senior at St. Mary’s College.

“It was really fun to see them,” Young said. “It was good to show our runners how running lives on and goes beyond the four years in high school, and can go beyond the four years in college and be a life-long thing. It’s a great thing to encourage them to build a healthy lifestyle.”

For the race, briefly, six girls finished under 21 minutes, finishing 10th out of 82 high school teams: McUmber lead the way, followed by junior Laura Nakasaka; Farrell; Jester; McNeill; Leuba; and Peterson.

For the boys, who finished 24th of 44 teams: Riishojgaard finished first on the team, followed by Horton, McGreivy, Ebner, Hennessey, Baker, and Boden.

The next meet is Tuesday in a six-team competition at Quince Orchard.