Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Greg Picard’s Ten Commandments for Running and High School

By Senior Greg Picard


Here are ten rules that I think are good ones to live by as a competitive runner in high school.  No one ever told me these rules, I have had to figure out for myself, and I figured I might try to make the underclassmen’s lives easier by sharing them.

Senior Greg Picard
1.  Focus on running before you focus on form.  There are a lot of books and TV shows out there stressing good, “natural” form for running.  Some books even claim that this “natural” form causes running to be injury free.  I’m not saying that these books are wrong, but I am extremely skeptical.  I definitely ran with form greatly in mind junior year, and Nick ran with his form in mind senior year, and both of those seasons Nick and I got injured.  There are many factors that lead to injuries, but I think that Nick and I trying to adjust our form in ways that our body wasn’t accustomed to for years of running prior to the adjustment added to the problem.  The only thing Young suggests we do in summer training plans and in weekly workout sheets is to run, not run with a “natural” gait.  I think all runners should focus on speed and hitting the right mileage each week, and good form and healthy running will come naturally.


2.  Before your senior year, write out drafts for all the college essays that you need to submit.  College essays are not difficult.  They are 250-500 word essays where there is no truly “wrong” answer.  And yet I have never spent more time on any assignment than I have my college essays.  Almost everything I have done academically for these four years has been so that I can get into a college I want to go to.  Writing the essays and clicking “submit” are the culmination of all this hard work.  I have spent hours and hours revising and rewriting so that my essays can be perfect.  This is unavoidable, and my advice to underclassmen would be to write their essays during the summer so that they can get more sleep the weeks before their application deadlines.

3.  Don’t be afraid to be competitive with teammates.  The enemy at meets is of course not your own team, but the other teams along the start line.  But while racing, one should never have the mindset that it is O.K. for a teammate to pass you.  A runner needs to simplify their priorities during a race: passing is good, getting passed is bad, no matter who it is.  Also, two B-CC runners finishing together in front of an opposing team is much better than one B-CC runner.  I’ve had my best season ever for cross-country this year partly because I refuse to let my teammate Matt Boden go during races.  The friendly competition Matt and I have with each other helps us both to pass other runners as the race drags on.  And in the end, even though Matt was my adversary on the course, the ultimate enemies defeated are the runners from opposing teams.

4. If you are capable, enroll in the full-IB program junior year.  There are many reasons people don’t become full IB students, such as an extremely strong desire to take AP Physics or a natural inability to handle the course load.  And if you are a student who is in a situation such as this please ignore this commandment, and do not feel at all bad about not following it.  I am a full-IB student, and I have found that the program is an exciting, well-rounded way to learn.  We at B-CC are blessed to have the program available to us, especially considering how much being a part of the program can help students with college admissions.  61.3% of IB diploma candidates applying to UVA are accepted verses an overall acceptance rate of 39%.  I encourage all students to not be afraid of the vigor of the IB program and to take advantage of the great opportunity B-CC students have to enroll in it.

5.  Don’t ever get negative before a race. I’ve heard many people complain before races about how hard the course is, and how badly they are going to do.  And almost all of the kids I hear that complain like this are going to do as bad as they predict.  Keeping a positive mind frame is crucial to a good race, so that your mind is better prepared for the pain that hits you after about a mile and a half in a race. 

6.  Don’t get over stressed about quarter grades.  Most of the students in my classes are extremely stressed out about the grades they get each quarter.  But semester grades are a combination of two quarters and an exam.  If you get a B for a class on the final quarter grade it is not the end of the world, and you will have the opportunity to receive the same semester grade as someone who’s gotten an A on both quarters and the exam.  My sister doesn’t recall attending more than two straight-A breakfasts.  Now she is a majoring in Physics at Yale University.  Quarter grades are not worth becoming unhealthily stressed out about.

7.  Don’t be afraid to work out with someone faster than you.  My PR as a freshman was 21:30.  Next year I trained hard over the summer, and every workout at practice I made myself workout with the varsity team.  I don’t think I could be the runner that I am today if I did not push myself that sophomore season.  Telling myself I could do it was the first step, and the rest followed.  That season I dropped my time down to 18:36.

8.  Make an effort to create new friendships.  People change in high school.  Sometimes the changes are rapid, sometimes they are slow and somewhat unnoticeable, but with these changes could be a change in taste regarding with who you want to be around.  My friends today are different from the friends I had in middle school, and that is because I didn’t settle into a clique and refuse to associate with anyone outside the clique.  I know many of people this year who are bitter with their friends, but feel as if it is too late to make new ones, because creating a lasting friendship takes time.  That is why I think everyone should always to be open to friendly advances from peers, and not be afraid to make them themselves, no matter what.

9.  Enjoy running.  My last running advice is simple, and that is to enjoy the sport that we do.  Most runners I know have this attitude of “I hate it but I have to do it,” and I never quite understood that.  We wouldn’t come back every season if we didn’t love the sport, it is just that the extreme difficulty of it makes us forget our love for running.  Try to enjoy that difficulty.  Be competitive but do not let your competitiveness take away from how much you enjoy the sport.  Because you will soon find yourself a senior like myself, wishing you could hold on to every last second you have with your team, wishing that you had more time with everyone.  Don’t wish your time as a B-CC runner away, because every second of it is precious.

10.  Enjoy your classes.  My last school advice is also simple, and that is to enjoy your time in high school.  Most B-CC students don’t appreciate how blessed they are to be able to take the classes that we do, because with these high quality classes comes great amounts of hard work and stress.  But our school has some of the best classes, and the best teachers in the country, and we are the lucky few blessed with the opportunity to enroll in this school for free.  Take a moment to appreciate what you are doing while you are doing homework, and think about the value of all that you’re learning.  Don’t get too caught up with trying to get an A that you don’t see how lucky you are to be able to take such great classes in the first place. 


I would like to thank my coaches Chad Young, Emily Young, Nathan Herchenroeder, and Alex Gray for helping me learn these lessons.  The experiences I have had on this team are without a doubt the most valuable to me during these four years, and I cannot thank the coaches enough for this.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

McUmber sets course record, leads B-CC to county title


By Emily Young

Sophomores Nora McUmber and Caroline Beakes
Sophomore Nora McUmber has never been one to surge to the front of the race. In fact, her style has historically involved a relaxed first couple miles slightly removed from the front runners, and then a slow but steady run down of the lead pack. On Saturday, however, McUmber decided about a mile into the race that hanging out behind the lead pack felt too cramped, so she unexpectedly excused herself from the group and began the hunt for the race’s lone lead runner, Richard Montgomery’s Sophie El Masry. Sophomore Caroline Beakes followed suit, and the two runners, in an unforeseen but not entirely surprising turn of events, opened up a sizeable lead on a field filled with talented, state champion-caliber runners. At the end of 3.1 miles, McUmber was the first runner across the line, claiming the title of County Champion and setting a new course record of 18:25. Beakes followed shortly after in 18:32, 16 seconds ahead of El Masry, who finished third.

Although McUmber and Beakes decisively claimed the top two spots, the team still needed a solid performance from their third, fourth, and fifth runners in order to hold off a strong and improving Quince Orchard team. Senior Laura Nakasaka, an often under-celebrated yet invaluable member of the varsity squad, kept QO’s number 3 runner in her sights and was eventually able to overtake her, crossing the line in 12th place in 19:25, 4 seconds ahead of her competition. Affectionately known as the Terminator for her incredible toughness, Nakasaka has been vital to the team’s success this season, and she proved again on Saturday why she is regarded as one of the most consistent, most reliable runners on the team.

Senior Laura Nakasaka
Sophomore Abby Fry, who, like Nakasaka, does not always receive the credit and recognition she deserves, also turned in a valuable performance, finishing 17th in 19:54 and further solidifying B-CC’s advantage over QO. Freshman Abigail Levine was the next Baron to cross the line. Levine, stepping up into B-CC’s number five spot for the first time this season, finished 34th in a time of 20:38 and secured the victory for B-CC. Rounding out the top 7 for the Barons were Sophomore Kat McNeill in 20:58 and Junior Amanda Cohen in 21:03.

The B-CC girls were able to walk away with the win on Saturday, but Quince Orchard certainly made their presence known and established themselves as a cause for concern at the upcoming regional and state meets.

The varsity girls were not the only B-CC squad to run their way to a victory on Saturday. B-CC also claimed a first place team finish in the JV 9/10 race. Freshman Marie Caspard took control of the race from the start and dominated the competition, winning the race in 21:15, 20 seconds in front of the second place finisher. But she wasn’t the only B-CC freshman to make a statement in the race. Freshmen Lily O’Dowd, Annie Sharkey, and Lauren Kronheim finished 4th, 6th, and 7th, respectively. The impressive showing from the B-CC rookies suggests that there could be a serious struggle for the top 7 varsity spots next season.

Freshman Marie Caspard
In the JV 11/12 race, Junior Angie Peterson led the way for the Barons with a gutsy race and a 5th place finish, followed by Senior Elena Crouch in 11th and Junior Vanessa Shu in 13th. Seniors Emily Hardgrove and Shayna Nash rounded out the scoring for the Barons, who finished 3rd as a team.

The B-CC girls walked away from Saturday with a lot to celebrate, including two team titles, two individual titles, and PR performances from:

Alyssa Alfonso (23:22)
Caroline Beakes (18:32)
Sofia Crouch (23:22)
Imani Drew (27:58)
Francesca Faccone (23:17)
Casey Gutierrez (26:54)
Tess Joseph (23:40)
Nora McUmber (18:25)
Sonia Picard (29:05)
Ellen Sisti (24:43)
Leah Teshome (27:33)
Genevieve Volz (25:48)
Sarah Ward (23:30)

The girls and boys teams will be at High Point Farm in Clarksburg one week from today for the Regional meet. The gun goes off at 3pm for the girls and 4pm for the boys. Come cheer on the team!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Final Reflections, by Shayna Nash


Final Reflections, by Shayna Nash

Senior Shayna Nash
I have to be honest; when the season first started I was not happy. Almost all of my friends had graduated and one of my best friends who had been on the team since freshman year was out for the whole season. The girl’s team seemed so foreign to me. I felt like a freshman; I didn’t really know anybody and I wanted to make a good impression.  But in reality I was a lonely senior who desperately missed her friends and wanted them to hop on the next plane and come back.  Throughout preseason, I shut myself off from the rest of the team. I was too busy missing my friends and reminiscing about seasons past to even bother with the people that were left.            

But then I heard something, something so inspiring from none other than freshman Ana Fowler. I overheard Ana talking about how she came from a small middle school.  Cross country was making her transition to high school so much easier because now she has all these new best friends. She knew both upperclassmen and people in her grade that would be there for her no matter what, she even compared the team to a family. She seemed so happy to be a part of the team. This reminded me of something I learned in psychology last year. Humans feel the need to belong. When a student enters B-CC, they are automatically part of the student body. They are one of thousands. But by being an athlete they are one of hundreds and by being on the cross country team they are one of a few. They’re part of something exclusive. That’s the greatest thing about cross country; the sport is exclusive and inclusive at the same time. There are no try-outs but after mid-August the walk-on closes. After that, you’re part of a team, a family, something bigger. Which takes me back to my freshman year.

In middle school I travelled in a pack of girls. I never did anything without at least one member of my little group. But freshman year, I decided to do cross country (because I thought it was sprinting-imagine my surprise the first day of practice) without my pack. This was a challenge for me. The first day of preseason I knew a total of 4 people. All the boys looked like grown men and the girls looked so old (they could drive-OMG!). I was intimidated to say the least. But as my first preseason came to a close, I began to feel like part of something. I had never been on a school team before. It was kind of cool, especially when school started. I’d see the upperclassmen in the hallway and I thought I was so cool when I would walk in the hallway with my freshman friends and a senior would say, “hi” or wave to me.  One of my friends from school was neighbors with one of the seniors on the team and whenever I’d go to my friend’s house we’d ring her doorbell and leave something totally ridiculous. Looking back on it, I’m a little embarrassed but at the time I thought I was a big deal because I knew a senior. I had always wanted other freshman and underclassmen to get to know me and look up to me like I had to all of the seniors my freshman year. So after I heard Ana, I opened my mind. It took some time but I eventually began to feel more comfortable around the other girls. I really got to know and develop friendships with them and I’m so glad I did.

Yesterday, as I completed my final race, I realized how much I’ve gained from this four year experience. I’ve made some lifelong friends. I learned about  commitment, hard work and dedication. I learned how to compete with, support and respect my teammates.  Most importantly throughout my years I’ve finally accumulated enough knowledge of the sport and maturity to be a role model. Being elected captain was one of the greatest honors I could have ever received. Having looked up to countless upperclassmen when I was younger, I’m happy I could do the same for some of you. I promise, even when I graduate, to always be there for you all. Always.


Love,

Captain Shayna 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Boys run to 5th place at county meet, Peter Horton 4th overall

By Chad Young


After a surprising fourth place finish in last year’s county championships, the B-CC boys team made it hard to enter this year’s meet unnoticed.  After Mocorunning fans predicted them to finish second behind Walter Johnson in preseason polls, the boys have struggled with injuries and have found it difficult to live up to even their own expectations.

Excited to hear the news that senior Nick McGreivy would be healthy and ready to make a comeback from an IT band injury in time for the county meet, the team also learned some bad news:  sophomore Sam Baker would be out due to his third stress fracture of the season, this time in his heel.  However, even with bad news, the boys team remained positive and excited for the opportunity they would have to compete at this year’s county meet.

In a pre-county meet pep talk, McGreivy reminded the team that the dream of winning a state title wouldn’t be decided by a stress fracture or any other injury.  He reminded the guys that they still had an opportunity to decide the outcome of each race. Unfortunately, the team didn’t quite meet the expectations of the fans that voted in the preseason, but some impressive individual performances helped to create some excitement in anticipation of a strong finish to the season.

Varsity Team Striders
As B-CC’s top finisher in each race this season, Peter Horton has competed with the county’s best, and he used his racing experience to pace himself on the first mile of the County Championships on Saturday.  A pack of four of the county favorites surged to the lead early on in the race while Horton remained calm and paced himself in a secondary chase pack. 

After the first of three loops, teammate Alex Riishojgaard made his way up to Horton and the two pushed each other in an effort to catch Wootton’s Josh Trzeciak from the front pack.  Horton continued to surge as he closed the gap to the third runner, Nick Simpson, from Einstein, but was unable to push past him on the final straightaway.

Horton ended up finishing in fourth place in a time of 16:05, which was good for his second fastest time of the season.  Riishojgaard finished just behind him in 9th place in a time of 16:20, also his second fastest time of the season.

Nolan Ebner
Junior Nolan Ebner was the third B-CC finisher under 17 minutes, finishing in 22nd place overall in 16:56, his second fastest time of the season as well.  Ebner has shown great improvement this season as he was 42nd overall at this meet last year in 17:20. 

Rounding out the top seven were Nick McGreivy (17:42) in 58th place, Matthew Boden (18:06) in 77th place, Greg Picard (18:18) in 91st place and Sam Hainbach (20:25) in 156th place. 

The boys team placed a respectable fifth place overall behind WJ, Wootton, Einstein and Sherwood.

In the JV races, many B-CC boys took advantage of the fast course at Gaithersburg’s Bohrer Park and came out with their fastest times of the year, including Yuri Ivanenko in 20:01, Solomon Goldfarb in 20:21, Jack Ward in 21:52, Philippe Masson in 21:56, and Harrison Fang in 22:53.  Lucas Beck also made his season debut in 21:18.

Lucas Beck, Leul Assamenew, Thomas Horton, Conrad Jones, Kevin Flores, (Alex Riishojgaard in back)
Junior Leul Assamenew also ran a personal best time as he led the way for B-CC in the upperclassmen JV race in a time of 18:33, good for an impressive 16th place overall. Kyle Nakasaka was the first B-CC finisher in the underclassmen JV race and finished in a personal best time of 19:21, good for 57th place overall.

The boys team will look to continue its improvement and run at a high level at Clarksburg’s High Point Farm on Thursday November 1st.  Races begin at 3:00pm.  The boys will need to finish in the top seven places to qualify for the state meet.



Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Coyote Invite wins begin season's homestretch

By Barry Levine


With a 2 week training break before the Montgomery County Championships, it’s a good time to reflect on the season to date.

With their win at the 11-team Coyote Invitational, the boys’ team showed just a glimpse of its post-season potential.  Junior Peter Horton continues to run with the top 5-8 runners in Montgomery County, and Alex Riishojgaard has cut the gap to Peter to less than 20 seconds in the last two meets.  In almost every meet this year, classmate Nolan Ebner has been about the same distance behind Alex.  This strong junior trio gives B/CC a strong foundation for scoring in larger meets. 

Supporting the trio to date has been the partnership of Boden & Picard.  That would be junior Matthew Boden and senior Greg Picard.  They have been separated by less than 16 seconds in every race so far, and you can’t be sure who is going to come across first.  At the Coyote Invitational, it was either Boden’s sprint past a Quince Orchard runner in the homestretch by 2 seconds that give B/CC the winning point in the meet (74-75), or it was Picard’s sprint ahead of a different QO runner by 5 seconds that determined the outcome.

That was typical of the boys’ season to date, with multiple 1-point losses and wins.  One thing that would make a difference would be good health.  The season started out very promisingly for senior Nick McGreivy, who ran between Horton and Riishojgaard in the opening meet against Wootton at Candy Cane.  Similarly, it was great to see sophomore Sam Baker back running at the Coyote.  Their contributions would help create an incredibly strong core team for the post season.

Standing right behind this group includes varsity stalwart Sam Hainbach and fellow juniors Leul Assamenew, and Conrad Jones; sophomores Kyle Nakasaka and Liam McGowan; and freshman Chris Wilks and Colin Cowie. 

The girls’ team enters the postseason with high expectations.  Undefeated against Montgomery County competition, the girls have proven themselves against great out-of-state competition too, finishing second of 43 teams at Paul Short and second of 38 teams at Oatlands.  Senior Laura Nakasaka sets the consistent tone for sophomores Caroline Beakes, Abby Fry, Kat McNeill, and Nora McUmber,.  But more than consistent, each of the top five has been spectacular at times:  Nakasaka’s top 25 medal at Oatlands, McUmber and Beakes both finishing within 21 seconds of Montgomery County’s top two returning runners Abbey Daley and Lucy Srour at Coyote, Fry’s second place finish to open the season at Candy Cane against Wootton, and McNeill’s continued return to health with a top 10 finish at Coyote. 

The girls’ team has depth too.  Senior Emily Hardgrove and juniors Amanda Cohen, Angie Peterson, and Vanessa Shu guide yet another group of (not-Mc) freshman including Marie Caspard, Abigail Levine, Lauren Kronheim, Lily O’Dowd, and Annie Sharkey. 

Both teams have excellent post-season potential.  Their training between now and October 20th will go a long way to determinng the outcome.  Good luck!