Well, we ended the season in fine style at the state meet in Macon, Ga. The state meet consists of the top 7 runners from each of the top 4 schools in the 4 regions.

Hannah Meadows earned a top 10 winners plaque placing 5th. The rest of the girls team consisted of Angela Dale (11th and personal best), Carolyn Perez (28th and PB), Clara Diodati (33rd and PB), Karla Arteaga (41 and PB), Meredith Jones (54th) and Anne Meadows (56th and PB). Absolutely incredible results! My best expectation for the girls was that they might scrape out 4th place, which they did, but they did it comfortably. Last year they finished 9th. They also improved their top-5 composite time (sum of the top 5 runners) by 15:23. Wow!

The times for the boys race were much faster this year than last year. Twice as many runners ran under 19 minutes (30) versus 15 in 2009, plus the winning time was faster.

Nevertheless, Ryan Doyle had a very good time, just 5 seconds off his personal best, to place 3rd overall. Matt Markham ran the race of his life to finish 43rd in a super personal best of under 20 minutes, the only boy other than Ryan to do so this year. Tomas Rodriguez (47th and PB), Jack Repasky (52nd and PB), Stephen Dale (54th), and then Alex Perez (60th and PB) and Will Garlen (73rd and PB) ran in place of Thad Holden and Alex Rodriguez who were unable to participate. 1 minute separated our 2nd thru 6th runners. The boys finished in 7th place, compared with 10th last year, so yet another good improvement. The boys improved their top-5 composite time by 3:37 over last year.

And to cap these excellent results, we had the best cheering section by far! Several of the team came with us very early in the morning to cheer on their team mates. What a team!

The region championship was held in Hampton, GA on the site of the Nash Battlefield, on a beautiful mild day, on an equally beautiful course – rolling hills, wide and narrow swaths of grass cut through a large meadow, with spectators on top of a hill looking down on almost the entire course. We entered the region competition quite confident that our girls were going to do well based on previous encounters with our other region schools, and everything worked out as expected. Hannah Meadows ran a very fast race and is the region individual champion for the second year in row. Well done Hannah. But then the number of girls that ran their best race of the season, was truly amazing. Angela Dale (personal best) finished second ahead of the girl from Weber who had beaten her previously. Carolyn Perez (personal best), finished 5th. Meredith Jones, an 8th grader, finished 6th overall, just one place out of the trophies. Clara Diodati (personal best) finished 8th and Karla Arteaga (personal best) earned her first top ten official recognition of the year. Anna Maria Hannah, Ellie Gutermuth, Julia Thompson, Megan Winkler and Sarah Cocks all ran season bests. It was an awesome performance and the girls won the Region title by a huge margin of 50 points. We knew that the boys race was going to be a lot closer, having beaten Weber by 2 points, and then losing to them by 1 point earlier in the year. We needed some very special races by at least two of the boys, and what we got was truly outstanding. Firstly, Ryan Doyle won his second Region title, also in a very good time. Congratulations Ryan. Then Stephen Dale ran a personal best to upset one of the Weber runners by finishing 5th and picking up his first trophy for the year. Then, Thad Holden, who had been out for several races due to an injury, had a real team captain race and finished in a season best time to earn 6th place. Michael Agrippina who kindly ran in place of a sick Alex Rodriguez, was our insurance card and finished 8th, and outstanding personal bests by Matt Markham (9th) and Jack Repasky (11th) rounded out the top 6. Not to be outdone by the girls, Alex Perez and Andrew Skinner also ran personal bests. So, not only did we beat Weber this day to win the Region title, but we beat them by 23 points (compare this to the 2 point margin of victory earlier in the season) While it is perhaps expected that personal bests will occur as the season progresses, remember that this trend should also occur for all of our competitors also. However, to see so many, and for our collective efforts to be so much better than our competitors, was as good an example of individuals giving their best for the team and themselves, as I have ever seen. Lest anyone think that the only reason we won was because we have Ryan and Hannah, we could have dropped Hannah, Angela, Carolyn and Meredith from the girls team and still have won, and both Ryan & Stephen and done likewise for the boys. We didn’t even need our “insurance” runner – but I’m sure glad he came! These two first-time region wins for the varsity cross country team, are the pinnacles for the teams this year. We now enter the state competition on October 30th, not with hopes of winning, but having one more chance to show ourselves what we are fully capable of. The team will be pulling for both Hannah and Ryan in their individual quests for state victory. If they, like the rest of us can run their personal bests, the final positions won’t really matter. But, I suspect that this could be our best state performance ever. (last year the boys finished 10th, and the girls 9th). I thank you all for your earning me the Coach of the Year awards. It is my good fortune to be associated with such a super group of young men and women, and it was your efforts that earned the school these recognitions. Unfortunately there is only one Head coach award, but we all know that equal recognition goes to coach Reger and coach Sloan who are such an integral part of our collective success. Congratulations to everyone of you. I am so, so very proud of your efforts and the super recognition that you have all so well deserved.

JH Girls For the third year in a row, the Holy Spirit Junior High girls have won the MAAC Cross Country Championship. Incredible individual performances by Catherine Dale (2nd), Stephanie Perez (3rd) and Meredith Jones (4th) led the team to victory, but with cross country team results depending on the top 5 runners, it was equally impressive personal best times by the remainder of the team – Ciara Doyle (12th), Ellie Higgins (13th), Aubrey Meadows (15th), (Elizabeth Markham (19th), that ensured the win. And the win was the largest victory I have ever seen, by over 50 points !! (a typical win at a meet of this size would be between 5 and 15 points). The MC was equally astonished by the margin of victory. Only 7 runners comprise a cross country meet “team” but the rest of the Holy Spirit TEAM of Allie Bertany, Emma Jones, Genevieve Collado, Lanie Cox, Natalie Casal, Sara Wilson and Paula Garzon, all ran season best performances! While it is expected that a few of the runners would run their best race at the championship race, to have EVERYONE do so shows just how committed every girl was to ensuring that they did their part for the team. With this attitude, they deserved this incredible victory.

JH Boys The boys performances were just as impressive on an individual basis. Firstly, Santi Mendoza won the entire race for the boys in a superbly run race against a very tough competitor from Davis. That means that for 4 years in a row, Holy Spirit has had a MAAC cross country champion in either the boys or girls. Well done Santi! Next came, Augie Diodati who finished 4th and Cole Werner who finished 7th. The rest of the boys team of Frank Crippen, Christopher Bell, Stephen Tyner, Thomas Hardt, John Radosta and Liam O’Neil also had excellent individual results, earning the boys a very satisfying 3rd place, improving over an earlier season position of 5th against these same schools. It has been a great season for both of the junior high teams. They all worked so hard during the season. We have had an excellent turnout at every race, and everyone gave their absolute best at the most important race of the season. I am sure that as these runners lay in bed Wednesday evening after the race, tired, sore and exhilarated from the events of the day, not only were they able to thank God for the fortitude, good health, humility and friendships they have acquired during the season, but they were able to tell God that they did the very, very best with the physical talents he gave each of them. Thanks for a wonderful season!

This was our last regular season cross country meet for the varsity, and it was a great way to end. The girls team comfortably won, and the boys finished 2nd. Hannah and Ryan continued in their individual winning ways, and we saw some more personal bests, this time from Andrew Skinner for the boys, and Bernadette Diodati, Caroline Phillips, Ellie Gutermuth, Sarah Cocks & Simone Lassere for the girls. No wonder the girls keep winning! We also invited our 8th graders to run, and all I can say is Wow! Ciara, Paula, Ellie, Cole and Thomas all had great races at this longer distance and I can’t wait for them to help out our varsity teams next year. Monday is Region and we are well poised for a first-ever win by the girls. That would be a great way to end what has already been a great season for the girls. The boys too have had their best season ever, but they really have their work cut out for them. It is going to take some season bests to win on Monday, but the boys have come through over and over again, and exceeded my expectations frequently already this year. Why not again?

The JH XC team also ran this past Tuesday, but we wanted them to run against their fellow MAAC schools in preparation for their championship meet next Wednesday. The girls continue to run well with Catherine, Stephanie and Meredith finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall (a best place for Meredith this year), Ciara continues to get stronger, followed by Ellie and Aubrey all under 14 minutes, and Lizzy and Allie also having great races, the girls won comfortably. It is also good to see the gap between all of our runners closing. 5 seconds separated Allie, Paula, Sara and Natalie. Onto the boys, who had their best outing all season. Judging from the Marist race last week, it looked as though our boys might finish 4th or 5th in the MAAC this year, but good strong running put us higher today than ever. Santi continues his duel with the excellent runner from Davis, beating him for the second time by a couple of seconds. Augie and Cole also finished in the top 10. But it was a super time by Frank, finishing 17th out of 63 runners that really helped bump up our team results. It just takes one more runner to have a great performance next week and the boys might even finish in the top 3. Stay tuned!

The meet this week at Mill Springs Academy on October 5th was the first that we have attended this season which was hosted by a school in our region, and so this was our real first chance to gauge our region hopes. While Stephen (5th place) was back in the line-up, both Thad and Alan were still out, so again we really needed the whole team to step up. This time it was Matt Markham, JP Smith, Jonathan Silva and Andrew Skinner who had season bests. When the first round of unofficial results were posted Weber had beaten us, but after some corrections to names and places and missing runners, the boys ended up squeaking out first place, with Ryan Doyle the overall winner, and Alex Rodriguez also finishing in the top 10. Then on to the girls, and with Hannah finishing 1st, Angela 2nd in a season best, Carolyn 4th, Clara 7th, and Karla 8th, with another big improvement on her personal best, the girls won comfortably. In addition, Lizzy, Ellie, Bernadette and Caroline all had season best performances. So, for the girls, they are looking very good right now to be challenging for their first ever region title! For the boys, it is going to be very close with Weber who have three boys who can run close to 20 minutes – faster than any of our boys other than Ryan. We have less than two weeks to get everyone back to full health, and for the healthy to continue bringing down their times. Lots of good quality miles this weekend! Everyone!

Macon is becoming our second home these days, now that both Pinecrest and George Walton have moved to GHSA. Oh well, the bus rides are fun on the way there, and a great time to sleep on the way back. This was a chance for our runners to watch collegiate and GHSA runners, and I think the conclusion is “we are a pretty good group of runners ourselves”. While this was a large, but low-key invitational, this meet was on the course where the state finals will be held, and so getting a feel for mid-season race times was what we had each individual runner focus on. And whatever we said, the runners responded in a HUGE way with several runners shattering their early-season best performances, and some achieving personal bests. Hannah Meadows almost broke 20 minutes as she finished 1st again very comfortably. She will probably need to run under 20 at state, so this was a great time at this point in the season for her. Ryan Doyle also ran a very smart race. The first mile was run at a blistering pace and Ryan had to back off a little, but he caught up to the leaders, ran with them through mile 2 and then surged ahead to finish 1st in his fastest time this season. Clara Diodati and Tomas Rodriguez both ran personal bests, and Karla Arteaga and Alan LeBlanc, in their first year running varsity for Holy Spirit, also set personal bests. With strong finishes by all of our varsity runners, both the boys and the girls finished in 3rd place out of about 13 schools. A great result, especially as both teams were missing some of their stronger runners. In the JV boys race (true 5k, not middle school), Alex Perez smashed his personal best time by over a full minute and earned himself 4th place. Equally impressive was Augie Diodati (8th grader) who finished in an excellent time of 23:21 and just missed out on the medals. Then came our JV girls, where we had the majority of runners, in one of the smallest races I have seen – just one other team! Nonetheless, some great times, with Catherine Dale and Stephanie Perez (both 7th graders) finishing 1st and 2nd respectively in super times of just over 25 minutes; both times that would have placed them in the top third of the varsity girls race. Ciara Doyle, an 8th grader, also had a great race at her first taste of the varsity distance, finishing 5th overall. Holy Spirit girls cleaned up in the medals with Lizzy Baker (3rd), Sarah Cocks (4th), Ciara Doyle (5th), Julia Thompson (6th), Bernadette Diodati (7th) and Megan Winkler (8th). The JV boys earned 2nd place overall, and the JV girls were champions for the day. A great day of racing by all of our younger runners. I think the extra weight of all the medals and trophies was what caused the bus to overheat on the ride home. Thanks to all of the parents who made the long trek down and back to Macon. Your support and encouragement and loud cheering make such a difference. A long, but fruitful day, and a nice progress check for our team mid-way through the season.

It was a great day all round for the entire cross country team it seems. The JH ran in a local meet with several other MAAC schools. In the girls race Catherine Dale (2nd), Stephanie Perez (3rd), Meredith Jones (6th) and Ellie Higgins (8th) all finished in the top 10 with season best times. In the boys race, Santiago Mendoza (3rd), Cole Werner (4th), and Augie Diodati (5th) all finished in the top 10, and again had season best times. In the Emerging Elite race, Christopher Bell earned his first recognition with a nice 8th place overall, with Elizabeth Markham and Emma Jones leading the girls. Like the varsity teams, we have good depth and friendly competition within the team that is bringing out the best of our runners. And of course, their hard work is starting to show. Great job JH ! Don’t be outdone by your older varsity teammates.

Stratford Academy is one of the large Macon schools, and so it was a well attended meet with about 20 different schools all told (included middle school). The course was nice, not too hilly and lots of trails and grass. It was a beautiful day! Hannah Meadows got things off to a good start with a very comfortable victory and a solid time under 21 minutes. Angela Dale had a great run finishing 4th, and the girls team brought home their first piece of hardware for the season with a super second place out of 9 competing teams. Then Ryan Doyle earned our second first place victory for the day, again with a solid time , breaking 17 minutes, made all the sweeter by comfortably beating the runner from Mt. DeSales who had beaten him earlier in the season. Then the boys earned their best result ever at a meet of this size and caliber by finishing 2nd out of 15 teams. This was a fantastic result! There were lots of seasonal bests today, which his very rewarding for our runners. Clearly the difference has nothing to do with Ryan and Hannah (they will always be in the top 3), but with the depth of the runners and the encouragement and motivation they are providing for one another. We now have 6, 7 even 8 runners who can compete for the top 5 spots on each team, and all can run competitive times. We had (unofficial right now) 7 of the boys finish under 23 minutes, and our top 6 girls run under 27. That is what a good team needs to do. And, there is plenty of room for improvement. Well done Cougars!

This was a small meet (always good to have one of these every year), and a bit disappointing in terms of the small number of participating schools and only about 40 runners in each race. The course was tough with lots of ups and downs, soft and bumpy underfoot, and it was a hot afternoon, so no amazing times were going to be run today. Hannah Meadows (1st), Angela Dale (2nd), Carolyn Perez (3rd), Anne Meadows (5th), Clara Diodati (7th), Karla Arteaga (8th) and Lizzy Baker (10th) all finished in the top ten, which pretty much cemented the girls winning the team award. Ryan Doyle (1st), Stephen Dale (3rd), Thad Holden (4th), Alex Rodriguez (5th), Andi Weber (6th), Carlos Ocana (7th), Matt Markham (8th) and Alex Perez (10th) finished in the top ten, and so again, the boys won comfortably. This was our second meet and so we got to see some runners make the necessary early-season adjustments and show some big improvements. The team is looking very strong so early in the season.

This was a small meet (always good to have one of these every year), and a bit disappointing in terms of the small number of participating schools and only about 40 runners in each race.  The course was tough with lots of ups and downs, soft and bumpy underfoot, and it was a hot afternoon, so no amazing times were going to be run today. Hannah Meadows (1st), Angela Dale (2nd), Carolyn Perez (3rd), Anne Meadows (5th), Clara Diodati (7th), Karla Arteaga (8th) and Lizzy Baker (10th) all finished in the top ten, which pretty much cemented the girls winning the team award. Ryan Doyle (1st), Stephen Dale (3rd), Thad Holden (4th), Alex Rodriguez (5th), Andi Weber (6th), Carlos Ocana (7th),  Matt Markham (8th) and Alex Perez (10th) finished in the top ten, and so again, the boys won comfortably. This was our second meet and so we got to see some runners make the necessary early-season adjustments and show some big improvements. The team is looking very strong so early in the season.