Oct 13, 2013

ST. HENRY INVITATIONAL

Results

Varsity Girls-

By the time the Varsity Girl’s Race started, the temperature had gotten up to the low 70’s and the sun was fiercely beating down on the course: certainly weather too hot for this late in the season. On the line were three very competitive teams: St. Henry District High School, the top KY A girls XC team; Highlands High School, the top KY AA girls XC team; and Sacred Heart Academy from Louisville, a KY AAA girls XC powerhouse every year. Highlands’ #1 girl (Molly Mearns) and #3 girl (Sydney Ossege) were both absent from this race.

The race started, and as would be expected, St. Henry’s and Highlands’ girls all went out aggressively, and taking lead positions in the race. Oddly, the girls from Sacred Heart were content to bring up the rear of the pack in the beginning.

At the 1 Mile, Megan Smith from Danville High School was leading the pack. She came through the mile in 5:56, with a slight lead. Following 6 seconds behind her, Jennah Flairty from Campbell County was leading Sam Hentz and Taylor Connett from St. Henry. In the team race, St. Henry was easily in the lead. Lead by Hentz and Connett in 3rd and 4th, the team also held 16th, 21st, and 22nd places. Following their 5th man was a pack of 3 girls from Sacred Heart, all coming through the mile mark at 6:42; all three of them (Caitlyn Carroll, Samantha Simms, and Julia Buechler) have run sub 19 minutes this year. The runners from Highlands were putting up a good performance, but without their 1st and 3rd runners, they just could not compete at their normal level.

At the two mile, there was quite the shake-up in the race. Smith had maintained, and even increased her lead. She came through the mile at 12:25. Behind her, the battle for second was between Hentz and Flairty, who both finished their 2nd mile in 12:34. Connett had fallen back slightly from Hentz and Flairty, and was racing with Highlands’ Chloe Gastright for 5th place. Just behind her however, were Simms and Carroll from Sacred Heart. These two came ran their second mile in 5:11, putting them in 6th and 7th places. Their teammates however seemed relatively stable in their places, a group of 3 girls now in 23rd, 24th, and 26th places. Behind Hentz and Connett, St. Henry’s girls were in 9th, 16th, and 19th places.

Smith finished the race with no other runners in sight; her final time was 19:39.3. However, second place went to Carroll from Sacred Heart (her 3rd mile was approximately 6:30); she finished the race in 19:55. Hentz finished just behind her in 3rd place with a time of 19:58.3, edging out Flairty by .5 seconds. Just behind them Simms (Sacred Heart) finished in 20:00. The next two Sacred Heart runners made enormous forward progression in the final mile, finishing in 13th and 14th places. The 5th runner came through in 23rd place. Connett struggled significantly in the 3rd mile, dropping from 2nd on the team to 5th, however the 2nd-5th St. Henry girls all came across the line within 23 seconds of each other. They finished in places 7, 11, 15, and 16; the team scored 43 points. With that, St. Henry’s Lady Crusaders were able to upset the powerhouse squad from Sacred Heart who scored 48 points in this meet.

Varsity Boys-

Thanks to the heat (temperatures in the Mid 70’s) and the warm sunlight unobstructed by the clear blue sky, the boys were able to stay warm and loose as they waited for nearly 45 minutes for the race to start. The key teams in today’s meet were the boys from Bishop Brossart, Connor, and St. Henry. Highlands High Schools boys team was there, however their #1 and #5 runners were absent from this race, effectively taking them out of contention for the team trophy.

When the race finally did start, three key runners got out strong to establish their lead near the very beginning. Leading the way was Michael Caldwell from Bishop Brossart. Also with him was Erich Baugh from Villa Madonna Academy, and Tim Woest from Covington Holy Cross.

The lead pack all stuck together through the first ½ mile, but on the long, steep hill preceding the 1 mile, Caldwell started to break away. He came through the mile at 5 flat, with Baugh coming through at 5:05 followed shortly by Woest. John Michael Griffith (Highlands) was shortly behind them in 4th. Following Caldwell, his team took a strong position in the first mile; holding places 1, 9, 19, 20, and 24, they were easily leading the team race. St. Henry’s top runner, Josh Hannon, was in 6th place. His teammates were in 22nd, 35th, 37th, and 39th places. Meanwhile, the boys from Connor were in 14th, 17th, 18th, 33rd, and 54th places.

Over the next mile Caldwell continued to open his lead, crossing the 2 mile mark in 10:18. Woest came by the 2 mile in 10:36, followed shortly by Baugh then Griffith. Brossart’s boys fell back slightly in the second mile, now occupying 11th, 19th, 22nd, and 25th places. The Boys from St. Henry shifted places slightly, the 1st and 2nd runners losing a few places. These lost places were more than made up for, however, by the forward progression of their 3rd, 4th, and 5th runners. St. Henry’s boys now were in places 7, 24, 26, 31, and 32. Meanwhile, Connor’s boys had all moved forward; these boys were now in 12th, 16th, 17th, 29th, and 38th.

Over the course of the 3rd mile (plus another .1) Caldwell continued to open up his lead. He crossed the finish line in 16:21. 31 seconds later, Woest finished solidly in 2nd place with a time of 16:52. Griffith placed third in a time of 17:06.

In the team race, the boys from Brossart fought through the last 1.1 miles, the second and 3rd men moved forward slightly, however the 4th and 5th men lost significant ground; they were now in places 1, 10, 21, 33, and 38. The boys from St. Henry had boys struggling, and boys stepping up in the last portion; the net change between the 2 mile and the finish was 0- for ever place one runner lost, a teammate moved forward to make up the difference. They were now in places 7, 23, 26, 30, and 34. Similarly, some of the boys from Connor moved up, and some moved back, to now being in places 9, 19, 22, 27, and 29. In the end, the strong position Brossart’s Boys took in the first mile was able to carry them through to a 1st place finish over their rivals from St. Henry. Bishop Brossart scored 100 pts, Connor edged out St. Henry by outscoring them 112 to 116.