TOHS Cross Country recent blogs Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:04:29 +0000 ross@runnerspace.com (Ross) 60 TOHS Cross Country recent blogs http://www.runnerspace.com/members/images/4588/8292.jpg Blog - Alumni Race Recap: Weekend of 10/10 - 10/17 I thought I'd start things off with a bang and relay Sean Guildea's stellar performance from October tenth. Last year's graduate ran at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas at the Tiger Cross Country Open. Coming in with his best performance to date he raced to ninth place overall and forth for his strong team. Lead by his front-running teammate, Ben Zywicki (first overall in 24:18), Sean ran 25:06 over the 8K course. Sean will no doubt be a key component on his team this season, especially on October twenty-fourth, where he will race in his conference championships.

     Asher Lober ran in the prestigious New England Championships in Manchester, Connecticut. Asher ran 7th for his sub-varsity squad coming in 115th overall. He covered the 8K course in a time of 27:58.

     On October 17th I took a change of pace (literally) and ran in my first half-marathon, at the Humboldt, Avenue of the Giants, redwood marathon. I came in 30th overall and 6th for my team, covering the flat road course in a time of 1:18:57.

     Evan Hillman ran in the Western Regional Preview meet hosted by Pomona Pitzer in Claremont on October third (sorry for the omission). He came in 79th overall and 8th on his team, covering the 8K course in a time of 29:24. 

     Allie Lopez ran at the Cal Poly SLO invite on October 17th. Lead by star teammate, Shannon Murakami, who won the race, Allie finished the 5K course in a time of 20:48, coming in 34th place overall and seventh for her team.

     Nina Su ran on October Tenth in her own UCSD Triton XC Classic. Nina finished the 6K course in a time of 24:08 to come in 36th place overall and 6th on her team.

Well done everyone!

]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:05:41 +0000 Blog - Alumni Race Recap: Weekend of 10/03 Only three alumni raced this past weekend. Andrew Snyder, racing for UCI, ran a time of 27:30 at the western regional preview meet in Claremont. Allie Lopez copmeted for UCLA at the Notre Dame invitational against some of the top teams in the nation including number one ranked University of Washington. She ran a time of 19:37. I competed for the River City Rebels track club in San Francisco running a time of 21:03 on a very hilly 3.55 mile course.

Sorry for being breif, hope to get back on top of things next week. I'm in the middle of midterms...

]]> Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:52:01 +0000 Blog - Alumni Race Recap: Weekend of 9/26 It seems most alumni last weekend took a much deserved rest from racing, and instead opted for quality workouts to gear up for the upcoming competitions in the middle portion of this cross country season.

The only two alumni to race was Nina Su and I. Nina took on a difficult field in the University of Southern Indiana Pre-National Invitational. Considering this was her first race back from a nasty stress fracture, Nina did a great job coming in 37th place with a time of 24:37 over the 6k distance.

I traveled down to the bay area yet again to compete for the club team: The River City Rebels in Hayward. It was the hardest, hilliest course I have ever run, and came in 5th for my team over the 3.15 mile course with a time of 17:46. Ouch!

]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:17:51 +0000 Blog - Alumni Race Recap: Weekend of 9/19                On the weekend of September 19th Humboldt state University hosted their first ever home meet on the conference course in McKinnelyville, CA. The golf course held numerous small, rolling hills, and featured a "hell hill" going three fourths of a mile up. Southern Oregon University, a top ten nationally ranked NAIA school, took the win with the Humboldt Jacks coming in second. I ran 8th on my team with a time of 27:22. Maybe going out in 5:05 wasn't such a good idea with the hell hill remaining in the third mile.

                On the same day, in Riverside, CA, UC Riverside hosted a premier invitational with two of our alumni competing amongst the best. On this hot, dusty, but flat-fast course, Axel Ambriz raced unattached yet again. Axel ran an impressive time of 26:20 for a deep 111th place. Coming in 311th place, Evan Hillman ran a time of 30:38 for his team, Occidental.

                Asher Lober ran in his second collegiate race at the University of Massachusetts invitational in Amherst, MA. Coming in sixth for his team with a place of 27th overall, Asher ran impressively to finish two spots ahead (on his team), from where he finished last weekend. Asher ran a time of 26:55. Also racing in only his second collegiate race, Sean Guildea traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to compete at the Woody Geeno Invitational. Sean ran a great time of 25:45 to come in 5th on his team and 16th overall. Keep an eye on these two, they seem to be moving up nicely in the college ranks!

                Allie Lopez raced in her first college cross country race over this past weekend in Tuscan, Arizona for the UCLA Bruins. Competing against her friend from Simi Valley, Anna Sperry (who won), Allie didn't do too bad herself finishing in 32nd place overall and 7th on her team. Allie ran a time of 18:44 over the 5k course.

                I heard that Thousand Oaks HS had an awesome showing at the Oak Park invitational on both the girls and guys teams. It seems that a full summer of fun and training is paying off well for both the high school and alumni. Great Job to everyone who competed, and I hope everybody had as much fun being warriors out on the course as I did!

]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:14:30 +0000 Blog - Alumni Race Recap: Weekend of 9/12             A slew of past Lancer's ran this last weekend, many of who was their first college cross country competition. Five alumni raced in four different invitationals all over the state and one in the east. Newly Lancer-graduated runner, Asher Lober, competed for the University of Vermont at the Pre-America East Meet on Sunday. Asher was 8th man on his team finishing in 33rd place in a time of 27:22. Coming off of a busy summer this is not a bad result by any means. Being on the bubble of top 7, Asher will surely be pushed throughout the season in order to race for them come championship time.

     In perhaps the biggest invitational out of any alumni this past weekend, Andrew Snyder competed in his first college race for the UC Irvine Anteater's. Being more middle-distance oriented, Andrew found it tough adjusting to the college distance of 8k (5 miles), but did fine coming in 108th place with a time of 27:48 on a slow course. A pretty good result considering he has yet to start school and training with his team! As a team, the Anteater's finished fourth overall behind well known distance running powerhouses such as Chico State and Cal Poly SLO.

     Two alumni raced at the Redlands Cross Country Invitational at Sylvan Park. Axel Ambriz (graduate of 05'), running unattached, finished a fine 14th place in a time of 19:48 on a 6k course (5:19 pace). Competing in his first college race for Occidental, Evan Hillman traveled to Redlands as well to finish in a time of 22:25 finishing in 81st place.

     As for me, I traveled down to San Francisco to compete in only my second race since I graduated from Thousand Oaks in 2007. Running for a club team called The River City Rebels in The Golden Gate Park Open I finished the slow four mile course in a time of 21:51 to come in 28th place against a tough field featuring former California Prep star Philip Reid, who won in 20:05. I will be competing for this club team this season instead of for Humboldt State due to my eligibility, but I am still excited to be racing. I have the national club championships to look forward to in November, racing against some of the most premier runners in the nation on sub-elite teams.

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