Labor-Koroma Earns Wins & Record; Menzel & Foley take District Gold

The Concorde District Indoor Track Championships is always the primary team goal each season, with a high level of competition awaiting the Chargers on an annual basis.  With regional berths on the line, and the opportunity to etch one’s name into Chantilly’s rich history of post-season success stories, this year’s team rose to the challenges which lay before them.  The end results will show that the boy’s team ended up with a solid 3rd place, while the girls took 5th, but the individual efforts that went into the team finishes represented tales which represented some of the best which this year’s batch of Chantilly have ever achieved.

The boys started the meet with dreams of competing for a team title, and while those ambitions fell short in the end, it was not for a lack of stellar athletes doing their best to contribute.  The star of the two day meet had to be junior co-captain Mohamed Labor-Koroma, Jr. Labor-Koroma competed in six events over the two day meet, three on each day, and scored in five of them. On the first day, January 28th, Labor-Koroma started his meet by anchoring the boys 4×800m relay, with senior Matt Cumpian, and junior Eric Rolfe and Samuel Tucker III, all of whom earned personal bests. His personal best time of 1:59.94 led the relay to a better-than-expected 3rd place finish, earning his three teammates their first career all-district medals, and a trip to regionals. Literally moments after he left the track, he scampered over to the long jump, where he ended up in a tie for 6th place, losing out on a scoring spot on a tie breaker, despite a career best leap of 19′ 4.5″.  His last event of the first day was the pole vault, an event in which he had only competed in once, with a 9′ 0″ personal best.  Showing his strength and athleticism, Mo improved by an incredible 1′ 6″, earning a sixth place finish at 10′ 6″.

If Labor-Koroma’s first day was impressive, his second day, one week later, showed why he may be one of the absolute best athletes in the Northern Region.  Running on his 17th birthday, Mohamed was determined to do anything he could to carry his team.  He started his day with the 500m Dash, an event in which he was the defending district and  regional champion from last year.  He went after the field from the gun, strongly and confidently striding away from everyone else to run the best time in the region this year of 1:06.64, breaking his own school record which was set last year. In the next hour, he would also take his second gold medal in the 300m dash, in a personal best time of 36.44, and hustling back to take 4th in the high jump in a seasonal best mark of 5′ 10″. At the end of the meet, Labor-Koroma had more than done his part for the team, contributing to 31 team points.

With Labor-Koroma carrying his weight in the sprints and field events, the Chargers were also led in the distance events by senior All-Met Chris Foley. In the regular season, Foley has enjoyed his best career regular season, earning personal bests in each race, including the current national best time in the 3200m run.  Foley more than pulled his weight in this meet, earning one gold and two silver medals, as one of only two runners in the meet to do the ultra-difficult 1600m/1000m/3200m triple. In the first week, Foley competed in the 1600m run, running an agressive race en route to a close 2nd place in 4:22.01, being nipped by Centreville’s Yazid Zoumaia, the top seed in the event.  In the second week, Foley started off his evening with a solid win in the 1000m run, defending his top seed with a 2:35.49 time.  With just over a hour of rest, Foley jumped into the 3200m run. Racing again against Zoumaia, the US #2 runner who ran fresh, Foley fought hard to a 2nd place finish of 9:35.77, completing his meet with 26 points.

Historically, one of the strengths of the Charger Track program has been the pole vault. In recent years, Chantilly has been strong and deep. Despite graduation hitting the team hard, the team still boasts the top vaulter in the district, in Chris Menzel.  A year ago, Menzel was only the fifth best vaulter on the team; in 2010, he is ranked third in the Northern Region, and took his first career district title with a personal best vault of 12′ 6″.  His victory continues a string of championships for Coach Nick Burgoyne, who has enjoyed success at the district, regional and state levels over the past several years with several boys and girls. Menzel also contributed 4 more points to the team with a strong 4th place in the 55m hurdles.

While three boys accounted for the team’s four gold medals in the 15 events, they were not the only one’s to shine.  Sophomore Arthur McDuffy scored points in both horizontal jumps, with a 2nd place finish in the triple jump (42′ 0.75″) and a fifth place in the long jump (19′ 6.5″). Senior Ryan McWeeny earned a career best 3rd place in the 55m Hurdles (8.38), as well as a tie for 6th in the high jump, with a personal best height of 5′ 6″.  Freshman Sean McGorty concluded the scoring for the Chargers with a personal best time of 9:55.99 in the 3200m, earning his first trip to regionals with a 5th place finish.

While the boys team may have shown a bit more depth this year, the girls were certainly not devoid of talent or highlights. The girls team earned 13 All-District medals, in 8 of the 15 events. This included three five top-three finishes, earning eight different girls trips to regionals.

Senior Rachel Grochowski turned in one of the gutsiest performances of the championship meet, as she not only completed the distance triple (the only girl to do so), but she placed in the top five in each race. She started her meet in solid fashion the first week, by placing fourth in the 1600m run in a five-second personal best time of 5:17.61. The second week she completed the ultra-difficult 1000m/3200m double in the span of 1 hour. She began the day by taking a career-best second place in the 1000m run (3:11.27), before doubling back to fight for a 5th place finish in the 3200m run, in a seasonal best of 11:47.66.

Junior Nina Ullom also enjoyed a strong meet, placing in two different field events.  Ranked as one of the better regional pole vaulters this year, Ullom fought for a solid 2nd place in the meet, with a personal best height of 9′ 0″. This came after a first week, which saw her leap to a huge personal best in the long jump, finishing 3rd with a mark of 16′ 1.75″.

 

 

 

Newcomer Jacki Sieder also made strong contributions to the team total, in her characteristic agressive style.  She started the meet with a solid 6th place finish in the long jump (14′ 8.5″). She saved her best performance for the 500m dash.  Coming in with an 8th place seed, putting her in the 2nd of 3 heats, she ran strongly and determined, shaving off nearly 3 seconds from her time, ending up in a surprising 3rd place overall (1:21.66), one of the best times the Chargers have had in the event in the last several years.

Five other Chargers earned All-District honors, and trips to regionals.  Senior Sarah Meier scored a 3rd place in the shot put (34′ 6″), while senior Olabisi Abisogun and freshman Samantha Lull tied for 4th place in the high jump (4′ 6″). Junior Tiffany Mitchell (7.75) and senior Tyeisha Jarrett (7.80) both earned personal bests in finishing 5th & 6th in the 55m Dash, respectively.

The Chargers will wait out the winter weather until Saturday, February 20th, when they take part in the regional championships at George Mason University.

Full Results of the meet can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/wtresults.html.

Pictures from both weeks, courtesy of Tom Foley, can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/CHSrunning

ALL-DISTRICT

• Mohamed Labor-Koroma- DISTRICT CHAMPION- 500m Dash (1:06.64- NEW SCHOOL RECORD); DISTRICT CHAMPION- 300m Dash (36.44); 4th Place- High Jump (5′ 10″); 6th Place- Pole Vault (10′ 6″)
• Chris Foley- DISTRICT CHAMPION- 1000m Run (2:35.49); 2nd Place- 1600m Run (4:22.01); 2nd Place- 3200m Run (9:35.77)
• Chris Menzel- DISTRICT CHAMPION- Pole Vault (12′ 6″); 4th Place- 55m Hurdles (8.43)
• Rachel Grochowski- 2nd Place- 1000m Run (3:11.27); 4th Place- 1600m Run (5:17.61); 5th Place- 3200m Run (11:47.66)
• Nina Ullom- 2nd Place- Pole Vault (9′ 0″); 3rd Place- Long Jump (16′ 1.75″)
• Arthur McDuffy- 2nd Place- Triple Jump (42′ 0.75″); 5th Place- Long Jump (19′ 6.5″)
• Ryan McWeeny- 3rd Place- 55m Hurdles (8.38); 6th Place (tie)- High Jump (5′ 6″)
• Jacquelyn Sieder- 3rd Place- 500m Dash (1:21.66); 6th Place- Long Jump (14′ 8.5″)
• Sarah Meier- 3rd Place- Shot Put (34′ 6″)
• Olabisi Abisogun- 4th Place (tie)- High Jump (4′ 6″)
• Samantha Lull- 4th Place (tie)- High Jump (4′ 6″)
• Sean McGorty- 5th Place- 3200m Run (9:55.99)
• Tiffany Mitchell- 5th Place- 55m Dash (7.75)
• Tyeshia Jarrett- 6th Place- 55m Dash (7.80)
• Boys 4×800m Relay- 3rd Place (8:27.04) (Matt Cumpian, Samuel Tucker III, Eric Rolfe, Mohamed Labor-Koroma)

Foley & Labor-Koroma are Hot at Flames Invitational

With the district championships less than two weeks away, this is the time of the year for nearing top form.  In order to reach peak form, 38 members of the Charger winter track team travelled to Lynchburg, VA to compete in the Flames HS Invitational, hosted by Liberty University. At it’s conclusion, the boys team had taken a very strong 3rd place of over 36 teams, while the girls team also showed strong improvement heading into the post-season.

The boys team is shaping up into a real contender for the district team title, and will be counting heavily on their two stars, defending regional champions Mohamed Labor-Koroma and Chris Foley.  Both of these veterans showed over the weekend that they are definitely on track for continued post-season glory, with four second place finishes between them. Labor-Koroma earned seasonal best finishes in the 300m and 500m dashes, both in district-leading times, as well as solid finishes in the high jump and long jump. After struggling with early season injury, Labor-Koroma is gaining his form at just the right time.

Foley, the US #1 ranked 3200m runner this year, competed in the 1600m and 1000m runs, and performed excedingly well.  In only his second meet of the season, he earned two second places, both putting in him solidly amongst the state leaders.  On Friday, he ran a very agressive 1600m run to earn a state-qualifying mark of 4:20.33, while on Saturday, he blazed to a 2:32.81 for the 1000m run.  The mark earned him the district lead, as well as the 2nd fastest time in CHS history, behind only 2006 graduate Brad Siragusa, who ran 2:32.02.

While Foley and Labor-Koroma will definitely be counted on to lead the team, they are not the only one’s the team will be leaning on.  Senior Matt Cumpian earned a personal best time in the 3200m run (10:06.73), while freshman Sean McGorty also ran in only his second meet, getting solid marks in the 1600m (4:46.60) and 1000m(2:52.02).  Personal bests were also turned in by juniors Eric Rolfe (1000m Run-2:50.7) and Samuel Tucker (3200m Run- 10:40.20). Senior Chris Menzel continues to lead the team in the pole vault and 55m Dash, while sophomore Arthur McDuffy continues to remain amongst the district and regional leaders in the long and triple jumps.

The girl’s team also continues to show improvement, with newcomers starting to blossom, and the veterans rounding into form.  Senior shot putter Sarah Meier is ranked 2nd in the district and region, and earned the only points of the weekend for the Chargers, with her 3rd place finish. Despite a low point total, several other athletes showed that they will be players on the district stage.

For the distance runners, senior captain Rachel Grochowski had one of the best meets of her career, competing in the 1600m and 3200m runs.  In a very tough double, she earned her best ever regular season times in both events, with top 15 finishes.  Her 5:25 & 11:50 times respectively place her in the top 5 in the district, and put her in good shape going into the post-season.  Sophomore Lizzie Knippler also earned personal bests in each each event, in 5:46 and 12:43. Freshman Elise Kinsey has also zoomed into the district picture in the 1000m run, winning her heat in a personal best time of 3:20, a time which currently ranks in the top 6 in the district.

For the sprinters, sophomore newcomer Jacquelyn Sieder had an impressive meet, earned career bests in the 300m and 500m dashes. Her time of 1:24 in the latter event puts her close to the district leaders at just the right time of the year to be peaking.  Seasonal best performances were also turned in from Nina Ullom (300m & 500m dashes), Tiffany Mitchell (55m dash & 300m Dash) and Tyeisha Jarrett (55m dash).

The Chargers have one more regular season meet, on Saturday, January 23rd, at Episcopal HS, against Jefferson and GC Marshall.

Complete meet results from this weekend can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccresults.html

A complete performance list of the best times of the season can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/wtperflists.html

Photos from Tom Foley can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/CHSrunning.

Foley Opens Indoor Season with US #1 3200m- 9:14.3!!!

The regular season for indoor track is designed for building fitness and speed, gaining experience,  earning automatic qualifiers, and building the basis for post-season success.  For senior co-captain Chris Foley, this has meant sitting aside while his younger teammates competed, training through the snow and winter cold, logging 70 mile weeks until he felt that he was ready to begin his season.  For an athlete of his All-Met status, his goals lie at the state and national levels, and thus he could afford to be patient. At the Montgomery Invitational, held this past weekend at the PG Sports & Learning Complex, Foley opened his season in his primary event, the 3200m run.

Coming off a cross country season where he earned a win at the regional meet, and a career-high 4th place state meet finish, Foley has felt as though there was something missing.  Dealing with a mid-season injury and a post-season bout with swine flu, his results, while outstanding, had not allowed him to demonstrate just how much he has trained.  Racing on Saturday, Foley took the lead on the 3rd lap and ran with a sense of drive and confidence as he went through the first mile in 4:40.9, separating himself fully from the field.  By the time he finished, he had completed the absolute best race of his life, running 9:14.3 for the win, and earning the US#1 ranking for the 2009-10 season thus far.  This mark represents a 15 second improvement from last year, when he was 3rd in the state, and just 1.2 seconds off of 1997 graduate Eric Post’s school record.  With this run, Foley earned automatic qualifiers for the state and national meets in February & March, when he hopes to take aim at the school record, a state title, and perhaps an ever-elusive sub-9 minute two mile.

Foley’s win was certainly the highlight of the meet, but by no means the only Charger to have a respectable showing. On the track, freshman Sean McGorty also competed for the first time, running a solid 10:13 for 10th place in the 3200m run. Senior Matt Cumpian and junior Trey Tucker also had solid showings in the 1600m run, running 4:48 and 4:57.52, the latter a personal best.  Senior co-captain Rachel Grochowki showed that she is building form by taking a solid 12th place in a very competitive 3200m, in 12:01, while junior Hannah Strub and sophomore Lizzy Knippler took seasonal bests in the 1600m in 5:40 and 5:48 (personal best) respectively.

On the sprint side, defending regional champion, junior Mohamed Labor-Koroma ran a solid 70.08 for the 500m dash.  Junior co-captain Nina Ullom added a strong showing in the 400m dash, while senior Chris Menzel enjoyed a personal best 8.43 in the 55m Hurdles.  Both the boys and girls 4×200m relays enjoyed strong seasonal bests, with seniors Son Tran, Mustafa Rasheed and Chris Menzel, and junior Arthur McDuffy running 1:38.96, and the running 1:54.06 with senior Tyeisha Jarrett, freshman Samantha Lull, and juniors Ullom and Tiffany Mitchell.

In the field events, the Chargers continue to excel. McDuffy also enjoyed a career day in the long jump and triple jump. In the triple jump, he improved his regionally qualifying mark to 42′ 5″ (10th place), while earning another personal best in the long jump (20′ 2″- 11th place).  Senior Sarah Meier also continued her strong season in the shot put, with a 4th place throw of 35′ 11.75″. In the pole vault, Ullom (8′ 0″) and Menzel (12′ 0″) earned top 6 finishes.  All four of these Chargers rank amongst the district and regional leaders for the season.

While some of the Chargers competed at the Montgomery Invitational, the rest of the team competed against Herndon and Oakton in a tri-meet held at Episcopal.  With the Chargers’ big guns in PG County, the boys and girls teams placed 3rd in the scoring, but still had some strong runs of their own.  For the girls, sophomore Jackie Sieder took a first place in the 300m Dash (47.84) and a second place in the 500m dash (1:29), while senior Casey Donovan also won the long jump (12′ 1.25″). Freshman Elise Kinsey took second in the 1600m run (6:07), while third place efforts were turned in from senior Izzy Vranas (55m Hurdles- 10.94), sophomore Kathryn Ingraham (300m Dash-49.04), sophomore Lyzan Rashid (shot put- 24′ 1.5″), and seniors Alexis Askew (long jump- 11′ 9.25″) and Olabisi Obisogun (high jump- 4′ 6″).

The boys team earned top three finishes from senior Ryan McWeeny (2nd place- 55m Hurdles- 9.14; 3rd Place- 300m Dash- 41.44)), junior Kevin Ichord (3rd Place- 55m Hurdles- 9.24), and sophomore Mile Ransom (2nd Place- Pole Vault- 8′ 0″).

The Chargers will also split their squad again in the upcoming week, with some of the team travelling to Lynchburg University to compete in the Flames Invitational on Friday-Saturday, January 15th-16th.  The rest of the team will compete against Lake Braddock and Oakton at Episcopal, on Saturday, January 16th.

Complete Results for both meets can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/wtresults.html

A complete Performance List for the top performances of the season can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/wtperflists.html

Photos from the Montgomery Invitational, taken by Tom Foley, can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/CHSrunning

Chargers End 2009 on a High Note

With the calendar year coming to an end, the winter track season is starting to heat up.  As hard as it may be to believe, the Concorde District Championships are only four weeks away, and the Friends of Indoor Track Invitational represents the beginning of a four week buildup to the post season. Returning to competition after a three week hiatus due to snow and holidays, the Chargers understandably showed a bit of rust, but still had several highlights to indicate that there is a high level of potential for the team down the road.

Most of the strength of the team was shown in the field events.  Sophomore Arthur McDuffy enjoyed a career day, highlighted by his 2nd place finish in the triple jump, with a personal-best distance of 42′ 3.5″.  McDuffy is currently ranked 5th in the region in the event, with his automatic regionally qualifying distance.  He also jumped 19′ 2″ in the long jump, and earned a personal best time in the 300m, at 39.49, all of which are team-leading marks.

Senior co-captain Chris Menzel earned a personal best 12′ 0″ height in the pole vault, good enough for 3rd place in the event.  Menzel is currently the highest ranked vaulter in the district, and third in the region. Junior co-captain Mohamed Labor Koroma also took a 2nd place medal in the high jump, in 5′ 10″, in his first meet of the season.  Last year’s 500m regional champion, Labor-Koroma also ran 51.2 on the anchor leg of the 4×400m, indicating that he is nearing strong form on the track as well as in the field.

For the girls, senior Sarah Meier took a solid 3rd place in the shot put, in a regional-leading distance of 36′ 4.25″. Her throw represented a personal best distance by almost two feet, and just missed an automatic state qualifying distance by one inch.

Solid runs were turned in on the track by senior Tyeisha Jarrett in the 55m dash, senior Rachel Grochowski and freshman Elise Kinsey in the 1000m run, Mustafa Rasheed in the 500m dash and juniors Eric Rolfe and Craig Lenski in the 1000m run.

Full results can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/wtresults.html.

The Chargers are back in action next Saturday, January 9th, splitting their squad between the Montgomery Invitational at PG Sports & Learning Complex and a tri meet vs. Herndon and Oakton at Episcopal HS.

Cross Country 2009 Ends with Honors, Rewards

The 2009 Cross Country season came to a close this past Saturday, at the Footlocker Southern Regional Cross Country Championships, held in Charlotte, NC.  It has been a season of high individual achievements, and team success, and the results from this meet only served to show how strong some of Chantilly’s runner really are, on national level.

 

Only two boys raced for the Chargers, freshman Sean McGorty and senior Matt Cumpian. (Senior co-captains Chris Foley and Rachel Grochowski had originally planned to run, but withdrew after having suffered from the flu in the week before). Despite the low numbers, the Chargers still reached a high level of success.  Each ran in races separated by class, competing against boys their own age from 13 different states.

McGorty earned the higher placing of the two with his 5th place finish, in a time of 16:33.  He contributed to a team victory for the state of Virginia, and cemented his reputation as a runner to watch in years to come.  Cumpian might have saved his best race of his career for last.  Competing against a field of experienced 12th graders, he ran a near-personal best time of 16:21 to take a solid 12th place finish, also running on the winning team from Virginia.  The coaches and teammates are proud of their accomplishments this weekend, as they have shown all year.

With the Footlocker meet signalling the end of the road for the year, it was also a time to acknowledge some accolades that the Chargers have received of late.

- Chris Foley, the Northern Region Champion, was named to the Washington Post’s First Team All-Met, comprised of the top 8 boy cross country runners in the Washington DC area.  This comes a week after being voted to the first-team all-region team by the Northern Regional coaches association.

- Three athletes have also earned opportunities to run next year at the collegiate level.  Foley has made a verbal commitment to run for the University of Virginia, one of the top men’s  Division I programs in US each year. Matt Cumpian has been rewarded for his efforts with a scholarship to run for Harding University (Arkansas), a program that is nationally-ranked in Division II.  Rachel Grochowski was also offered an opportunity to compete for the University of South Carolina, and is currently weighing her options between USC and James Madison.

Congratulations to all Chargers this fall, and best wishes in the upcoming indoor track season, and for those seniors taking their cross country careers to the next level, we look forward to following your cross country exploits.

Foley takes 4th at States!

The pinnacle of the VHSL cross country season is always the state championships, held at  Great Meadows, in The Plains, VA.  The 2009 Virginia AAA State Cross Country Championship was held yesterday, November 14th, on a course that had been softened by three days of rain, and made sloppy by the early races of the day. Chantilly was represented by Chris Foley, the 2009 Northern Regional Champion, who was seeking to improve upon his 11th place of a year ago, and gunning for his first state championship.

Over the past month,  the UVA-bound Foley has shown ever improving form, and he launched into the race strongly and patiently, running with the leaders through the mile mark in a split of 4:56. With as many as 20 men gathered together in the front, Foley shared the lead of the race in the 2nd mile, as the front group thinned to five contenders. The leaders went through the 2nd mile at 10:08, knowing that one of the five would be the ultimate victor.  At this point, the race had played completely to form, with several runners, including Foley, watching each other, and waiting to make a move that would ultimately win them the race.  The third mile included a hill of approximately 500m, a short downhill stretch, and a finishing straight of approximately 600m.  Foley remained with the leaders up the hill, and fought valiently as two runners got a slight gap on the downhill.  When the leaders hit the finishing straight, Foley found himself in a second group of three, as the front two had gotten a clear lead.  Fighting every step of the way to the finish, Chris earned a hard-fought 4th place, in 15:50, adding proof to the reputation that he has earned as one of the best distance runners in Virginia.

This has been a fantastic season for Chris Foley, as he has earned his place in CHS history amongst some it’s great distance runners, including state champions and school record holders Lance Muniz, Jimmy Colling, Eric Post and Brad Siragusa.  He earned only the 4th individual regional title, and did it in the 2nd fastest time at Burke Lake.  He is one of only six boys to earn all-state honors, and only two others (Colling and Siragusa) have done it twice.  His fourth place puts him behind Colling and Siragusa who have won state titles, and Post who was third.  Each of these three men earned trips to the Footlocker National Championships in San Diego, which has been Foley’s stated goal.  His next race of the season will be at the Footlocker Southern Regional Championships in Charlotte, NC on November 28th, where he hopes to place in the top 10 in the South, earning a ticket to San Diego and a berth in the National Championships, much as his predecessors have done.

Congratulations to Chris and thank you to all of t he teammates and supporters that made the trip out to The Plains to wish him well.

Complete results of the race (and of the season) can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccresults.html.

Photos of the race from Tom Foley can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/CHSrunning

Chris Foley Crowned 2009 Northern Region Champion!

The 2009 cross country season has been a satisfying one thus far, with the team celebrating individual and collective successes along the way.  At the Northern Regional championships at Burke Lake, the team celebrated it’s biggest success, when senior co-captain Chris Foley won his first regional cross country crown.  After dealing with a mid-season muscle pull, and a close defeat at last week’s district meet, Foley now seems to be back on track for his stated goal of contending for an individual state championship.

Foley, who earlier this week made an oral commitment to run for the University of Virginia next year, won the race in exciting fashion.  Running stride for stride with the same Oakton runner who nipped him at district, Foley held his ground, leading the field through the two mile mark at 9:50. After dueling during the last mile, he took the lead for good going into the last 400m, and holding his one-stride lead to the finish line, breaking the tape at 14:59, becoming only the 28th runner in Northern Region history to break the 15:00 mark at the historical Burke Lake course, and only the second Charger to do so in school history.  His crown was only the fifth in Chantilly history, joining 1987 champion Lance Muniz, state champions Jimmy Colling (1992) and Brad Siragsua (2004), and state runner-up Lia DiValentin (2007). Foley will go into the state meet next Saturday, at Great Meadows as one of a handful favorites to win this year’s state championship crown.

The Chargers also turned in solid performances by the rest of their athletes.  Senior Rachel Grochowski finish in 26th position in her final race at Burke Lake, running as the lone female Charger.  For the boys, the team finished in a solid 8th place, with freshman Sean McGorty following up Foley’s effort with a 26th place of his own in his first regional meet.  Even though he does not advance to states, McGorty has sent notice this fall that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.  Seniors Matt Cumpian (16:16-35th) and Harold Dockins, Jr. (66th-16:46) earned career finishes for 3rd and 4th spots on the Chargers, with junior Samuel Tucker III rounding out the scoring with a personal best 16:55 of his own.

The Charger’s cross country season will conclude next Saturday, November 14t, at Great Meadows, The Plains, VA with the state championship.  The AAA Boys race will be run at 1:45 pm.

Full results for the race can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccresults.html.

Photos from Tom Foley can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/CHSrunning.

 

 

Grochowski, Boys Team Earn Trips to Regionals

The Concorde District Cross Country Championship is always one of the most difficult meets in the state each year, and the Chargers make it their perennial goal to advance from it.  Following a season of promise which saw young runners progress as they gained more experience, strength and confidence, and veterans taking the next step towards team competitiveness, this year’s championships represented a solid result for the 2009 squad.

The meet was run under cloudy skies, with perfect temperatures, and the Chargers competed at the highest level this season.  The girls were led, as they have been all-season, by senior Rachel Grochowski. Grochowski, a top-6 finisher last year, earned a personal best 3rd place, racing with the leaders late into the race, and confirming her solid form, as she continues towards her goal of placing in the top 15 in the region, and advancing to her first state meet. While the girls finished in 6th place, with 119 points, they still ran successful races.  Sophomore Carolyn Carlson (21st- 19:54), junior Hannah Strub (24th- 20:03); freshman Elise Kinsey (34th), and junior Jenny Cohen(38th- 21:11)  each earned personal best times, ending their seasons on a positive note.

The boys team entered the meet determined to show the district and the region that they would be a post-season force.  For the first time this season, the boys team ran all together at full strength, and in so doing, placed 4th overall (78 points), and seeing 3 boys earn all-district honors for the first time since 1993.  Senior co-captain Chris Foley matched his 2nd place finish from last year, and demonstrated t hat he is progressing well from his mid-season injury which robbed him of 3 invitationals in September and October, running a solid 15:13.71.  Freshman Sean McGorty showed why he is Virginia’s top rated 9th grader, running in his first district race and finishing 8th place.  His finishing time of 15:59.9 was the first time by a non-senior in the district, and moves him up to 19th on the all-time Burke Lake list by Chantilly runners. Senior co-captain Matt Cumpian also enjoyed his best career race, as he ran to a solid 12th place finish, in a personal best 16:09.04. His All-District finish represented his first post-season medal.  The Chargers scoring was finished by junior Samuel Tucker III (16:57.24) and senior Harold Dockins, Jr. (17:03.33), who both ran personal best times.

The boys team and Grochowski have qualified for regional competition, where the top 15 individuals and top 4 teams will qualify for the state championships.  The regional meet will be held at Burke Lake on Thursday, November 5th, with the girls running at 3:15 pm, and the boys at 3:45 pm.

Complete results can be found at: http://www.chargercctrack.com/ccresults.html.

Cross Country Team Dinner- Tuesday, Oct. 27th- 5:30 pm

The team dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, 10/27 at 5:30 pm.  This is an important function, and all athletes are expected to attend. For those who are new to the team, this is for athletes only, and dress is casual…in the cafeteria. Each person is expected to provide something to share, according to your last name. Assignments are listed below:

-          Side Dish/Desserts-  Akhoundi- Dockins

-          Drinks (2 x 2” liter Bottles)-  Fraser- Labor-Koroma

-          Main Dish- Lenski- Zulick

Please make sure to bring your assignment, so that there is a balance between main dishes, side items & drinks. On Tuesday night, you will also receive your team shirts given out at the end of each season.  I also have a few spirit pack items which were never retrieved, as well as some team photos still.  If you are waiting on any of these, please see Coach G either in school on Monday or at night on Tuesday.

Cross Country Post-Season Roster

Congratulations to the following team members for being named to our postseason roster.  These 10 young men & women (7 varsity & 3 alternates) will represent us at the Concorde District Championships on Thursday 10/29 at Burke Lake Park.  The girls race is set to start at 4:15 pm, followed by the boys at 4:45 pm.  Our district will be following the Liberty District races.  In order to advance in the post season, our team must finish in the top 4 in the district, or anyone who places individually in the top 15. Regionals will be Thursday, 11/5…we expect to do quite well this week in our challenging district. Our roster includes:

-          Boys:

• Chris Foley (Sr)
• Sean McGorty (Fr)
• Matt Cumpian (Sr)
• Samuel Tucker III (Jr)
• Harold Dockins, Jr. (Sr)
• Scott Fraser (Jr)
• Cameron Young (Jr)
• Luke Ivers (Soph)- (Alt)
• Craig Lenski (Jr)- (Alt)
• Thomas Johnston (Sr)- (Alt)

-          Girls

• Rachel Grochowski (Sr)
• Carolyn Carlson (Soph)
• Hannah Strub (Jr)
• Megan Louis (Sr)
• Elise Kinsey (Fr)
• Jennie Cohen (Jr)
• Mallory Shipe  (Fr)
• Jennifer Loh (Fr)- (Alt)
• Connor Haggerty (Soph)- (Alt)
• Marin Shipe (Soph)- (Alt)