State Info

About 51 weeks ago members of the Central XC team watched Sara Brekke run at the state meet.  "This could be all of you next year if you work hard" was said several times.  The girls did just that, building sweat equity (muscle and cardio) in the off season, doing due diligence to summer running, and pushing the gas pedal through intense interval and tempo workouts.  I'm proud of these girls' accomplishment of earning that trip to state.

While celebration is necessary, these girls match up well with some very good teams at state.  I hope the gals will soak in and enjoy the experience, but put it all out there during the race.  They are a great team and can place if they put their minds to it.

TRANSPORTATION:  We will be taking a coach bus for male and female runners, as well as XC team members.  We will leave from CHS at 8:45 AM and get back around 6:30 (late if a trip to my alma mater, Lincoln High, is needed for awards).  The bus needs to be quiet on the way up for the competitors.  Spectators will get "booted" from the bus prior to the races for athletes to get geared up.  Dress for cold (and maybe rainy?) weather.  Bring money for admission($6) and food.  The girls run at 1:20 and Sam at 3:20.  The bus may be stopping in Rapids or Tomah on the way home for food, so plan some extra time and money if you want to buy something.

YOU CAN'T PARK AT THE RIDGES - State Meet Parking & Shuttle Information
-There is a free shuttle from Lincoln High School.

State Cross Country Course Map (with elevations)   
Satellite View

State Cross County Course Preview Video

Find Your Location on the Course!

Go CHS XC!!!

Sectional Recap

It was a quiet and beautiful ride up to Chippewa Falls Saturday morning.  There was one outburst of loud laughter - I was afraid I was going to have go back and yell at Morgan, the outgoing and energetic senior who came to cheer folks on, but it turned out to be the Nelsons and Klinglehofer playing with garbage.  Sometimes a little lightheartedness before a race is a good thing.

We had the gals change their spikes from the usual 3/8" that we've used all year to 1/2" - we were racing on a water-logged golf course after all.  Then we did the course walk through and realized a relatively large portion of the race was on hard packed gravel and cement (the most I have every seen in a race), but the girls handled the terrain like pros.

Prepping for the race we knew Eau Claire Memorial and Menominee would be our competition.  We told our lead runners what to expect from Memorial.  Menominee has been a "pack" team.  Their top 5 run completely together, typically starting slow and then moving up together through the field.  I told the rest of the varsity, "if the Menominee train passes you, jump on!"  Well, at sectionals the Menominee train surprised us with great start.  At the half mile point they were ahead of our #4 runner. Yelling "you missed the train" to our runners seemed a bit premature and negative.  Sure enough, the Nelsons battled back and raced with the train, ensuring Menominee didn't knock us out of our state bid.  Jane followed just behind the Violet and Lilly (with a big 27 second PR!) and then Ally.

Up front, we had a "surprise" of our own.  Sophie and Sara typically run at the front together.  Today they had a guest.  Alex Bruley picked the right time of the season to PR - she dropped her PR by 35 seconds at the conference race and another 34 seconds at sectionals.  This trio should be excited to race together and push each other next week at State.

While coaches and spectators knew it was a great team race, knowing the score isn't always a given.  Claire and Haley did a great job totaling up our score, but we weren't sure exactly where we matched up with Memorial - several different people trying to score the race missed their 5th runner.  She must have snuck in right behind someone.  While waiting for official results, I was impressed with the class of Menominee.  They came over to our tent and congratulated our girls a great race.  We ended up 1 point right behind Memorial to take 2nd place and qualify for state!

Sectionals

BUS LEAVES AT 9:15 SHARP.  BE THERE BY 9:00 PLEASE.

On Saturday, October 24, Chippewa Falls Cross Country is pleased to host Sectional #1 for Division 1 as part of the WIAA tournament series at Lake Wissota Golf Course. Please review the information regarding the meet on the WIAA website.  The girls’ race will be held first at 1:00 with the boys’ race following at 2:00.  Awards are scheduled at approximately 3:00.  The course will be hope for
inspection and preview at 11:30.  If there is any frost, STAY OFF ALL GRASS AREAS, and the time schedule will be modified as needed.

11:30  Course Open for D1 preview/inspection
12:15  Coaches Meeting at Finish Line
1:00  Girls 5000m Race
2:00  Boys 5000m Race
3:00  Time approximate for awards

TEAMS ENTERED AND BOXES ASSIGNED BY THE WIAA:

Box #1:  LaCrosse Central
Box #2:  Onalaska
Box #3:  Hudson
Box #4:  Eau Claire North
Box #5:  Chippewa Falls
Box #6:  Holmen
Box #7:  River Falls
Box #8:  Menomonie
Box #9:  New Richmond
Box #10:  LaCrosse Logan
Box #11:  Superior
Box #12:  Eau Claire Memorial

CHECK-IN: Report to the finish line area to pick up your team packets and numbers.
AWARDS:  Will be given as per the WIAA information at the finish line.
OFFICALS: Terry Allen – Meet Referee, Tim De Jardin - Starter
COACHES ON JURY OF APPEALS: Tim De Jardin, John Frizzell, New Richmond Girls Coach
COURSE: The surfaces include grass, base-course gravel roads and will cross a concrete road 3 times.
TRAINER:  An athletic trainer will be on-site for the duration of the meet.
CONCESSIONS:  The Golf course restaurant will be open.
T-SHIRTS:  Tee shirts will be available from Northwest Designs Ink, Inc.
COURSE MAP:  Course map can be found online at:
RESTRICTED AREA: The starting line and finish line area are RESTRICTED areas, please remind athletes  
TENT AREA: The team tent area will be in the middle of the driving range.  PLEASE DO NOT WALK OVER
BUSES: Please have your bus drop everyone off by the clubhouse and then park at the boat landing back near   HWY S.
BATHROOMS: Restrooms will be located in the club house.  There will also be porta potties by the starting line.

Upcoming Practices/Events

JV - GREAT SEASON!  Please take some time off from running.  We will meet up in my room next Wednesday for a brownie party.  Please give me your clean jersey then.  I will give you some info about upcoming xc events and activities.

Saturday, October 24th, Sectional.  There is a limited amount of room on the bus for JV to ride the bus to sectionals. Runners must sign up with Coach Pischke. JV need to be respectful of the runners riding the bus as they prepare for a big race.
Sunday, October 25, 11:00 AM - Can collection, meet at central with grubby clothes and gloves
Saturday, October 31st State XC and Trick - or - Can @ 4:30 @ CHS w/ Costume.    CHS Sports, including XC, were asked to help start CHS' food pantry by trick or treating for canned goods.  Please tell coach Pischke if you can do it.  Pizza, soda and water at CHS afterwards (6:30) for participants.

Varsity:
Friday - Recovery run
Saturday - 6 miler, no coaches.
Monday - Tempo
Tuesday - Mileage
Wednesday - About 2500 km of intervals
Thursday - Low Mileage + a few Reps
Friday - Low Mileage
Saturday - Pay day.

Wow!

What a day!  For varsity, it was great to achieve the goal of winning conference - and hit some PRs doing it!  For junior varsity, it was the sweetness of numerous PRs and winning JV conference, with reality that the season just flew by.

Congrats to Central Boys XC!  They came in as underdogs and clawed their way to the top.  The bus ride home was enjoyable and memorable.  It was a choir of 30 cross country running boys and girls singing Taylor Swift songs.  The bus driver (Logan alumni) even got into it, flicking the interior lights on and off and honking.    

Below are times from the season, the last column are conference times.  Yellow represents a PR.

Practice for the Week of 10/12

Tuesday:  Less than average mileage.  Locker sign swap.  Spaghetti feed at Priuers.
Wednesday:  Take care of spikes/jersey issues.  Much less than average mileage.
Thursday:  Excused at 1:15 but all students should check in with their 8th hour teacher.  Bus will depart at 1:40 so students have time to check in.  
Friday: JV no practice. JV will have a party the following week, date TBD

Conference Meet Information

MVC Conference CROSS COUNTRY MEET

Host:  Holmen High School

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Holmen High School Cross Country Course

Conference Schools – Lane Assignments

Aquinas, Ln. 9 Logan, Ln. 13

Central, Ln. 10 Onalaska, Ln. 11

Holmen, Ln.8 Sparta, Ln. 12

Tomah, Ln. 7

Times

Course Opens: 2:30 p.m.

Coaches Meeting: 3:00 p.m.

Girls JV 3:45 p.m.

Boys JV 4:20 p.m.

Girls Varsity 4:50 p.m.

Boys Varsity 5:20 p.m.

Awards 5:50 p.m.

The Course:  

The meet will be held at Holmen High School.   Course maps will be available the day of the meet.

The course will be 5,000 meters for boys and for girls.  The race will be run on the school grounds.  Spikes will be allowed – maximum of 1/2”.  

Bathrooms: Located inside of football stadium.

T-shirts:  Event t-shirts should be preordered. A limited number will be  available the day of the meet.

Parking

There will be parking available in the high school parking lot in front of the school.

Timing System

We will be using a manual timing system with a number card identification system.

Additions/Changes/Substitutions:

‘Scratch & Replace’ changes can occur the day of the meet.  Moving athletes from one race to another is also acceptable.  Coaches need not report changes in race personnel unless it is to add an athlete that is currently not listed, but are reminded that only seven runners per school can start the Varsity races, while the JV races allow for unlimited entry.”

Awards

• The top 7 varsity finishers will receive first team all-conference recognition.  Places 8-14 will receive second team all-conference recognition.
• Recognition of the top 10 JV finishers
• Recognition of JV and Varsity Team places.

Questions

Steve Mally – Head Coach

(608) 526-3391 Ext. 5812

Mark Englerth – Activities Director
Holmen High School Activities Office

Tel. No.  (608) 526-9208

Please be aware of the soccer game and football practice

taking place and respect those activities!!

     No Pets Allowed!!

Practice This Week + Monday

Tuesday: Run and McDonalds!

Wednesday: Intervals

Thursday: Mileage w/ a little hill work

Friday: Mileage plus speed (practice starts at 1:40 as it is an early release day).

Saturday: 8:00 AM at Myrick. Long Slow Distance (but not too long for JV, V long is 8mi.)

Monday: 9:00 AM at Central

Chileda Meet Reflection

Holy Cow.  The girls ran very well tonight.  And no, the course was actually 60 meters LONG.  Below are the times.  The yellow highlights are PRs.  There were a lot set tonight at the Chileda (last column).

Chileda Classic at Cedar Creek Monday

Our last race before conference (October 15th) is this Monday (October 5th) at Cedar Creek in Onalaska.  The top 6 runners on the varsity will not be running, so the top six from JV will take their place and run Varsity at Cedar Creek.  Varsity Girls will run at 5:05 and JV Gals (and JV Guys) run at 5:45.  Varsity Boys are at 4:25.

Dick Mitchell Recap

Link to official results

Today was a super team effort.  There were a ton of PR's and improvements from Dick Mitchell '14 to '15.  Today was also a great turning point in terms of cohesiveness. The course walk through was the loudest and most light hearted I've seen in a long time.  For a large team, it's been a bit of a quiet team, so I didn't mind the girls having a bit of fun. Next race I won't allow a human pyramid 10 minutes before a varsity race though ;)

The Junior Varsity took first as a team with an impressive 2-3-4-5-11 finish and won with a great score of 25 points. The varsity won with a 3-4-8-10-11 finish and a score of 36 points.

Improvement form '14 Dick Mitchell to '15 Dick Mitchell
Sara Brekke - 18 seconds
Alex Bruley - 22 Seconds
Karissa Harmel - 26 seconds
Violet Nelson - 41 seconds
Sophie Leinfelder - 51 seconds
Nicole Kernozek - 2 minutes!
Lilly Nelson - 3 minutes!

Personal Records were set by:
Alex Bruley, Lilly Nelson, Violet Nelson, Karissa Harmel, Nicole Kernozek, Riley Zielke, Tessa Edge, Maddie Quackenbush, Erika Mueller, Kiara Schultz, Emma Wilson, Morgan Mannstedt, Kirsten Gunnarson, Emma Zinniel, Lakiah McCallson, Abby Rediske and Abigail Gardner.

Race by the Numbers:
17 - Central girls who PRed today!
14 - Teams we hosted at our invite
8 - Parent volunteers that did a terrific job running the concessions.  Thank you so much!
5 or so - Times that the team broke out singing a song during the warm up.  The singing was good, but I had no idea what the songs were.
1 - Place for both JV and V!

Week of 9.28

Monday - Tempo Workout in Hixon Forest (Drive to the First Congregational Church parking lot and run from there).
Tuesday - Mileage, Team Pictures, Spaghetti Dinner at Ruettens
Wednesday - Less Mileage
Thursday - Dick Mitchell
       More info about parent volunteer needs, if any, coming soon.
Friday - Practice
Saturday - No practice, but the runners will have instructions for training for the weekend.

Holmen Reflection

It was a very hot day for a race - considering we've been running races in the mornings lately, when it has been in the low 60's lately.  Coming off of a meet 3.5 days ago, it's tough to race again.  For some gals, it was a meet to practice a steady pace or get a tempo workout.  For others, it was a chance to race if they didn't attend Smiley.  For ALL, it was a great chance to see the course we will be racing conference on.  By the way, Holmen is scheduled a few days before Smiley next year, so we will not be coming back to Holmen next year as it's right in between Luther and Smiley, the two of the most competitive meets of the season.

Despite the conditions, four gals were able to improve their 5k PR for this season:
Individual 5k PRs - 2015
Erika Mueller - 2 second PR improvement
Bella Ruetten - 13 seconds
Morgan Mannstedt - 19 seconds
Karissa Harmel - 48 seconds!

Parents -

I was looking into catering and selling food to parents and athletes after the Dick Mitchell. This takes on a lot of risk so I've decided not to do this.  A few parents have signed up to help with concessions - thank you!  I'm wondering if parents would be willing to donate water or gatorade to the concession stand.  This could be dropped off at Coach Pischke's when you drop off or pick up your daughter from the pancake run at Coach Pischke's this Saturday.  Also, depending on weather, perhaps we could order a bunch of Little Caesar's pizzas to sell during/after the meet? I believe they deliver.  We would need to have plates and napkins as well then.

A couple of parents are looking into getting food and drink donations from businesses - this could reduce or eliminate the amount we need to get.  We are thinking we will have about 300 runners. Not all will buy a water, gatorade etc.  We should know if we get these by Monday.

If you want to donate something, you can drop it off this weekend or wait to hear if we got a business donation and bring it to the meet.

If you have ideas or know you'll be donating something, you can post it so we have an idea of our quantities.  You can comment on this (or any post) by clicking on the title - this will show you the post (and not the other posts before or after it). Scroll down to the bottom and there should be a place to post a comment.

The Dick Mitchell race schedule for racing is:
3:00? - enough time to set up concession stand?
3:40 JV Girls
4:10 JV Boys
4:45 Varsity Girls
5:15 Varsity Boys

Thanks for considering.

Practice for the week of 9/21

Monday: Mileage
Tuesday: Holmen meet.  Dismissed at 2:15 from class, Bus leaves at 2:30, Ladies run at 4:00.  For some, this will be a tempo workout while they run the race.  Anyone who didn't run at Smiley will race Holmen.  JV runners who ran Smiley will have the option to all out race or run the race at a tempo pace (this is a bit slower than race pace, but challenges the bodies Lactic Threshold system).
Wednesday: Mileage
Thursday: Run, team challenge for dibbs on 1st pancakes and an additional prize, Run
Friday: Intervals
Saturday: Run from Coach Pischke's house, 112 29th St. S, and the Pancakes.  Run will start at 8:00.  The gals should be done running around 9:30 or 9:45 are will be done around 11 with pancakes.

Smiley Reflection

Central showed its speed and depth at the epic Smiley Invitational, one of the biggest and best XC invitationals.  The varsity placed 1st in small D1 schools and 4th overall, just behind some of the highest ranked teams in the state.  The junior varsity also did very well, placing second in D1 small schools, just 1 point from 1st.

The course was different this year.  The long bridge, that usually caused havoc and large backups at the race start, was replaced with a big right turn and steep uphill that also caused some backups, especially the 2nd half of the JV race.  There were a few more sharp turns in the course, making it a lot more spectator friendly.  The turns, combined with some rainfall, made for a slick, slow course.  

Contrarily, the majority of the girls who ran both here and at Luther last week, ran quicker here than they did last week.  I believe this course was about 20 seconds slower than Luther.  Individual Improvements: 

-Maria Martell ran the same time on a slower course, 

-Lilly Nelson and 

-Kirsten Gunnarson ran 5 seconds faster

-Alex Bruley, 10 seconds

-Kaia Adams, 17"

-Karissa Harmel, 21"

-Jane Pinkowski, 23"

-Kenzie Fellenz, 31"

-Megan Degenhardt, 37"

-Skylar Dannhoff, 47"

Smiley Invite

59th Annual Bill Smiley Invitational Cross Country
WAUSAU EAST HIGH SCHOOL
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Northern Wisconsin’s oldest invitational cross country meet will again be held at Tribute (old American Legion) Golf Course.
This meet continues to provide the best competition for the greatest number of runners.  We are happy to host your school and runners, and wish the best to everyone.
RACE TIMES: 8:30 BOYS Div II & III JUNIOR VARSITY
9:00 BOYS Div II & III VARSITY
9:25 GIRLS Div II & III VARSITY
10:00 GIRLS Div I, II & III JUNIOR VARSITY
10:35 GIRLS Div I VARSITY
11:10 BOYS Div I VARSITY
11:35 BOYS Div I JUNIOR VARSITY
The Boys and Girls will both run a 5000 meter course this year.
COURSE: The Tribute Golf Course, one block east of N 6th Street (hwy. W) on Golf Club Rd.
NOTE:  Coaches pick up your runner’s chips at finish line upon arrival & return all chips to timing table in the bag that you
FACILITIES: No dressing facilities at the meet site.  If you need a dressing facility, please contact Coach Olson to arrange
BUS PARKING: THERE WILL BE NO BUS PARKING ON THE STREETS OR ON THE GOLF COURSE GROUNDS! We
Please be advised there is NO WATER available on the course.  PLEASE BRING WATER
are working with the Wausau Police Department to post “No Parking” signs for the morning of
the 19th, along North 13th Street and the adjacent areas. All buses are required to park at 1 of
the following 3 locations:
1. Riverview Elementary School – 4303 Troy Street (about 7 blocks from the golf course)
2. Sylvan Hill Park – 1329 Sylvan Street (About 2 blocks from the golf course)
3. Horace Mann Middle School – 3101 N. 13th Street (about 6 blocks from the golf course)
Any buses parking in No Parking zones will be directed to move.
If you require directions for any of the above locations, please contact us at 715-261-0655.
AWARDS: Plaques for the TEAM Champion and Runner-up in all 4 Varsity divisions. (8)
Plaques for the JV TEAM Champion in Divisions I Large & Small combined.  (2)
Plaques for the JV TEAM Champion in Divisions II & III combined.  (2)
Medals for the top 20 individuals places in all 4 Varsity divisions.   (160)
Medals for the top 20 individuals places in JV Divisions I Large & Small combined.  (40)
Medals for the top 20 individuals places in JV Divisions II & III combined.  (40)
Medals for the top 8 individuals on the top 2 teams in all 4 Varsity Divisions (64)
PRESENTING AWARDS & RESULTS:
Awards for Division II & III schools will begin at approximately 10:30.
Awards for Division I schools at approximately Noon
REMINDERS: ***STAY OFF THE GREENS AND TEES AND OUT OF ROPED OFF AREAS!!!
PLEASE OBEY THE SIGNS ON THE COURSE
***PARTICIPANTS MUST KEEP THEIR SHIRTS ON AT ALL TIME – COURSE RULE!
***PLEASE, ABSOLUTELY NO COOL DOWNS ON THE COURSE!!!
The Tribute Golf Course has gone out of their way to host this great meet.  Please be respectful of the facilities and golfers. Help us to preserve it for future runners and spectators.   Thank you.
59th Annual Smiley Invite Shirts - available at the meet.
Long Sleeve shirts - $15.00 and Short Sleeve - $10.00

Practice for the week of 9/13

Monday: Intervals at Track
Tuesday: Classroom (334) and then mileage
Wednesday: Tempo
Thursday:  Run and Spaghetti Dinner
Friday: Mileage, less a little
Saturday: Smiley Invitational

Decorah All-American Invitational 9/12/15 RECAP

What a great day to run and what a great performance by the Central ladies at the Luther All-American Invitational in Decorah, IA! There was some great competition here and La Crosse Central held their own.   Junior Varsity placed 5^th with great performances by some up and coming freshmen as well as veterans.  The Varsity placed 1^st.  Of the six returning varsity runners, essentially all of them improved from last year (see individual improvements below)!! Jane Pinkowski got her first varsity experience and ran awesome as well!!

Individual improvements.  Last year the girls ran a 4k and this year a 5k.  So if someone ran the same pace this year as last, this is a significant improvement in itself, being able to hold a pace for an extra kilometer. 

Mattie K and Violet N ran a pace 2 seconds slower per mile than last year, but due to the km increase, this is most definitely an improvement.  Sara B ran 3 seconds per mile faster this year.  11.4 faster for Sophie L, 13.1 – Ally K, 16.8 – Lilly N, 50.2 – Alex B, and 1:45.2 - Nicole K!! 

Race by the numbers:

47 – degrees when the runners arrived to CHS. Many dressed for the weather and then some. 

6 – Number of phone calls Coach Pischke had to make to get into the building race morning.  The badge scanner just wasn't working for him this morning. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Anglehardt for saving the day and bring a badge that did work.
3 – Number of runners who this was their first XC race! Great job!

1 – Team Place

Week of 9/07/2015

Tuesday: Intervals
Wednesday: Mileage
Thursday: Mileage with foot/speed work at end. Bring Spikes if you have them.
Friday: Mileage Replaces Spikes if needed. Do this tonight, not right before the race ;)
Saturday: Decorah Invitational  - click on link and download 2015 Invitational PDF
6:50 Be at CHS
7:00 sharp, Bus leaves
9:30 JV Girls 5K
10:35 Varsity Girls 5K

Labor Day Weekend Practices

Labor Day Weekend is a great time to gather with family and friends.  It's also important the girls continue to run consistently to maintain and improve their fitness. During this time we will have one official practice - 8am Saturday at Myrick.  People who do attend this practice should run one other day - preferably in the morning, as the weekend will be hot.  If your runner  can not attend either, she should run twice this weekend, with the first run adding some threshold or tempo pacing (up tempo for 3 x 8 - 10).  If the runner is "dinged" up, one run can be substituted with cross training (elevated heart rate on a bike, swimming, etc.)

For future reference, I often will have a practice on Labor Day in the early evening. Because Monday will be hot and Monday's workout would have been intense intervals, I'm canceling it and we'll do it Tuesday when the heat is supposed to break.

Viroqua Meet this Thursday - CANCELLED

MEET CANCELLED - practice after school.

The ladies are excused at 2:15. The bus departs and 2:30. There is only one girls race  - it is at 4:30.
Location: Viroqua Hills Golf Course, 1110, HWY 14, Viroqua¨, WI 54665

Times: 3:30 Course opens for inspection, 4:30 Girls 5K Race, 5:15 Boys 5K Race

Awards: Medals will be awarded to the top fifteen finishers in, trophies to top team in each race 

Results: Results will be posted on www.accuracetiming.com and www.viroquaxc.com .

Spikes and Clubhouse: Spikes are allowed and must conform to WIAA regulations. Absolutely no spikes allowed in the clubhouse! Please respect the facilities at Viroqua Hills. Stay off greens and tee boxes! Also, please advise runners to remove spikes and dirty shoes before entering the clubhouse.

Teams: Brookwood, Hillsboro, Holmen, Kickapoo-LaFarge, LaCrosse Central, Necedah, New Lisbon, N. Crawford, Royal, Sparta, Tomah, Viroqua, Wauzeka-Steuben
Meet Contacts: Scott Benzing (Head Coach): bensco@viroqua.k12.wi.us

Eric Anderson (Activities Director): anderi@viroqua.k12.wi.us

Practices for the week of 8/31, Saturdays, Nutrition

This week will be hot. Please encourage your daughter to hydrate. Occasional electrolytes are helpful.

Monday: Practice at 8:00 AM, Central track
Tuesday: First day of school.  3:30 practice. Typically we will end between 5:00 and 5:30
Wednesday: 3:30
Thursday: Viroqua XC meet
Friday: 3:30
Saturday: Myrick, 8:00 AM

XC SATURDAYS	Location	TIME
Septmeber 5	PRACTICE Myrick Park	8:00 AM
September 26	PRACTICE Pancake run, 112 29th St. S.	8:00 AM
October 3	No formal practice
October 10	PRACTICE Myrick Park	8:00 AM
October 17	PRACTICE Myrick Park	8:00 AM