Thursday Recap

Here we go!  Thirteen men ran a career personal best on a beautiful night for racing on the Hale Campus Course (The Elliot Kramsky 5k Course).  The team finished 3rd overall in a very tight team race.  A big thing that the guys took away was how big it can be to pass even just one guy.  That is a two point swing and can make a major difference.  With some big packs of runners, winning the pack can be the difference between 1st place and 3rd place as a team.  That team focus must be the thought when it gets uncomfortable.  

Alex White embraced discomfort and made the field work to keep up with him, throwing in surges and commanding the first place position from the start.  When it got quiet on the 2nd half of the course, Alex kept the pedal down, opening up a big lead and winning the race.  This was a great break out race for Alex, the one he has been waiting for patiently.  He will now be gearing up for his best racing at sectionals next week!

Rounding out the scoring were Jack, Frank, Parker and Dylen, all of who ran career best races.  In the second race Derek Forrester took a huge risk getting out in front and racing to a nearly 2 minute personal best time.  He showed no limits and earned runner of the week honors for taking that chance and making it happen.  Will Zagzebski earned a blood and guts award for putting himself in the race and competing his way to an over 2 minute personal best!  

Through the week the guys showed a lot of love and building each other.  This energy carried into the Thursday race and produced great outcomes.  When focused on loving and being in the moment, the results are what they are.  Good things are bound to happen when doing the right things the right way.

Saturday Recap

Joshua Truchon headed in looking to race for the all time GMC Meet record which had stood at 15:21 from the year prior on this same Rotary Park course.  He raced to a very impressive 15:13 and conference championship.  Pushing oneself like that racing alone is a very rare ability and is something that has been built on over years of training.  The GMC has been around a long time with hundreds of elite runners, so this record is very special, but also we know bigger things are ahead.  Joshua will now gear up for the state meet to be held in a few weeks.

Joseph Hertel put himself in a good spot and battled on Saturday to hold on to 3rd team all conference honors.  He would consider this a bit of a down day which we love as he expects more, but to earn a top 18 finish in the GMC is still a nice accomplishment especially given it wasn't an 'A' race.  That's exciting to know that Joseph can come in and let loose the next few weeks!

Rounding out the scoring were Brennan Kompas, Collin Raschka and Matthew Kees.  This team is ready to let loose and roll.

The team prepares now for JV conference Saturday at Rotary Park, then the subsectional meet for varsity on Tuesday, October 20th in Waterford at Rivermoor Golf Course.  I am putting info on our information page as I get it.  I haven't received JV meet info yet or from sectionals.  

Thank you parents for your support as always.  Sorry if I have been running around at meets and unable to talk.  My mind is on the guys when at practice and meets, and realistically all the other times of the day as well.  :)
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This Week

The team will practice Monday through Saturday (many guys will race JV conference Saturday).  Then off on Sunday, pre meet run Monday and let loose Tuesday at sub sectionals.

PICTURE DAY - Monday, October 12th meet for practice at Hale Commons with your team issued green or gray jacket and black team pants(I think photo will only be top).  Also, wear a clean mask.  You'll do individual photos and then we will head over to the park to start practice.

Meet information - I will post in a meet lineup link on our information page once I receive the information!  Thanks for patience, look back by mid week for the information.  WIAA is still meeting Monday to finalize the sub sectional so all teams are waiting on final information for that.  JV Conference information should come very soon.

Let's make it a great day.  Let's make it a great week.  Let's cherish every moment together.







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State Invitational Recap

The men's team had 3 individuals place in the top 25 and medal at the stacked State Invitational held at Mitchell Park last Thursday.  Joshua led the field from the start, finishing first in a new school record time of 15:23.  It was nice to let him go fast and test himself running solo like that.  The race will serve him well as a jumping point into the championship season.  Joseph and Brennan also ran personal bests finishing 18th and 21st respectively.   All three have their best racing ahead of them. 

Not just the consistency, but the competitive nature to be their best over the past months and years produced the solid race results for those three.  Brennan has been a great example this year of how taking risks is the only way to break through limits.  About week two he put himself up there in a workout and since then has done it every day at practice, allowing him to drop a minute so far off his time this season and with bigger races ahead.  We are looking to see which guys follow this example, focusing on the process and stepping up as solid scorers to round out our squad.  We have a good group capable and ready to do just that!  Run fearless, for the team, take risks!

Cole K made some progress in his 2nd race back and we hope to see improved intensity from him at practice for a strong finish.  Collin, Matthew and Carson got a good shock in a big meet and it was a nice thing to motivate them in training and intensity down the stretch.  Their fitness is in a good spot and now it's about believing in themselves, removing limits, and staying focused on the process and not the outcomes.  The focus is on the team and blood and guts for our guys here on out!  Run fearless, for the team, take risks!

The JV guys got to compete in a very competitive dual against a great squad in Brookfield East.  Seven of those boys had career or season bests led by Jack Hutter in his first sub 19 performance.  Now that he broke this barrier, we look for him to think less and put himself in uncomfortable spots in practices and races upcoming!    Run fearless, for the team, take risks!

​The team then kicked off our off week in style and came back with a strong aerobic effort on the Lakefront Run Monday.  Fifteen men made the run this year, ranging from 8 up to 14 miles total.  Two freshmen completed the run, with Brock Ringger putting himself with the pack and having a great run!  The team will workout Wednesday with sub 5k pace work then come back with a tempo run on Friday.  This week will set up for a good workout next Tuesday before Varsity Conference on Saturday and then winding down a bit and prepping for sectionals and state!  

There will be no practice on Saturday or Sunday this weekend. 

Week Ahead - JV Meet at Hale 10/8 and Varsity Conference 10/10

The varsity conference meet will be Saturday, October 10th at Rotary Park.  We will still host a JV meet at our campus on Thursday, October 8th.  Information for both is below,

JV GMC Pre Conference info

Still no fans at our home meet but you can stand by sidewalk like last time.  I can get some helpers out on the course as well.

Team pictures for fall sports is now scheduled at 3:25 p.m. at East side of Hale.  We will wear team jackets and khakis for the photo this year.

This time of year we emphasize SLEEP and NUTRITION.  Recovery is important now as we enter this phase of training and competition.  Responsibility in VICTORS, being accountable to your teammates means getting to bed and eating the right foods.  Do the right things and good things happen.  

Stay tuned as more updates come on conference, sectionals and state.  

Upcoming Stars Stepping Up

The Hale men came off of a good week of practices which saw us refocus our attention on our team standards and loving our teammates.  When we focus on loving each day and bringing our best effort, good things happen.  The men also focused on building trust in the depth of our team, with different guys looking to step up and reach beyond their perceived limits in workouts and races.  

The day kicked off with the varsity men getting an opportunity to find themselves each as scorers as we only ran 6 men.  With the short turn around ahead of our next race, we had planned to create this opportunity for our scorers to free themselves from thought and put themselves in a position to help the team.  We are getting closer to a breakthrough with this group after having good training over the past few weeks.  A big hurdle will be overcoming complacency in races and being able to push when it gets quiet.  We are having very strong starts but getting a little too comfortable in the middle of the race and losing ground.  With a short week and some good recovery from our hard efforts over the prior weeks, we will come in anxious and ready to fly on Thursday.  Collin Raschka led the squad with his 15th place finish and was followed by Carson Shane who bounced back nicely this race.  Our scorers have changed frequently over the season and we are excited for one guy to step in and take a chance having a big race and getting that whole group to come with.  

The freshmen race followed and we had some positive building.  Tate Sormrude came in with great focus and intention, and it showed in his race as he put himself in a great position early and broke through with a nice race.  We have seen him building confidence and a love for running over the past few weeks and it's fun when it starts to show in races.  Him and Deven both did an extra rep on Wednesday's workout and that's a cool thing to see when freshmen understand the process is what matters.

Brock Ringger started turning it up on Thursday's run and came back Friday with another good run with our front group.  If he keeps producing consistently like that over the coming months and years, he will be another guy to look out for.  He got out great on Saturday and we loved the aggression.  We want our other guys to have that same aggression and keep pushing to be up front where they belong!  Dylen Eiler came back well and finished right along Tate and Brock.  Will these guys continue to build and buy in to the training required to become great?  Only they can answer this question by their actions in the coming years.  They will be fun to watch down the stretch as they continue to let loose and run fast.

Our 4-7 frosh guys were also very close together!  This group of Jose, David, Deven and Derek all had nice races and are capable of running with those other three guys!  What a dangerous young group this could be, again if they choose to believe it and trust in the team and their coaches.  Will continues to improve and learn as he finishes up just his 3rd week of running!  These freshmen finished 2nd overall with their strong showing.

The JV men also took 2nd place which is a good sign for our depth, and considering 3 of our top men didn't run and potential freshmen scorers were in a different race.  Parker did great getting out in the lead again and running his career best race.  He has done the little things right and is committed to being a great runner, big things ahead for him!  Frank Bevsek was running great until he struggled the last mile, but he will bounce back Thursday on the short turn around.  Nathan Bentti and Robert Petrovick moved up very nicely and became important scorers for us.  Chase Witty rounded out the scoring and this Thursday we look for him to get out more aggressive as he has great potential to lead with this group!  And much props to be give to Colin for his first 5k getting out in the lead.  Many of our best runners have gotten out fast in their first race and it shows great competitiveness.  Although he would have liked to finish stronger, it was a good sign to see him out competing as that shows long term potential.  He's a very strong athlete that could burst onto the scene.  Kyle got to get back to racing for the first time this season and we were so happy to have him competing!  

This Week - 

Needless to say, this Thursday's meet will be a ton of fun against some great competition, and Hale will be rolling in ready to rock it. The JV race will be great with Hale vs. Brookfield East going at 4:30 p.m. followed by 7 men in the varsity race at 5:30 p.m. The course will be better than last time at Mitchell Park!

The meet information can be found below,  

Thursday 9/24 Meet information

Parents/fans please stay away from the team area during the meet.  Our guys need to focus on their teammates and warming up and cooling down.  Be out on the course but please not by our team area especially this year with the safety protocols in place.  Thank you for understanding.

We will then have practice normal time Friday at 3:30 p.m., and then on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. this week.  

The Week After -

The following week of October 3/4 is our off weekend of racing, but not an off week of opportunity!  Monday, September 28th will be our annual Lakefront Run!  This will be a select group of guys that get to run to the lake and then the coaches will drive them back in the vans.  It's a very fun day and usually will be 14 athletes selected based on performance and ability to do the run.  Everyone will still practice but not all will go the lake.

On Thursday, October 1st, we will plan a night track event with our guys.  We can set up a couple of races under the lights and have a fun and fast evening of racing.   

The men will then have the weekend off physically and mentally.  Friday the 2nd will be a light practice and then I may assign a few guys a run on their own over the weekend but we will not practice on Saturday, October 3rd.