Congratulations to both the Men’s and Women’s team for another great team performance. Both teams captured 2nd place awards amongst a very strong division one field. Now, the quest begins to get more challenging. We are about the embark on our most difficult part of this journey. Envision the highest peak and continue to persevere in your God-given ability.
The link below is courtesy of Mr. Lisle once again. Thank you Mr. Lisle.
Both the Men’s and Women’s teams came out on top this past weekend at the Glen Oak Invitational. Both teams captured 1st place in a very convincing manner. The ladies had all 7 runners in the top 10 places in division 2. The guys had the top 5 runners finish in the top 10 spots. What was most impressive was that the B teams also placed in the top 10 against many division 1 teams. Great start to the season!
Thanks to the brilliant photos by Mr. Lisle, I am attaching the link to several outstanding photos. Also, please note, there is another link to a story written on Ohio Mile Split along with photos from Mr. Lisle about our team.
This past weekend, the 2017 XC journey got underway. It was a tiring but very productive weekend at Mohican State Park. There were over 40 of the 50 members of the Fighting Irish 2017 team in attendance. Now it is on to envision the season one step at time. Each “mountain” will have it’s own challenges to conquer. Trust in your God-given ability. Remain faithful and trust in your self and your teammates. The next mountain to attack will be the Matt Kauffman 5k on August 12th.
I would like to thank Tim Rickus and his Subway branch in Green for once again donating all of the sub sandwiches for the trip. Tim has been providing this for free for the past 10 years!
At the State Track and Field Championship held at Jesse Owens track on Ohio State campus, our Fighting Irish were entered in 8 events. 5 of those events will now be displayed on the wall of honor with the men’s 4 x 200 repeating as State champions. Here are the final places for all 8 events:
State champions 4 x 800 Russell Cooper, Leanord Younger, Malik Wooldridge, De’Amonte King
De’Amonte King 2nd place in the 400 meters
Sara Foster 2nd place in the 300 meters with a new school record of 43.02
Alex Phillip 8th place in the 3200 meter run
Olivia Flesher 7th place in the long jump
ladies 4 x 200 took 9th place with Olivia Flesher, Jasmine Pooler, Sara Foster, Payton Pooler
Men’s 4 x 800 took 11th place with Patrick White, Alex Phillip, Matt Sollenberger, Connor McIntyer
Men’s 4 x 400 took 14th place with Malik Wooldridge, Matt Sollenberger, Leanord Younger, Desmond Rock
Thanks to the brilliant job of photography performed by our very own Mr.Christian Lisle I have a link showing the action shots of several of these events.
Well the 2017 Fighting Irish journey begins in just a couple of weeks. I would like to welcome all of the new and returning runners back. I am thrilled at the number of initial sign ups. We currently have 29 males and 26 ladies on the roster. My main goal will be to keep all of you engaged in advancing your running ability. The theme for this year’s program will be “Envision the Highest Peak”. Piggybacking off of Dr. Leo Kormanick’s presentation from a couple of weeks ago, I want to capture and paraphrase one central concept Doc had – ” you have to condition your brain as well as your body and it starts on day one”.
As I stated at the meeting I will be introducing two methods to success in order to assist each and everyone of you in your quest to becoming the best runner you can be. The first method will be for all beginners or those that do not initially see themselves as top elite runners – yet.
The second method is going to be for all of those runners who have aspirations of standing atop the podium in November. Together with a core of new and returning coaches, it will be our objective to guide all of you towards this highest peak.
The Saturday locations will be posted on the calendar in short time. Also, please don’t forget to sign up for the various food/drink categories. Remember, mark your calendar for Monday June 19th at 7:00 pm at Firestone Metro Park.
Hello Everyone,
It’s been awhile since I posted and apologize for this delay. We are well under way in track and field for the 2017 journey that prayerfully will end in Columbus. It has been an interesting cut up season so far due to all of the disruptions to the school schedule. However, despite this unconventional start to the season, the Fighting Irish Men and Women’s team show very promising potential to reach the state final in various events.
The highlights so far is the emergence of Junior Sara Foster in the 300 low hurdles. Sara is currently running times that she ran at the state finals where she finished in 7th place. Also, worth noting are the guys speed relays as well as the 4 x 800 relay team. The guys 4×200 actually started the season off by winning the indoor state championship. Since then, they have clocked state caliber times in the 4×100 as well. The guys 4×800 is also on pace to a repeat trip to Columbus. Last but certainly not least is the development of 3200 meter runner Leah Lisle who is clocking very impressive times so far.
Now that Easter break is upon us, it is a great time for the athletes to “recommit” to the total development of their given events. Once we get back from break, there is only 4 weeks to the post season. This break is a great opportunity to go into meditation and prayer and decide their own fate. For the seniors, this task is the most daunting. Trying to remain focused while the traditional format of school has concluded puts all of the seniors in more of a college role preparing for the NCAA than it does the typical high school athlete. However, the end result of a trip to the big dance awaits if this once in a lifetime commitment is present.
Once again, thanks to the brilliant photos by Mr. Christian Lisle, I will be submitting links of photos from several of our invitationals.
St. Joes Invite
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh4htq4g3DUP9OGkhhA
Bill Barry Invite
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh44gyN5sfAHN57p7SA
Congratulations to both men and women’s team. Remember back at Mohican in July, the main objective was for BOTH teams to make it to state. Through very hard work, dedication to God and most importantly staying positive throughout some rough times, YOU all accomplished this goal!
I know the bar for our program had been set very high over the years. However, please take note that it is NOT failure if you come up short on the higher – more lofty goal. Review each and every race you ran this season. Critique your workouts. Determine where improvement can be made. This is what I do after every season – even when we win a state championship or have an individual win a state title. God blesses each of you with your gifts. They are never to become complacent. So, there is always room to improve.
I want to thank the seniors, Mia, Michaela, Allison, Katie, Lana, Connor, Luke and Shane for your hard work throughout these four years of our journey. You all are now “owners” of the Fighting Irish XC program. To all of the rest of you, I also thank you for being open-minded and patient with me as we transition this year towards this New Chapter(s) in the story of the Fighting Irish XC teams.
Please do not forget the banquet on Monday November 21st at 7 pm.
I am attaching the link for the state finals as well as the Regional finals.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh4ZcIB3QMUJlvPotyA (state championship)
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh4UrVKRRsQF2abxmpw (regional finals)
Sophomore Alex Phillips won the District title and helped guide the men’s team to a runner up finish. The other finishers all in the top 15 were: Matt Sollenberger, Shane Kelliher, Patrick White, Connor McIntyre, Colin Scahill and Sean O’Brien.
The Lady Irish captured their 10th consecutive District title! The women had all 5 runners in the top 15 to help win the Malone District. The ladies representing the Irish victory were: Nina Zraik, Leah Lisle, Isabella Ceepo, Elaina Mendiola, Mia Brady, Mikaela Leeser and Natalie Tobin.
ONE MORE RACE TO THE BIG DANCE!
To see more photos of the district, please click on the following link:
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh4Nf8z1k-FNppY67vA
Congratulations to both the men and women’s team for their past performance at the Legends Race this past weekend. As I mentioned at the outset of the season back in June, the key to succeed in competitive cross country is to time your peak performance for the right time of year. All of the ladies and most of the men ran their personal best time of the year in this race.
For those that have made the post season line up, their is still another peaking cycle to come. Be patient and positive. The key to advance will come to those that remain faithful in their God-given ability and simply run on instinct. There is no more thinking/strategizing that needs to be done. Run with “Angels wings” and you will be fine.
I am attaching the link for both the legends race as well as the Midwest race (I forgot to post last week – I apologize).
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh4BFym9QDRcnrtvEYQ (the legends race)
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQhv01eODpryHZHjtHqQ (the Midwest race)
It’s never too early to start with a future Irish cross country star! That is our future star Aria Stire (she turned 3 on Saturday) warming up with our ladies before Friday’s workout.
Congratulations to both the men’s and women’s team for a very strong team performance this past weekend. The Men took 2nd in the small division, only losing to Carroll by 4 points. Alex Phillip capped the performance with an impressive top 10 finish. The ladies won the small school division by once again packing in our top 5 runners.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQhvk0m7hTG8l6o2M11Q
STVM XC and Track 