Author: dlancian

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams showed very well in the last regular season race of the season. The guys ended up on top winning the title against 54 teams. The ladies ended up in 2nd place. The course was extended by about 30 meters to make up for the amount of runners. That is why the times were a touch slower. However, the fight and determination showed by the Irish was a perfect preview of what should be expected as the road to Columbus starts with Districts at Glenoak on the 21st of October.

Once again, thanks to the outstanding pictures by Mr. Lisle, the link is listed here:

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh8EU6-W5KfHhrsxP3A

On a day made for a runner, the Fighting Irish stepped up big time among some of the best competition not only in the state but also in the country. When the day was over, 2 guys ran times that are ranked as the best in the country! Our Irish did not disappoint either as 90% of the Irish posted their fastest times of the year.

The two photos above depict our Freshmen/Sophomores who scored a 7th place and 4th place respectfully. Outstanding job for our younger runners. The Race of Champions had the guys finish in 8th place and the ladies finish in 10th place out of 37 teams entered. There was only three total teams including the Irish that were designated as division II teams.

Now the journey goes to one last regular season race. Envision the Highest Peak!

Here are more pictures – courtesy of Christian Lisle

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh7h9NqBMd5DcuheCmw

God tested our teams mental toughness this weekend starting with the journey down and the flat tire on our bus that kept us in the sweltering heat for over 2 hours. But, the determination and dedication of the Fighting Irish showed up the next day. Congratulations to both the men’s and women’s team for their title wins in the All Catholic.

Here is the link to more photos – courtesy of Mr. Lisle.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh7M1l4yD-IWlcs6rsw

The Boardman Invitational was just as expected – A TOTAL MAD HOUSE! In the guys race there were 52 teams and 405 runners. On the ladies side, there were 60 teams and 365 runners. unlike the Tiffin course, this one is even more narrow. Yet despite these barriers, the Irish stepped up big. On the guys side, they improved from last week as a pack and finished in a strong 3rd place only losing to NDCL by 20 and Woodridge by 3.

On the ladies side, they finished in 2nd place behind Hawkins with two runners from our top 5 still out.

Not to be outdone by the varsity races was our open races. The Lady Irish dominated the field and won the race with Nicole Reese and Maria Leeser finishing 1st and 2nd. On the guys side, they finished in 2nd place with Jake Pentasuglio finishing in a strong 4th place out of 450 runners.

Here is the link to more photos – courtesy of Christian Lisle.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh69FYU6gNtnrP04Tow

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.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh6d0jxccQCeSSQl3Cw

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.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh6JFuYbxibdHqCEgfA

http://oh.milesplit.com/articles/219407-performance-spotlight-glenoak-golden-eagle-invitational-race-winners

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.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlMMInR3s6uQh5wmwDt1H6_rx3dPCQ

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.