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October 31, 2009 The Moraine Valley harriers finished fourth among nine teams over the windy, cold, and muddy 8K course at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove. Tony Inacay (Reavis) was the first Cyclone to finish, placing 16th in 29:32. He was followed by Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) in 17th in 29:45, and Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) in 18th in 29:46. All three qualified for the national championship November 14 at Newman Golf Course. “I can’t say enough about the gutty performance of Tony and Dimitri—both shouldn’t have been running, but they wanted to lay it on the line one last time, and I’m happy for them,” said their coach, Mark Horstmeyer. “Pablo has the honor of qualifying two years in a row—last year as member of the team—and this year as an individual. He can just let ‘er rip at nationals. It will be a great way for him to finish his Moraine Valley career.”
Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) was next in 23rd
in 30:06, Felipe Flores (Bremen) in 25th in 30:29, Tyler-Blaha Gruszka (Stagg)
in 33rd in 31:34, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 39th in 31:51, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in
40th in 31:59, Jose Gonzalez (Argo) in 49th in 33:19, and Chris Lindich (Reavis)
in 54th in 34:12.
October 27, 2009 Disappointing sums up the Cyclones finish at the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship Oct. 24 at Waubonsee Community College. The men finished fourth in the seven-team field. “We were disappointed with the outcome. Our expectations were much higher, but unfortunately you have days like this, and we just have to put it behind us and get ready for Saturday. We have another crack at trying to finish the season on the upswing,” said coach Mark Horstmeyer. Tony Inacay (Reavis) was the first Cyclone to finish, placing 14th in 29:16. He was followed by Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) in 17th in 29:49, Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) in 18th at 29:54, Felipe Flores (Bremen) in 23rd with 30:31, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 29th in 31:23, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 32nd in 31:31, Tyler-Blaha Gruszka (Stagg) in 34th in 31:42, Chris Lindich (Reavis) in 44th in 34:18, and Jose Gonzalez (Argo) in 51st in 37:42. There were 52 runners in the field. “I think we’ll be ready to go on Saturday at regionals. A lot is at stake—qualifying for the national championship. They know the course and they will face basically the same competition. They have a lot of work to do, but I think we’ll see a better result. They know what’s on the line,” Horstmeyer said. The Cyclones return to Waubonsee to compete in the NJCAA Region IV Division I championship on Oct. 31. “It will be time to get after it,” Horstmeyer said.
October 19, 2009 The Cyclones faced their toughest competition of the season on Oct. 17 when they traveled to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the Brooks Invitational, finishing 33rd in the 35-team field. Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) led the scoring in 27:42 over the rolling 8K Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne that put him in 334th place overall. Tony Inacay (Reavis) followed in 28:52 (444th place). Next were Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) in 29:11 in 456th place, Felipe Flores (Bremen) in 29:23 in 467th place, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 30:09 in 499th place, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 30:20 in 507th place, Tyler Blaha-Gruszka in 30:47 in 515th place, Chris Lindich (Reavis) in 32:33 in 537th place, and Jose Gonzalez (Argo) at 33:20 in 541st place. There were 551 runners in the field. Moraine Valley was the only community college in the field. “The guys did a great job. Many of them had personal bests which goes to show you how competitive they are in a highly competitive race. The invite had some of the top NCAA Division III and NAIA teams in the nation competing. I think this was a great opportunity for them to know where they are and what they are capable of doing. I’m really happy for them,” said coach Mark Horstmeyer. The Cyclones now start prepping for the championship season over the next four weeks. First up is the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship on Saturday at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove. The NJCAA Region IV Division I champion follows on Oct. 31 at Waubonsee and then the NJCAA championship on Nov. 14 in Peoria. “Our focus all season has been on the next four weeks. We still need to get kids healthy, but I think their performance at UW-Oshkosh really helped them,” Horstmeyer. “It should be exciting.”
October 12, 2009 The Cyclones improved their overall performance Oct. 10 at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s Lucian Rosa Invitational from the previous week even though they were missing two of their top runners. Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) led the scoring in 29:59 over the hilly 8K course that put him in 128th place overall. Felipe Flores (Bremen) followed in 30:53 in 164th place, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 31:41 in 172nd, Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) in 31:50 in 175th, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 32:54 in 184th, and Chris Lindich (Reavis) in 34:40 in 185th. There were 193 runners; the men finished 18th of 19 teams. “I was pleased with the way the guys bounced back a bit from last week, confirming my feeling that last week was just one of those races,” coach Mark Horstmeyer said. “We can take many positives from this. Parkside’s course is extremely hilly. You combine that with strong winds and a wet and muddy course, and you have a stiff challenge. I think they responded well also given the fact that they were the only two-year college in the field. It was a good experience.” The Cyclones travel to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Brooks Invitational, where they will face their most challenging competition so far. “Oshkosh is hosting the NCAA Division III regional championship next month, so a lot of outstanding four-year colleges and universities will show up for a trial run. It should be another great experience for our kids,” Horstmeyer said.
October 5, 2009 The Cyclones raced to a seventh-place finish at Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Warrior Invite in West Allis on Oct. 3 despite having an off day. Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) was the top finisher for the men, recording 29:16 over the rolling 8K course that put him in 19th place overall. Felipe Flores (Bremen) followed in 49th place in 31:03, followed by Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) in 62nd in 31:43, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 64th with 31:50, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 65th at 31:52, Tyler Blaha-Gruszka (Stagg) in 70th in 32:13, and Chris Lindich (Reavis) landing in 90th with 34:42. There were 112 runners and 14 teams. “This was really an off day for the guys. We talked about what we wanted to get accomplished, and we didn’t get it done. I’m pleased with finishing as high as we did but disappointed in our individual effort. I know each of them is too. It was a quiet two-hour ride back to campus. We can’t dwell on it. We have to learn from it, and I think they’ll be ready to go next Saturday,” said coach Mark Horstmeyer. The Cyclones travel to the Lucian Rosa Invitational at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where they will face their most challenging course so far. “This a great course for us because it’s the same terrain we practice on every day. It should be a lot of fun,” their coach said.
September 28, 2009 The men’s team sped things up again on Sept. 26, racing to a 10th place finish in Lake Forest College’s Forester Invite in Vernon Hills, and turning in some good times as well. Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) was the leader of the 10-man pack, placing 41st in 28:32 over the 8k course. Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) finished next in 49th place in 28:57, followed by Tony Inacay (Reavis) in 56th in 29:00, Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) in 65th in 29:47, Felipe Flores (Bremen) in 72nd in 30:18, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 83rd in 31:05, Chris Lindich (Reavis) in 86th 31:19, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 90th in 31:27, Jose Gonzalez (Argo) in 92nd in 31:48, and Pablo Cardoso (Bremen) in 101st in 33:12. There were 118 runners in the 11-team field. “Most of the guys had another good outing and dropped their times again,” coach Mark Horstmeyer said. “It was very good day to do well. Pablo, Dimitri, Tony, and Julian stepped up, and I expect that to continue. It’s been interesting to see how the rest of the guys keep improving each week to get into our top seven. Felipe is just right on the edge of cracking 30 minutes, and Chris had his best day by far improving his time by over five minutes from last week. It’s been fun watching them.” Next up is Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Warrior Invite on Saturday. “There will be high expectations to see how they handle a tough course and a very competitive field. My prediction is that they will continue to improve because the home stretch is now coming into view,” Horstmeyer said.
September 21, 2009 The men’s team enjoyed their best outing of the season on Sept. 18 at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships at Illinois State University, finishing 28th of 31 teams. Most of the Cyclones also recorded their best times. Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) again led the 11-man attack over the rolling 8K course with a 197th finish in 28:48 while Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) was a couple of steps behind in 199th place in 28:50. Tony Inacay (Reavis) placed 222nd in 29:17 followed by Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) in 269th in 31:14. Rich Sparks (Stagg) rounded out the scoring with a 277th place finish in 31:25. Also finishing for the Cyclones were Tyler Blaha-Gruszka (Stagg) in 295th in 32:14, Pablo Cardoso (Bremen) in 297th in 32:29, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 299th in 32:36, Felipe Flores (Bremen) in 303rd in 32:51, Jose Gonzalez (Argo) in 306th in 33:04, and Chris Lindich (Reavis) in 328th in 36:34. There were 334 runners in the field. “The guys were really excited about dropping their times from a week ago. We had a couple of them cramp up and one of the guys was tripped and fell hard on his leg, but when you can have eight improve a lot in the very next race says a lot of their progress,” coach Mark Horstmeyer said. “The competition was fast as was ISU’s course on its golf course. That helped a lot. They were pleased, but we still have a long ways to go, and I know they will get better and better.” Next up is Lake Forest College’s Forester Invitational on Saturday. “This also is a fast course and looks to be a highly competitive race for us. It should be a lot of fun,” Horstmeyer said.
September 14, 2009 Despite finishing eighth in the eight-team field on Sept. 11 at Olivet Nazarene University’s Midwest Classic, the Cyclones gained experience in their first 8K (4.96 mile) race of the 2009 season. Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) led the way over the rolling course at Aspen Ridge Golf Course in Bourbonnais with a 38th place finish in 29:34 and was followed by Tony Inacay (Reavis) in 44th in 30:30, Pablo Herrejon (Bremen) in 46th in 31:19, Felipe Flores (Bremen) in 47th in 31:41, Jim Johnson (Reavis) in 48th in 31:52, Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence) in 50th in 32:33, Rich Sparks (Stagg) in 52nd in 33:11, Tyler Blaha-Gruszka (Stagg) in 67th in 33:58, Chris Lindich (Reavis) in 68th in 34:03, and Pablo Cardoso (Bremen) in 69th in 34:55. Seventy-seven runners competed. “For all but three of the guys, this was their first collegiate 8K race,” coach Mark Horstmeyer said, “so again it was a learning experience. I think they discovered that racing an 8K as opposed to 3 miles is a huge difference. They gained a lot and will keep learning every week. They also are beginning to understand what it means to help each other out there.” Next up for the “Running Cyclones” is the Illinois Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships on Friday at Illinois State University. “Fast field, fast course. It should be a lot of fun,” Horstmeyer said.
September 9, 2009 It was truly a learning experience for the Cyclones as they helped open the University of Wisconsin’s new cross country course on September 4. The men finished fourth of four teams on the rolling, grassy course that the Badgers built this year to get it ready for the 2009 season. “This was the first collegiate race for all but three of our guys,” said coach Mark Horstmeyer, “and to be a part of Wisconsin’s storied cross country history is a tremendous experience for them. This was something special. We are pleased we had an opportunity to be a part of the inaugural race.” Dimitri Dimizas (Richards) led the way over the 6K (3.7 miles) course and was followed by Pablo Herrejon (Bremen), Tony Inacay (Reavis), Jim Johnson (Reavis), Tyler Blaha-Gruszka (Stagg), Julian Rodriguez (St. Laurence), Rich Sparks (Stagg), Felipe Flores (Bremen), Jose Gonzalez (Argo), Pablo Cardoso (Bremen), and Chris Lindich (Reavis). “It was hot—something they haven’t been used to—and it was a fairly small but very fast field,” Horstmeyer said. “They have a lot of things to get worked out, so Friday was good experience for them. I think they learned a lot about preparing and racing at the college level.”
September 3, 2009 |
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