A Picture of Mental Toughness

There is a story behind this picture.  This is Gretel Petrie in the process of winning the 2009 NBL JV race.  You might notice she is carrying quite a bit of mud and dirt with her.  About two-thirds through the race, Gretel was leading but then took a hard spill coming down a slick trail.  She was passed and had to pick herself up and pull herself together over the last mile, but still managed to finish strong to win.

Something to think about -- in life things won't always go the way you hoped. The question is "how you will respond when things go wrong?"  Let's be ready to bounce back and finish strong!

Award Banquet Reminder - NCS Logistics Updated

Friendly reminder - reservation forms and money for December 5th end of season awards banquet are due to Kristina Gunderson by November 24th.  Please turn these in to Kristina or the coaches this week (and we know there are still too many of you that have not yet done this!)

Also, please note that depature times to NCS have been moved up:

• Girls Varsity Team = leaving MCHS Saturday at 6:30AM with Ruben and Greg
• Everyone Else = leaving MCHS at 7:15AM with Michael + parent drivers 

NCS and State Meet Logistical Details

Hello MCHS XC Varsity Parents and Athletes,

 

Here’s what’s going on for the next few weeks in preparation for our post-season NCS and State XC Championships!

 

Boys Varsity roster for post season = Gus, Daniel, James, Colin, Jesse, Austin B, Harrison (alternate = Martyn)

 

Girls Varsity roster for post season = Lauren C, Cara C, Lauren K, Margie, Heidi, TJ, Brynna (alternates = Gretel + Sarah T.)

 

Saturday, 11/14/09 = Field Trip to Hayward High School :

            -Leaving MCHS 1:30PM; arrive at 3PM to run the course > take group to dinner > expect to be back at MCHS 6:30-7PM (no extra drivers needed at this time)

 

Saturday, 11/21/09 = NCS Championships, Hayward High School (top 4 teams qualify for State Championships):

            -Leaving MCHS at 6:30AM (Girls Varsity) and 7:15AM (everyone else) note change!
            -Looking for a few extra drivers to help drive MCHS XC athletes/fans not running this day = reply via e-mail to Greg if you can drive + # of passenger seats you have available)  

 

NCS 11/21/09 Schedule:

DIVISION II GIRLS RACE 9:00 A.M.

>> MCHS = DIVISION III GIRLS RACE 9:35 A.M.

DIVISION II BOYS RACE 10:10 A.M.

>> MCHS = DIVISION III BOYS RACE 10:40 A.M.

DIVISION IV GIRLS RACE 11:10 A.M.

DIVISION V BOYS RACE 11:45 A.M.

DIVISION I GIRLS RACE 12:15 P.M.

DIVISION IV BOYS RACE 12:50 P.M.

DIVISION V GIRLS RACE 1:20 P.M.

DIVISION I BOYS RACE 1:55 P.M.

 

Friday, 11/27/08 (School Holiday ):

 

-Leaving MCHS at 9AM > stop for light lunch en route > arrive at Woodward Park Course in Fresno by 2PM > leave Woodward Park by 4PM > check into Hotel by 4:30PM; race Saturday AM > should return to MCHS around 5PM

 

-Hotel details = we are staying at the Fresno Airport Holiday Inn on November 27th. Address: 5090 E Clinton Way Fresno , CA 93727 (559) 252-3611 -Parents: We have rooms for the team, but you will need to reserve your own room if you are coming to spectate.  -You can call the Holiday Inn reservations line at 1 800 HOLIDAY (800) 465-4329  -If you cannot get a room, please let Greg know since he has a few "extra" rooms reserved in his name.

Austin Bartlett - Difference Maker

In case anyone doubts us coaches when we tell them that cross country is a team sport, read the following excerpt quoted from Jim Crowhurst's notes for the 2009 NBL Meet:

Maria Carrillo's Austin Bartlett had a double impact on the team championship. A number 6 runner on a team typically has no effect on the outcome but here it was the deciding factor for two reasons. First his placing before Piner's 5th runner bumped their score from 55 to 56 causing the tie. Then ties are broken by placing of the 6th runners on a team so again his placing (ahead of Piner's 6th runner) was the deciding factor in the league finals match.

Some might say we got lucky in this situation.  I would disagree - I think this just highlights one of our team's great strengths - the depth of quality athletes in our "Group 2" that bring tremendous focus and commitment to practice every day and always compete at a very high level.  I just see this as another great example of "harambee!"

Great job Austin, and great job Pumas!

Maria Carrillo Covers All the Bases at NBL Finals

Congratulations to all the Pumas - awesome job today!  Once again, MCHS walked away with team awards in all the races - Boys JV, Girls JV, Boys Varsity, and Girls Varsity.  The Boys Varsity race was as close as it could get - a tie with Piner was decided by the finish of our 6th place runner (Austin Bartlett).

Click here to see meet results and photos.

MCHS added to its collection of NBL Penants - it was the Girls' 7th in a row, and for the Boys it was their 6th in the last 7 years. For the girls - they have won their last 98 consecutive NBL matchups.

The JV teams had terrific performances.  The JV girls were the fastest ever Carrillo girls JV team (and only 6 seconds behind Montgomery's 2002 team!)  The JV girls were the 4th fastest squad at the meet - only the MCHS, Montgomery, and Santa Rosa varsity teams were faster.  Similiar to the Girls, the Boys JV were the 4th fastest boys team on the course today - finishing only behind the MCHS, Piner, and Santa Rosa varsity teams.

Twenty eight athletes set PRs at the race today, and thus they are eligible for 2 pairs of socks!  Here they all are (was missed on the first posting, but Jesse Lucia should also be on the list below - his 16:30 was a 0:10 PR!):

Name	PR Coming In	Time on 11/6	Improved Time	Improved %
Gallagher, Drew	20:55	19:11	1:44	8.3%
Lao, Steven	22:51	20:59	1:52	8.2%
Srisengfa, Tab	25:29	23:27	2:02	8.0%
McFarland, Brett	20:57	19:59	0:58	4.6%
Matoes, Brett	20:37	19:45	0:52	4.2%
Gunderson, Ashley	21:49	21:01	0:48	3.7%
Birkland, Kelly	21:25	20:56	0:29	2.3%
Nicklas, James	18:32	18:08	0:24	2.2%
Ramos, Sophia	21:26	21:00	0:26	2.0%
Smith, Myriah	23:51	23:27	0:24	1.7%
Faust, Kai	21:27	21:06	0:21	1.6%
Thiele, Heidi	19:24	19:08	0:16	1.4%
Silverstein, Grant	18:12	17:58	0:14	1.3%
Halverson, Jessica	21:16	21:01	0:15	1.2%
Thigpen, Brynna	19:31	19:18	0:13	1.1%
Sullivan, Sidney	22:02	21:51	0:11	0.8%
Henderson, Martyn	17:06	16:58	0:08	0.8%
Garza, Margie	19:12	19:04	0:08	0.7%
Herniman, Sam	19:37	19:29	0:08	0.7%
Jones, Tyler	18:26	18:19	0:07	0.6%
Kraus, Lauren	18:57	18:50	0:07	0.6%
Bartlett, Austin	16:44	16:38	0:06	0.6%
Ramirez, James	16:09	16:04	0:05	0.5%
Christensen, Erik	18:11	18:07	0:04	0.4%
Gibson, Colin	16:17	16:14	0:03	0.3%
Talkington, Lauren	24:58	24:55	0:03	0.2%
Lowder, Dalin	19:58	19:57	0:01	0.1%

Videos to Help Visualize Championship Racing

Following are videos of the 2009 Pac 10 Conference Women's and Men's championship meet.Watch these to help you visualize your own performance this week...

Pictures from Cal Poly Invitational

Click here or on the image below to see more photos of Cal Poly Invitational, October 17 (thanks to Kristin Thigpen).

Cal Poly