Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Section 5AA Championships

The following students will run this Thursday, October 29th, in the Section 5AA Championships at Anoka High School and have an early release from school at 1:40pm (not 1:30pm):

Caitlin Bottger
Ben Fischer
Emily Lindell
Jacob Marsolek
Annie Miller
Jennifer Omann
Kyle Ostendorf
Mark Scheller
Atley Schreiner
Andrew Scinicariello
Dalton Stohlmann

The high school bus will pick us up at the Jackson Middle School main entrance (not the swimming pool lot) at 2pm.  I will meet the kids at the attendance office or in the hall way near the attendance office.

Bring your Rebels racing singlet if you have one. Coach Moorhead will have extras for those of you who don't have one.

Please research the weather forecast for Thursday and BE PREPARED...dress appropriately for BEFORE and AFTER the race, not just for during the race...it will be cold and windy!

Here is the race schedule...we are running in the JV races:

3:30 pm   Girls Varsity Race – 5000 meters     Lane #9
4:00 pm   Boys Varsity Race – 5000 meters     Lane #9
4:30 pm   Boys Junior Varsity Race    Lane #9
4:35 pm   Girls Junior Varsity Race    Lane #9
5:15 pm   Awards Ceremony 

Course map HERE



Tuesday, October 13, 2015

The "Big Meet" Recap and Season Analysis

The Jackson Cross Country Team completed its short five week season on Monday, October 12, 2015 at the "Big Meet", a middle school Northwest Suburban Conference Cross Country Championship at Northwoods Park in Brooklyn Park, MN.  Eighteen of the team's fifty-two athletes had their personal best performance of the season as they raced the two mile course on a windy and damp autumn day.  Official results are HERE.  Coach Crandall's 2015 race times analysis HERE.

The Jackson girls finished in 2nd place in what was a four team race, a huge improvement from last year's 4th place finish.  Oak View repeated as the team champion but didn't dominate the field like past years.  Jackson lost to Oak View by one point...34 to 35, despite Jackson placing all seven runners ahead of Oak View's #5 girl and final scorer.  It is worth noting that only 32 seconds separated Jackson's top five scorers...a very tight and fast pack.  The remaining full teams competing were Roosevelt Middle School placing 3rd with 65 points, and Northdale 4th with 99 points.

Emily Lindell and Haley Jiracek led the Jackson girls, placing 5th and 6th, both timed in 14:16 (7:08 per mile average), a personal best performance in cross country for both girls.  Emily has improved her pace per mile by 41 seconds from last year's cross country season.  Rounding out the top seven for the team were Crown Bisan (7th 14:41), Cieyana Carter (8th 14:45), Kayla Benjamin (9th 14:48), Jenny Omann (13th 15:12), and Annie Miller (14th 15:12).  Crown, Cieyana, and Kayla also ran personal best in the race.  Annie had a season best.  These girls sure went after Oak View, but Oak View's top three runners were too good.  Emily and Haley had a fantastic surge in the final 1200 meters, closing the gap on Oak View's #3 to just five seconds.  The trio of Crown, Cieyana, and Kayla finished strong in the final 800 meters to finish ahead of Oak View's #4.  Jenny and Annie were consistent to finish ahead of Oak View's #5.  What a team race!  We are looking forward to next year!

The Jackson boys repeated as conference champions by a fourteen point margin over a fine Oak View program in what was a five team race.  Jackson's point total was 30, followed by Oak View at 44.  This was a sweet victory because Oak View was victorious over Jackson in previous meets this season.  The key to the victory was breaking up the Oak View pack, which has a tight spread of less than 60 seconds.  Jackson placed their #3 through #5 runners ahead of Oak View's #4...the target of the Jackson "race to place" strategy.  The remaining full teams competing were Northdale placing 3rd with 64 points, Roosevelt Middle School 4th with 96 points, and Coon Rapids 5th with 149 points.

Ben Fischer led the Jackson boys by winning the race with a solid time of 12:23 (6:11 per mile average) on a tough day. Ben raced smart to become the individual conference champion and was slightly slower than his personal best.  Also racing smart was Mark Scheller who placed 2nd in 12:35 (6:17).  Mark was probably capable of a faster time, but knew finishing ahead of Oak View's #1 runner was critical for the team's victory, so he drafted behind the strong Oak View runner in the windy conditions, saving himself for the final 600 meters...smart racing.  Sam Rose had a gutsy performance...raced to place ahead of Oak View's #3 runner, and to a personal best performance of 12:53 (6:26)...placing 7th.  Owen Eerdmans and Jake Marsolek raced to place ahead of Oak View's #4 by placing 9th and 11th.  Owen turned in a personal best performance of 13:01 (6:30) and has improved his pace per mile by nearly 30 seconds from last year. Jake's time was 13:10 (6:35), just shy of his personal best (slowed down by the wind?).  Rounding out the top seven were Brandon Bloss (16th 13:32) and Cade Moffitt (17th 13:34).  Cade had a season best performance.

The following athletes also had personal best for the season in the race:
Caitlin Bottger, Evelyn Gregornick, Evan Gustafson, Giles Koshiol, Ben Litwin, Kyle Ostendorf, Ryan Preston, Emma Stark, and Benjamin Taylor.

The following athletes were within ten seconds of their personal best pace per mile for the season in the race...the wind made conditions very unfavorable for a fast time:
Brandon Bloss, Jordan Brown, Garret Doty, Ben Fischer, Margret Jacott, Jacob Marsolek, Zac Oldroyd, Connor Preston, Mark Scheller, Griffin Sparke, and Dalton Stohlmann.

In comparison to last season, Andrew Scinicariello and Griffin Sparke have also significantly improved their pace per mile this season.  Andrew has improved his pace by 49 seconds.  Griffin has improved his pace by 31 seconds.  Please see Coach Crandall's 2015 Analysis spreadsheet for race times by athlete HERE.  It is a great tool for identifying each athlete's progress.  Analysis of the 2013 and 2014 cross country seasons are also linked on the team's blog site.

The Jackson coaching staff is very proud of all the students.  For some, running is not easy...they worked very hard and kept a positive attitude.  Unfortunately the weather for the final race and season didn't cooperate.  We're confident more students would have achieved personal best in better conditions.

For the short season the Jackson girls' win loss record was 9 to 2...a winning percentage of 82%...both losses were to Oak View.  The Jackson boys' win loss record was 13 to 3...a winning percentage of 81%.

Finally, the Jackson coaching staff thanks Champlin Park High School Cross Country Head Coach Kevin Moorhead for creating and directing the "Big Meet".  Without Kevin's passion and dedication to our sport and program, we would not have had the opportunity to race. We also thank the Champlin Park High School Cross Country Booster Club for funding the "Big Meet".  The Booster Club's financial support is greatly appreciated. Parent's...if you would like to donate to the Booster Club, please contact Coach Crandall...donations are tax deductible.

Next action is an optional post-season race on 10/29...the Section 5AA Championships JV 5K.


Monday, October 12, 2015

The "Big Meet" Results

I'll write a recap of today's race later tonight but for now, here are the results:

The girls team was FANTASTIC...many ran personal best times as they just missed winning the meet by one point...Oak View (Andover) 34, Jackson  (Champlin Park) 35.  We are proud of the girls and their race...YOU WERE AWESOME...way to go after it!

The boys "raced to place" with passion and won the meet by out scoring Oak View by 14 points (30 to 44).  We are proud of the boys...you raced smart with fear, and yet were confident!

Full results HERE.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Week #6, Final Races and Pizza Party

Monday, October 12th - The "Big Meet" (NWSC Middle School Championship)
Location - Northwoods Park, Brooklyn Park, MN
Girls race at 4:30
Boys race at 5:00
Both races are 2 miles
Meet details HERE.

Everyone runs in this race
Meet in class room J151 by 3:20pm ready to go to the meet and run.
Bring clothing appropriate for the weather, running shoes, uniform and shorts, extra dry t-shirt.
Bring a full water bottle.

At 3:30 we will walk and jog as a team to Northwoods Park.  Students can put their valuables not needed for the race in the coach's car for transportation to the park.

Students must be picked up at the park after the team cool down.

Tuesday, October 13th - Pizza Party
Meet in class room J151.  Plan is to end the party by the 4:30 activity bus...check for updates.
If you want pizza, turn in your slip and money in a small envelope to the Community Ed office on Monday, October 12th.  Please do not give it to the coaches.
Bring your Jackson uniform for turn-in, even if you plan to run in the Section 5AA race on 10/29.

Optional Race on October 29th - Section 5AA Championships
If you would like to run with the Rebels JV teams on October 29th, please email Coach Craig (crandallcraig@msn.com) before Monday evening (10/12) so we can get the kids registered for the race.  Meet details are HERE and requires an early release from school...bus leaves Jackson at 2:00. Both boys and girls will wear a Rebels race singlet and participate with the high school team in the JV 5K race.

Blaine Invite Meet Results
Girls HERE
Boys HERE

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Bus Return To Jackson From Blaine Invite

Race is over...we are in a traffic jam trying to get on the road to Jackson. Eta is 6:20 pm.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Week #5, October 5-10

Monday through Wednesday - Practice after school at Jackson.

Thursday, October 8th - Blaine Invitational (location and details HERE)
Everyone runs in this race.
Early release at 3:00.  Meet near the swimming pool parking lot before 3:20, ready to run.
Bus leaves Jackson at 3:20.  Return to Jackson between 5:40 and 6:00.
Middle school race is at 4:45 and is two miles.
Forecast is a chance of rain showers, so be prepared.

Friday - No practice...run on your own with a friend.

Saturday - 8:00 am run with the Rebels at the Champlin Ice Forum...distance of 2 to 3 miles.

Jackson Runners Help Rebels Place High in Swain Invitational (10-03-2015)

Four Jackson girls provided valuable depth for the Rebels this past Saturday (10/3) in Girls 7th-9th Grade Division of the Swain Invitational, where the Rebels placed 8th out 21 teams.  Haley Jiracek, Emily Lindell, Jenny Omann, and Annie Miller all finished in the top seven of the Rebels team (in cross country, a team consist of the seven fastest runners).  Haley Jiracek was the top finisher for the Rebels, placing 37th with a time of 13:21.8 (7:11 pace per mile).  Emily Lindell (13:29.4) was the 2nd finisher in 43rd place and just 8 seconds behind Haley.  Jenny Omann (13:47.5) and Annie Miller (14:15.0) placed 59th and 83rd and were the 4th and 5th ladies on the Rebels. There were 198 finishers in the race.  The future looks fantastic for Rebels Cross Country!


Four Jackson boys also provided valuable depth for the Rebels as they competed in the Boys 7th-9th Grade Division of the Swain Invitational. The Rebels placed 13th out of 26 teams.  Jake Marsolek was the 2nd finisher for the Rebels, placing 90th with a time of 12:02.6 (6:28 pace).  Sam Rose (12:07.8) was the 3rd finisher in 93rd, just 6 seconds behind Jake, followed by Owen Eerdmans (12:23.7) and Griffin Sparke (12:33.6),  placing 119th and 135th, the 4th and 6th boys on the Rebels team.  There were 287 finishers in the race.  Again, the future looks fantastic for Rebels Cross Country!

A total of 13 Jackson students competed with the Rebels in the Swain Invitational...most we have had in recent years. Click HERE for individual results.  Due to the registration deadline (Monday before the race), Jake Marsolek is listed as Mark Scheller and Sam Rose is listed as Brandon Bloss in the results.  Team results are HERE.


















Haley Jiracek and Emily Lindell leading the Rebels in the final 800 meters.



















Jake Marsolek climbing the BIG HILL in the first mile.