November 14, 2011

Eddie Albarran completed the cross country season with a 44^th place finish at the state meet Saturday in Jefferson City. The Oak Hill course was made especially challenging with a pretty strong southerly headwind a wet and soggy course. Eddie’s time of 17:06 wasn’t very close to his personal best and Vianney school record, but the conditions slowed everyone over the full day of racing. Only three runners on the day broke 16:00 compared to almost a ten last year.

Eddie had a challenge ahead of him when he was not near the lead pack at the mile, but a strong second mile and a courageous third mile over some very hilly terrain brought him over twenty spots to his finishing position. For the entire state competition, Eddie finished 54^th out of 680 competitors if all times were combined. It was a great finish to a great season for Eddie and all of the Griffins.

But Fast Eddie wasn’t finished there. Last weekend Eddie traveled to Terre Haute, IN to compete in the Nike Cross Nationals regional race. Eddie had to have the qualifying times to even enter the race and he is the first Griffin to ever compete in such an event. The course is set up more like a European course and unfortunately the wind was like the White Cliffs of Dover. The runners hit the 30 mile an hour head wind at an especially cruel time as the finish was a quarter mile long straight shot right into its teeth. The Nike regional featured the best runners from five cross country rich states—Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan—so Eddie for sure going to be running with some very fast company. He finished with a time of 17:26 at took 192 out of almost 400 runners. The experience is invaluable and the memories will be forever. Congratulations once again to Eddie on a terrific season, his first season as a full-time harrier.

October 30, 2011

            Junior Eddie Albarran continued his run toward virtually unabated Saturday at the sectional qualifier at Parkway Central High School.  In one of the fastest sectionals state-wide, Fast Eddie was off like a bullet at the start, not wanting to be a part of the middle pack that could have left him scrambling for the coveted top-30 finish.  At the half way point Eddie was 17^th and averaging about 5:10 over his first two miles with one big climb and an even bigger downhill that would allow just about anyone back into the race.  But the separation of the top twenty from that pack ensured that Eddie was safely in at 19^th in his second fastest time ever of 16:52.  He will run next Saturday on Jefferson City’s Oak Hill Golf Course with a chance to become Vianney’s second All-state performer.

            In the final team competition for the harriers, at the Webster Invitational held Wednesday at Blackburn Park, Brennan Baringer in his last XC race as a Griffin had his best performance ever.  After running in mid pack most of early part of the race, Brennan turned on the jets over the final mile to take 9^th place overall to go out in style.  Jimmy Broyles started with a blistering first mile and held to finish second for the Griffs, the same spot he finished on the varsity in every meet this season.  Also medaling for Vianney was Connor Peth, Andrew White, also in his final meet as a Griffin, Kevin Tiemann, and Sean Meyer. 

            The freshmen were led by a very determined Jack Poniewaz who took 13^th overall.  Also medaling were Andrew Lamartina, Brian Belaska, and Nick Gargiula. 

            We wish Eddie well at the State meet, and look forward to everyone returning in 2012.

The District competition has been held in Jackson several times over the past several seasons. The long drive doesn’t seem to diminish the performances of many Griffins who have actually become accustomed to the trip and the Jackson City Park course.

This year was no exception as Vianney record holder Fast Eddie Albarran ran with the leaders the entire race. He was thrown off of his step just bit near the mile mark when a dog ran into his path causing him to stop completely and side step, but he picked up his pace right away and rejoined the pack. His 7th place and 17:05 are tops for a Griffin in the meet and on the course. He is poised for a big race in the most competitive sectional race in the state next Saturday at Parkway Central to qualify for State. 

For the rest of the team Jimmy Broyles and Brennan Baringer stayed close to the top 30 but couldn’t break into the medal count nor qualify. For Jimmy he is poised for a great junior season; for Brennan in his senior year, he has run the last district race in his career. 

Sean Meyer was as high as 3rd place in the JV race, but he stayed close enough to finish 4th place to lead the team to third place overall finish.

The final team competition will be Wednesday at Blackburn Park in the Webster Groves Invitational.

Many coaches hide their best runners at the end of the season as a means to better “prepare” them for District competition; the Griffins keep plugging away, honing their skills, keeping their competitive edge, and winning more medals. On Saturday in Washington, MO, Fast Eddie Albarran continued to show that he is the best there ever was in Griffin harrier history with an exciting come from behind surge. Heeding his coach’s warning, Eddie started somewhat slowly and was only near the lead pack by the mile. But after a moment of contemplation and realizing he was capable of much more, he took off and by mile two, he was near the top five. The Borgia course has a very long, challenging climb after the two-mile mark and Eddie took advantage actually making a move on 2nd place but finishing 4th in another great race and time. Brennan Baringer ran the best race of his season and helped elevate a sparse varsity team up to 8th place.

The JV squad was loaded for the first time this season. Jimmy Broyles was keeping pace with the lead pack for about two miles and hung close enough to take 14th overall. Connor Peth had a killer finish to take 23rd. The JV team had less than a :50 spread between 1-5 placers and took home the 3rd place trophy. 

The freshman team had a rougher time of things. Although Andrew Lamartina was the top finisher, he was well out of the medal running.

This was final tune up for Districts and the varsity squad as a whole has been making great progress all season. Saturday the team will travel to Jackson yet again in their quest of qualifying for Sectionals.

Medals and low scores are always hard to come by in the MCC Championships and this year was no different. But fast times have also become the norm, as the course home now has shifted to the flat Central Fields in Forest Park. 

The Vianney school record has been set and/or broken each of the last three seasons (the first time by Tony Burton on the Chaminade course). Eddie Albarran put an exclamation point on his fantastic season by lowering the school’s 5K record another five seconds and became the first Griffin harrier to finish on the first team All-Conference in MCC with his fifth place finish. Eddie’s 16:43 puts him in the record books and looking forward to the State qualifying races. More importantly on the day the young Varsity squad finally beat Chaminade after four previous attempts this season, and thus ensured that we wouldn’t be in MCC cellar. Jimmy Broyles was second for the Griffs just out of the medals, while Brennan Baringer, Sean Meyer, Andrew White, and Kevin Tiemann all finished ahead of the 4th place Flyer. 

The absolute crush of Jr. Bills dwarfed all other squads and they dominated both the freshman and JV races and took the lion share of the medals. Matt Dreyer took the lone medal for the Griffins in the JV race, and Andrew Lamartina grabbed Vianney’s only freshman medal. Both squads though were strong enough to finish ahead of our Marianist brothers and both came within four points of overcoming CBC. Almost everyone on the day though ran their season and/or career best times even with the warming temps.

Next up is a big District tune-up meet at the Borgia Invitational in Washington, MO next Saturday.

The Priory Invitational this year had a tinge of sadness hanging over it as the Priory cross country family tragically lost a team member earlier in the week in an accident. After a meet-wide prayer honoring the middle school student was said, the JV race got underway. Andrew White, making a rare JV appearance, made the most of this opportunity as he immediately kept pace with the front runners. Never dropping off more than few seconds from the lead, Andrew took third place overall. Drake Cantu and Andy Burk both finished in the top twenty as well, earning their awards.

The Varsity had a rare late start. Once again though Eddie Albarran proved he could hang with the area’s best. After running a patient first mile, up a large opening hill, Eddie quickly shifted into high gear and put himself in the top 10; by the two mile mark he had pulled close to the top two leaders. A final charge up the ending hill left Eddie in striking distance of winning, but he ran out of terrain and remained in third. Jimmy Broyles, Kevin Tiemann, and Brennan Baringer all finished in the medal count and their efforts gave the team its best finish of the season, in fifth place but just two points away from third.

This week the team prepares for its biggest (and fastest) test of the season with the MCC Championships in Forest Park, Saturday morning.

Another week and another medal for Fast Eddie Albarran. Eddie claimed the 13th place medal at the historic Hancock Invitational on one of the more challenging courses in the STL. It was tough going for the rest of the varsity squad, swimming in some pretty deep waters. The Class 4 boys race featured some of the top teams in area and across the state. 

Connor Peth used a great mid-race surge to put himself in medal contention but came up just short, but was the lead Griffin in the JV race. Once again though the depth of talent in the JV race left most of the harriers in the latter half of the finishers. 

This week though should be a much more competitive week for the Griffs. Monday the team heads just up the street to take on Kirkwood and Parkway West in Blowpop Race and next Saturday the Griffins head to the palisades of Priory for their early morning invitational.

Fast Eddie Albarran has already put his stamp on the 2011 season, but Saturday at the Paul Enke Invitational, he might have put his stamp on the Griffin “record” books. Although no official information is available for the days of yore, no one can remember another runner in Vianney who stood on the award’s stand for a Top 10 finish in this meet. The Man-maker hill on the Sioux Passage Park course has exacted its share of tolls on the Griffins in the past, but for junior Eddie Albarran it is all about the hardware. Last season he took 4th place in the Frosh/Soph division; this year he returned on the Varsity level with an even more impressive run. Starting “strategically” slowly up the Man-maker the first time up, he quickly worked his way up to the top 20. But over the last half mile he made up the most ground and eventually worked himself into 10th place. It is the highest finish by a Griffin and his time of 17:49 is the best time on that course in the many years we have been competing there. 

That is not to diminish the efforts of the rest of the varsity squad. If fact, for the second week in row, every harrier who competed last year, bettered his time, some by as much as four minutes and more. The young varsity squad finished 17th as a team. 

The JV team was paced by Brennan Baringer in his first meet of the season after battling stress fractures in his foot in the early part of the season. Unfortunately he finished just outside of the medal places. Brennan helped the JV to an 11th place finish. 

The Freshman team was once again led by Christopher Dreyer. His 12th place medal continues what Eddie and Christopher’s older brother Matt started last season although last year the race was a combined freshman/sophomore division. Andrew Lamartina finished second for the Griffs, who placed 7th as a team. 

Next up for the team is the historical Hancock Invitational at Jefferson Barracks Park this Saturday.

The young 2011 season already seems to be the year of the Albarran. Junior Eddie Albarran in his first 5K of the season posted his career best time by almost 45 seconds in the Webster Invitational, Thursday, 9/8. His efforts earned him an eighth place medal and he helped pace the varsity team to a 5th place finish. Also earning medals for the young Griffin squad was junior Jimmy Broyles in 26th and senior Andrew White in 30th. 

The day was begun with the Freshman 3K race. Christopher Dreyer shows the familial flair for running and took 10th place in a time of 11:25. He led three other medalists, Andrew Lamartina, Jack Poniewaz, and Nick Mataya, and they secured a 4th place finish for the team. 

The JV squad rounded out the competition. Andy Burk (22nd) and Connor Peth (24th) used a solid first mile to keep close to the lead pack the remainder of the way. Following close behind them were Drake Cantu and Bryan O’Leary, who also medaled. The JV squad took 4th place overall. 

It was a great way to start the invitational season for just about everyone. Next Saturday the harriers travel to Sioux Passage Park and Manmaker Hill for the Paul Enke/Hazelwood Central Invitational.

The Griffin Cross Country Team kicked off their season this week with two short course events. The first was on Monday with the Lt. Dan Riordan Memorial/Marianist meet at the Marianist Retreat and Conference Center in Eureka. The friendly competition with St. Mary’s and Chaminade brings the three schools together to honor the memory of Lt. Dan Riordan (Class ’01) and our Marianist heritage. It was a beautiful day to run and the Griffins took advantage. Every runner who competed both last season and this season bettered his time. Eddie Albarran and Jimmy Broyles finished fourth and sixth respectively to pace the Griffins with senior Andrew White rounding out the top ten. The young squad placed freshmen and sophomores in 7 of the top 10 team spots, so the future is already looking bright. The team finished second behind a balanced Chaminade squad. On Wednesday, the full squad traveled to Blackburn Park for the Webster Groves Tune up meet. The temps were pushing 100 which caused organizers to shorten the distance to 3K. Once again it was Fast Eddie Albarran who held back a little over the first half before turning up the heat. In the end he took 6th overall behind several state qualifiers from 2010. Once again it was Jimmy Broyles and Andrew White coming in next for the Griffins. The this three team tilt, the Griffins took third in the team standings but again showed great improvement even from Monday’s event. Next up will be the Webster Invitational next Thursday, September 8. The varsity race will begin at 4:00 with three separate divisions of running.