05/14/12          

The 2012 Track and Field season has come to a close for the Griffins—a week or two early by most accounts. Vianney had two big meets this week to close out the year’s campaign, and both had their fair share of success.         

On May 9, Vianney hosted 15 schools in the 43^rd Annual Freshman Invitational. It was a great day of competition, and several Griffins had fine performances. Spencer Peterson had his best meet of the season and his best shot put effort, taking second place in the competition. Alex Horn set a season-best mark in the pole vault for a 3^rd place medal. Terrence Griffin added a 4^th place in the 110 hurdles. Alex Mueller took 6^th in the high jump and the 4×100 team of Mike Ehnes, Joey Delbert, Terrence Griffin and Alex Mueller also took 6^th place to round out the scoring. It was a good day for many young Griffs. In their hands (and, uh, feet) the future looks pretty bright.

Saturday saw the varsity squad travel down the road to Lindbergh High for district competition. Any top 4 placing would have meant another week of competition, but unfortunately the Griffins were 5^th place good.

 Patrick Barden took 5^th place in the triple jump with his best effort of the year. The 4×100 team of Rob Bieg, Joey Delbert, Zach Roseman and Kyle Williams also nabbed 5^th place in the slow heat, finishing with the best time of the season.

 Eddie Albarran finished in 5^th place in the 3200m, missing out on qualifying by one second. And that was as close as anyone came to an all-expense paid trip to Poplar Bluff.

 Other placers for Vianney were Rob Bieg in the pole vault, Drake Cantu in the long jump (season best jump), Brennan Baringer in the 110m hurdles (season best time), and Alex Reyes in the discus. With that the season came to a quick end.   

Congratulations to all on a fine season of competition

05/04/12       

The season is winding down for the Griffin Track and Field team. This week highlighted a good season with some fine performances at the MCC Championships at Chaminade after SLUH had hosted a loosely scored JV meet on Monday.         

The MCC has become a powerhouse in several different events, and this year was no exceptions with several records set. For the varsity, the big scorers have been the most consistently competitive all season. The medalists were senior Rob Bieg in the pole vault and juniors Eddie Albarran in the 1600m and Cory Andrews in the shot put. The only other placer for the Griffs was senior Patrick Barden in the long jump.         

The JV team fared a little bit better. They leapt over Chaminade and closed in on third place CBC. Sophomore Alex Reyes not only captured the discus championship, he set a meet record with a throw of 123-3. Sophomore Justin Summers also mustered a championship throw in the shot put. Both athletes also scored in their other throw as well.

Other field-event placers include sophomore Kevin Tiemann in the pole vault (he also placed in the 800) and freshman Alex Mueller in the high jump. Sophomore Zach Roseman brought home a rare sprint medal, with third place in the 200m. Matt Voelker took 5^th in the 400m. The sprint relays finished strong as well. The 4×200 team of Mike Ehnes, Alex Mueller, Corey Jokerst and Matt Voelker brought home a third place medal. The 4×100 team of Mike Ehnes, Joey Delbert, Terrence Griffin and Zach Roseman finished runner up.         

This week Vianney hosts its 43^rd Annual Freshman Invitational on Wednesday, one of the largest meets of its kind in the area, and on Saturday the varsity look to earn their way toward state at the district meet at Lindbergh beginning at 11 a.m.

4/30/12

The Griffin track team has been beyond busy over the past two weeks.

The varsity Griffs enjoyed lots of success with two big meets. On April 20, they traveled to Desoto for its 1^st Annual Track Invitational. Medals were pretty hard to come by considering the field ballooned to 18 teams. The night was finally begun on a high note as the 4×800 team earned a fifth-place finish. But the night would eventually belong to the individuals. Fast Eddie Albarran finished the scoring with a second place in the 3200m. Sophomore Alex Reyes took a fourth place medal in the discus. Other placers included Rob Bieg in the 100m, the 4×200 team, the 4×100 team, Kevin Ogle in the pole vault and Cory Andrews in the shot put.       

April 24 was the 5^th Annual Jim Farrell Invitational with 12 teams competing. Northwest took the team title for the first time in their school history, but the Griffins held their own.

The 4×800 team started the scoring with another 5^th place finish. It didn’t take long for the field events to once again rise to the occasion. Alex Reyes took third in discus, Cory Andrews sixth in the shot put, the shot put relay team of Andrews, Summers, Hederman, and Dougherty took second, Patrick Barden took sixth in the triple jump, while Rob Bieg took second and Kevin Ogle third in the pole vault. Eddie Albarran rounded out the scoring with a third place finish in the 3200m. As a team the Griffins took 8th overall.           

On Thursday, Vianney hosted a JV extravaganza, with a total of nine teams competing in either the JV or freshman division. On the JV side, the 4×800 team took third, with Josh Resuta sixth in the 110 hurdles, the 4×200 team took third, the 4×100 team 2^nd, Drake Cantu placed in the long jump and Jimmy Broyles in the 3200m. The freshmen were led by double winner Terrence Griffin in both hurdle races. Charles Barker also placed in both events. The 4×200 team took 1st, 4×100 2^nd, Matt Hargiss placed in the high jump, Brian Belaska in the 3200m, Chad Barton in the discus and Joel Virtudazo and Alex in the long jump.     

The week ended rather quietly with the varsity team competing in the Dale Collier Invitational at Kirkwood. Although several athletes had season-best performances, the team as a whole did not place in any event.        

Next week, the JV team travels to SLUH on Monday while the MCC Championships will take place at Chaminade on Thursday.

4/18/12  From Coach Mohr

As scheduling goes, this week has had its share of quirks. First the All-Catholic Invitational was rained out Saturday and run instead on Monday, 4/16, at Chaminade.

The team finished a bit further back than expected, but had a good showing nonetheless. Top placers for the Griffins were a pair of seconds in throws by junior Cory Andrews in the shot put and sophomore Alex Reyes in the discus. Senior Rob Bieg finished in a tie for fourth in the pole vault and added a sixth place finish in the 100m, a race that featured state caliber runners.

Junior “Fast” Eddie Albarran chugged along to a third place medal in the 3200m and anchored the 4×800 team (Drake Cantu, Chris Roseman and Connor Peth) to fourth place finish. Senior Brennan Baringer added a sixth in the 110m hurdles to finish off the individual scoring.

Two other relays also placed. The all freshman and sophomore 4×100 team of Joey Delbert, Mike Ehnes, Zach Roseman and Kyle Williams finished third, while the 4×200 team of Drake Cantu, Joey Delbert, Shay Garner and Mike Ehnes took fourth.         

Tuesday was the original Wednesday Webster JV Invitational. This meet is always well attended and the competition rivals that of many varsity meets.

Alex Reyes earned a first in the discus, while Justin Summers took second in the shot put. Both also scored the other throw as well. Drake Cantu scored in both the long jump and 800m. Jimmy Broyles placed in the 1600m. The 4×100 team of Ehnes, Williams, Roseman and Delbert once again impressed with a 4^th place finish. Brian Belaska took 6^th in the freshman 800 to round out the scoring.

The Vianney track and field season is in full swing and over the past several days the Griffins have had many great performances in very diverse meets. Beginning April 3, the varsity squad competed in the newly monikered Dan Sebben Invitational at Webster Groves.

This is always a competitive meet with many conference, district and sectional opponents present. Medaling for the Griffins were Eddie Albarran, 3^rd in the 3200, Cory Andrews, 4^th in the shot put, and the 4x100m relay team of Kyle Williams, Drake Cantu, Zach Roseman and Shay Garner.        

On Wednesday, April 3, the team made its second of five trips to Chaminade for the Marianist Cup against the host and St. Mary’s. Many individuals and teams placed, but event champions on the varsity side were Cory Andrews in the shot put, Tom Hederman in the discus, Rob Bieg in the pole vault, Patrick Barden in both the long and triple jump, and Brennan Baringer in both hurdle races.

For the JV team, event winners were Alex Reyes in the discus, Justin Summers in the shot put, Nick Minton in both long and triple jump, Jimmy Broyles in the 1600m, and the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams of Kyle Williams, Mike Ehnes, Zach Roseman, and Joey Delbert. The JV dominated both of their opponents while the varsity team fell to Chaminade by two points.          

After Easter the schedule has been very full. First up was the first-ever Windsor Invitational. Competition was steep, but the varsity squad held its own with some fine performances. Medalists included Rob Bieg, 3^rd in the 100, Eddie Albarran, 2^nd in the 3200, and the 4×800 team of Eddie Albarran, Connor Peth, Chris Roseman, and Drake Cantu. Drake Cantu and Ryan Barden were the work horses with four events apiece, and there were many other scoring individuals and teams.       

Wednesday, April 11, was the date for the SLUH JV extravaganza (the only rival of the Vianney JV gala on April 26). The event is loosely scored but those who finished well in their events were a 2^nd place finish by Kevin Tiemann in the pole vault and Justin Summers 3^rd place in the shot put.       

Finally on Thursday, April 12, the varsity squad participated in the Bob Brunette Invitational at Affton H.S. The Griffins were the defending champions in this meet, although there were nearly triple the number of teams competing this year.

A championship performance by Eddie Albarran in the 3200m, a runner-up finish for Alex Reyes in the discus and Cory Andrews in the shot put helped lift the team to a 5^th place finish in this year’s event.

The schedule lightens up just a bit with the All-Catholic meet April 14 and then just two meets next week.

Vianney Griffin Track and Field began its competitive season this week with two meets in beautiful weather conditions.  On Tuesday, almost everyone on the team saw his first competition of the season at the Priory dual meet. Even though there were just the two teams, both squads boasted more than 70 competitors.

Individual winners were Terrence Griffin in the hurdles, Eddie Albarran in the 1600 and 3200, Zak Krekeler in the 400, Patrick Barden in the jumps and the 4×400 relay team of Kyle Williams, Drake Cantu, Shay Garner and Zak Krekeler. Although the team didn’t stick around for the final score (results were slow getting to the press box), overall team performances were going to be very close.

On Thursday the team traveled to Chaminade for the MCC Relays. The conference competition is always stiff, but the Griffs were able to hold their own in most every event.  There were no individual competitions and Vianney had no event champions. The Griffins ended up in 4^th place.

Next week brings the Webster Invitational on Tuesday and the Marianist meet at Chaminade on Tuesday.

From Coach John Mohr

On behalf of the entire St. John Vianney Track and Field staff, I welcome you to another exciting year of competition. We have several returning letter winners and conference champions, so we are looking forward to being competitive throughout the season at all levels, in the MCC Championships, and beyond.

We as coaches have set high standards for ourselves and look for the best in each athlete. We expect devoted and committed young men willing to perform at their peak ability and to do what is necessary to be successful. The following is a brief overview of the track program for this season.

Coaching staff 

Coach John Mohr          Head Coach, Distance, Hurdles, Jumps
Coach Sean Scanlon     Sprints, Relays
Coach Jerry Stevison     Shot Put/Discus
Coach Chris Zoeller       Pole Vault/Jumps

If you have any questions, or need to report an absence from practice or competition, please contact Coach Mohr at 348-4923 (cell), 965-4853, ext. 739, or email jmohr@vianney.com.

Practices
Normal Practice Schedule: 3:10 to 5:30 p.m. daily

 All practices on early dismissal schedule will begin at 3:00. Please be aware that we will practice on special schedule days.

*Big River Team Night Feb. 27 at 7:30 pm* Tuesday, Feb.28 at 3:10 pm*

 Policies                                           

• Before any athlete may practice or compete, a current physical (Feb. 1, 2011 or later) must be on file in the main office or athletic director’s office.
  

• Home meets are command performances. All athletes are required to attend.

• Athletes are expected to remain at meets until the competition is completed.

• Athletes may miss only three practices on days when they attend school. Athletes must attend practice the day before each meet if they expect to compete (special exceptions for school related activities).

• Athletes may miss only one meet on a day when they attend school.

• Excessive absences will mean dismissal from the team; attendance will be taken daily.

• If poor grades or class performance becomes an issue, the athlete’s participation on the team will be limited. Please be aware of the school’s academic stress policy regarding athletics; any student with even one failing grade will not compete until the grade is brought up.

• Please also have work schedules cleared and doctor’s appointments set to not interfere with athletics or academics when possible.

• All Home meets are command performances for all athletes. If a team member is not competing, he will be administering. We will have work schedules posted before each home meet. We host two major invitationals each season—Jim Farrell Invitational, April 26, and Vianney Freshman Invitational May 11—for which we must have all athletes’ help.

• Uniforms and warm-ups will be distributed before the first meet. Athletes will be responsible for the full monetary replacement of all lost or stolen articles once these have been dispersed. Please keep equipment stored safely at all times. Uniform turn-in for anyone not competing at the Sectional or State meet is Wednesday, May 23. Seniors and juniors are not exempt from this due date!  Please help me by having uniforms cleaned and ready on that date. Line dry all parts of the uniform and warm-up for longer life. Juniors and seniors will not have grades released without uniform begin submitted.

• For each practice, athletes should have comfortable, stable running shoes, shorts and shirt—sweat clothes, stocking cap and gloves for cool and inclement weather, supporter, towel, toiletries and a lock and locker for their belongings. Spikes and/or shoes designed for specific events are highly encouraged during the season. The school cannot be responsible for items not secured, so keep “track” of all equipment.

• No participation in other track-like activities during the season, including road races. Please limit other sporting activities to fit the MSHSAA guidelines; no two competitions in the same day.

• Please also be aware of behavior not conducive to proper health and hygiene of young athletes. Today should be your last day for soda, fried foods, chips, and unhealthy snacks. Please be aware of your intake of dairy and fatty foods. Please be aware of all you do outside of the school day that may affect your performance. Your conditioning should have begun by now; do all you can to be ready for the first day of competition. Alcohol/illegal drug consumption and tobacco use are strictly forbidden. Supplement use should be minimal if at all (beyond sports drinks and energy bars).

Coaching Philosophy
We coach with the principles of a Marianist/Catholic high school in mind, and in a close, familial, and supportive atmosphere. We as coaches strive to create a competitive team on all levels. We hope to create a safe and respectful environment for the student/athlete. We hope to create a cohesive unit of committed and sportsmanlike young men.

Team Goals
We as coaches hope our teams are competitive in every meet. We hope to have full participation in as many events and meets as possible. We hope to finish in the top three at the MCC Relays and Championship meets. Our goal is to have qualifiers for the Sectional and State meets every season.

Transportation
Generally the school will provide round-trip transportation via contracted school bus to most away meets. Underclassmen meets, especially those involving a fair amount of travel, will most often have transportation both to and from the meets. We encourage all athletes and parents to attend the meets and ask that athletes please inform the coaching staff in advance if athletes will be leaving any meet at its conclusion with parents.

Safety
Generally track and field is a safe sport, but as with any activity there are injury and even fatal risk factors. Some events, pole vault most notably, have a greater chance for injury, but all events can be dangerous. We ask a lot of our athletes and expect them to practice and perform at a high level and to the best of their abilities. Some events are very stressful on the body, the distance team will often leave campus and run on local (busy) roads, and implements used in the throws can cause injury, if athletes are careless or not aware. Please note this and be aware of the risks involved.

Grades
To compete, athletes must not be failing any course on the two progress reports. Any failure will result in the athlete enduring a probationary period in which he will not be allowed to compete, until he has shown proper improvement and at teacher’s discretion. A student/athlete must meet all school and MSHSAA academic requirements.

Awards

• Team Captains (experienced seniors-selected before the first meet)
• Track Athlete of the Year
• Field Athlete of the Year
• Most Valuable Athlete (as voted by the team)

Varsity Letter: attend practice on a regular basis, compete in a majority of the varsity meets and in major invitationals, or compete in and score in the conference, district, sectional or state meets at the varsity level.

Only athletes placing in scoring position in meets earn points toward the varsity letter.

Junior Varsity Letter: attend practice on a regular basis, compete and/or score in a majority of the varsity and/or junior varsity meets.

Freshmen Numerals: attend practice on a regular basis, compete and/or score in a majority of the freshmen meets.

Activity Points: points are earned through practice and participation in meets. To earn full points, athletes must follow attendance policies for practice and competition. Only athletes who fully participate in practice and meets will earn the full amount of activity points.

Our awards’ banquet is tentatively scheduled for the last full week of May, prior to the State meet. There is a per-person fee for this event. All equipment/uniform must be returned or fees paid to receive any award or participate in the banquet.

The 2011 Track and Field season came to a quiet end Saturday at a rainy and cold
District meet at Oakville High School.  The best finish came from Mike O’Fallon
trying to make his way back to sectionals for a 2nd year in a row, but he just
missed out in 5th place.  This was Michael’s only second competition of the
season.  Other placers included Michael King of the Fields in the high jump and
long jump, Rob Go Bieg or Go Home Bieg in the pole vault, Tony Quincy Burton in
the 1600m, the 4×800 team of Burton, Eddie the Eagle Albarran, Patrick Barden
and Andrew Whizzer White, and the 4×200 squad of Bieg, Zak Attack Krekeler, Say
Hey Shay Garner and Zach Moose Moszenski.  Although the season ended a few weeks
early, the team showed a lot of heart on a less than ideal day.
           
The Griffins are always looking for great additions to the team and as always
the cross country team sponsors a summer conditioning program.  See the cross
country home page for more information or contact Coach Mohr at
jmohr@vianney.com.

The Griffins finished up the regular season with the MCC Championships, held at
SLUH this season, and the always competitive 42nd Annual Freshman Invitational
held which we hosted on Wednesday, May 11.  

At the MCCs, the Griffins spread out what we had across all three divisions.  For the Varsity, Mike O’Fallon made his return to competition a memorable one.  His first shot
put of the season gave him both the team’s best throw of the year and earned him
a second place medal.  Also tying in second place was Michael Fields in the high
jump with a three season best of 5-10.  The other medalists on the varsity side
were the 4×400 squad of Tony Burton, Zach Moszczenski, Patrick Barden and
Brennan Baringer.  

The JV squad was led by the winning shot put
throw for Cory Andrews.  Runners up were James Cocroft in the 300 hurdles, and a
third in the 110 hurdles, and Eddie Albarran in the 3200m run.  The 4×100 team
of Cocroft, Max Oldani, Drake Cantu, and Brian Nemec also finished earned a
third place medal.

The Freshmen were led by Alex Reyes’ winning
discus throw.  Alex also medaled in the shot put.  Jimmy Broyles took third
place in both distance races.  Kevin Tiemann and Kyle Williams also medaled as
did the 4×100 team of Williams, John McCartney, Nick Minton, and Josh Resuta. 
The team finished third overall.

The Freshman Invitational went
off without a hitch and even had the best weather of the season which resulted
in some great performances.  Alex Reyes once again was the lone medalist in the
discus with another season-best throw.  Other placers were Jimmy Broyles in the
3200m run and James Sly and Kevin Tiemann in the pole vault.

This meet concluded the season for most of the team.  The district competition will
be held on Saturday at Oakville High School.

On Tuesday, April 19 the Griffs suffered their first meet casualty of the wet
and cold season as the Washington Nix Relays fell victim to the rainy weather. 
The rescheduled date was also rained out.  That left Easter week’s only meet up
to the JV squad at that always super-competitive Webster JV Invitational. 
Places and medals were hard to come by but sophomore Fast Eddie Albarran
continued to impress the general public with his hard approach to the 3200m. 
Eddie led most of the race before succumbing over the last half mile and
finished second with the only medal.  More importantly though was the fact that
so many Griffins turned in season best performances throughout the day’s
competition.  

The 4th Annual Jim Farrell Invitational was held
on Tuesday, April 26th.  The day was a beautiful oasis in an otherwise stormy
sea and the competition helped to heat up the afternoon.  Top placers for the
Griffins in their most important meet of the season included Tony Burton in
1600m, and the shot put relay team of Brian Bach, Mike Makhamreh, Cory Andrews
and Chris Dougherty.  Other point scorers were Bach in the shot put, Kadarius
Green in the high jump with a season best performance, and the 4×800 (Albarran,
Burton, Barden and White) and 4×400 (Krekeler, Garner, Williams, Burton)
relays.

Thursday saw about 100+ athletes convene in the Heeb for
a JV and freshman extravaganza with DeSmet, SLUH, St.Mary’s and Webster.  This
is the last meet in preparation for the conference championships for most of the
team.  On the JV side Shay Garner took first in the 400m and Eddie Albarran won
the 3200m.  The 4×800 squad of Drake Cantu, Andrew White, Bryan O’Leary, and
Connor Peth took 2nd place, as did Cory Andrews in the shot put.  The 3rd place
finishers were Drake Cantu in the 400m, James Cocroft in the 300 hurdles and Tom
Hederman in the discus.  The freshman team was led by event champions Kyle
Williams in the 100m, Josh Resuta in the 300m hurdles, who also placed in the
110 hurdles, and Al Reyes in the discus.  James Sly, Kevin Tiemann placed in the
pole vault, John McCartney in the 100m, Paul Burmeister in the shot put and the
4×100 team of Williams, Resuta, McCartney, and Eric Minton.
           
Finally the varsity Griffins took a skeleton crew to one of the state’s most
competitive meets, the Dale Collier Invitational in Kirkwood.  Mike Makhamreh
was the highlight of the day, as he added almost two feet to his career best
shot put and took the only medal for the Griffins on the day.  Eddie Albarran
was the only other point-getter in the 3200m.  Yet the two sprint relays,
Michael Fields in the 100m and Rob Bieg in the pole all set season best marks as
they prepare for conference and district competition.

The Parkway
West Freshman Invitational was rescheduled to the same day as the Jim Farrell
and the Griffins were unable to compete.  So next up for everyone is the MCC
Championships Thursday at SLUH beginning at 4:00 pm.