MEET at LITTLETON - Thursday, September 30

Course: 2mi, hilly - overcast, high 50s

BOYS - won 15-50* (Season Record: 2-0)

*Littleton did not have 5 finishers, so this officially goes down as a forfeit. 

NAME	TIME	AVG MILE
Tate Deats	15:26	7:43
Luca Fleming-Garcia	14:29	7:14
Ryan Fagan	16:31	8:15
William Hoeffler	15:44	7:52
Jason Jangro	14:53	7:26
Curtis Keeton	14:20	7:10
Jackson Marsteiner	14:53	7:26
Chris Milhomme	13:58	6:59
Kyle Milhomme	14:00	7:00
Wyatt Rattigan	16:58	8:29
Gavin Regan	16:48	8:24
Lukas Rohrberg	14:24	7:12
Sean Saulnier	14:36	7:18
Nico Vivirito	15:09	7:34
Zachary Wagman	15:41	7:50
Liam Wikerd	12:48	6:23
Jackson Wiltz	15:36	7:48

GIRLS - won 27-30 (Season Record: 2-0)

NAME	TIME	AVG MILE
Olivia Edmond	15:49	7:54
Riley Flynn	16:58	8:28
Abby Hatch	20:04	10:02
Sidney Lemaire	16:35	8:17
Zoe Memont	16:35	8:17
Azul Roberts	16:31	8:15
Ella Rogers	13:57	6:58
Emily Skaar	19:23	9:41
Isabella Spear	14:21	7:10
Jill Valentino	14:54	7:27

***

MEET vs. BROMFIELD - Friday, September 24

Below are your names and times - if I missed anyone let me know. I did not include your placement because I frankly don't care. Depending on the size of the opposing team, your placement can vary greatly - you might run a great race against a bigger team and finish 20th, but run worse against a smaller team and get 15th. Places can be deceiving, but the stopwatch NEVER lies. 

I've also included an average mile pace - this will give you a rough comparison between races of different lengths and terrains. 

If you are curious about how cross country meets are scored, I have posted the process below the results.

***

Course: 3km - wet but sunny, low 70s

GIRLS - won 18-39 (Season Record: 1-0)

NAME	TIME	AVG MILE
Riley Flynn	18:01	9:39
Abby Hatch	18:30	9:55
Sidney Lemaire	16:55	9:04
Zoe Memont	16:55	9:04
Annabel Rivera	13:40	7:19
Azul Roberts	16:25	8:48
Ella Rogers	13:27	7:12
Emily Skaar	18:11	9:45
Isabella Spear	14:49	7:56
Jill Valentino	14:54	7:59

BOYS - won 19-39 (Season Record: 1-0)

NAME	TIME	AVG MILE
Jack Barry	13:42	7:20
Tate Deats	15:16	8:11
William Hoeffler	15:19	8:12
Jason Jangro	14:56	8:00
Curtis Keeton	14:42	7:53
Jackson Marsteiner	14:53	7:58
Chris Milhomme	14:20	7:41
Kyle Milhomme	14:00	7:30
Gavin Regan	16:32	8:52
Nico Vivirito	15:25	8:16
Zach Wagman	15:34	8:20
Liam Wikerd	12:48	6:51
Jackson Wiltz	14:59	8:02

***

Cross country meets are scored using the top 7 runners from each team. The top 5 runners earn points for their team, while #6 and #7 (if they finish ahead of the opposing team's runners) are used to displace the opposition. 

Each runner is awarded points for the place they finish: 1st place gets 1 point, 2nd place gets 2 points, and so on. Once a team has its 7th runner finish, any remaining points places go to the opposing team, regardless of who finished in those spots. 

The points for the top 5 runners from each team are added up, and the team with the lowest total score wins the meet. 

For today's girls race, the top 12 finished like this:

1) Hale
2) Hale
3) Hale
4) Hale
5) Bromfield
6) Bromfield
7) Bromfield 
8) Hale
9) Bromfield
10) Hale
11) Hale
12) Bromfield

Hale gets 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 8 = 18 points. Because our 6th and 7th runners finished ahead of Bromfield's 5th runner, we increased their team score by a few points, making it harder for them to win. Bromfield finishes with 5 + 6 + 7 + 9 + 12 = 39 points. 

For the boys race:

1) Hale
2) Bromfield
3) Hale
4) Hale
5) Hale
6) Hale
7) Bromfield
8) Bromfield
9) Hale
10) Bromfield
11) Hale
12) Hale

Hale gets 1 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 19 points. Our 6th runner finishes ahead of Bromfield's 4th, and our 7th runner finishes ahead of Bromfield's 5th. Bromfield finishes with 2 + 7 + 8 + 10 + 12 = 39 points - remember, once our 7th runner finishes the remaining point places go to the opposing team, so even though Bromfield did not finish in 12th they get the points for that place. 

***

Weekend Workout - Friday, September 17

This is your workout for this weekend: 

Full warm-up: 1/4 mile jog, stretches & drills)
1.5 - 2 mile jog (nice & easy - try not to stop and walk)

3 fast 15 second strides (about 75% max speed - faster than jog, slower than sprint)

Form drills (marching As, A-skips, B-skips)

If you have athletic activities on 2 of the 3 days this weekend (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday), you do not need to complete this workout - try to get at least one day of rest & recovery. 

Stay hydrated, and I'll see you at practice on Monday!

Coach Ben

2021 PRESEASON TRAINING

Make sure you have appropriate footwear for distance running - if your current pair of running shoes is tattered and worn, you should invest in a new pair to help prevent shin splints from developing. If possible, I'd recommend having a pair of shoes exclusively for running, because the pair you walk around in all day wears in different places. 

For training, start slowly - focus more on covering distance without stopping than running quickly. Try to get out on your own for a run 4 times this week. 

- If you are new to distance running or really out of shape, start by trying to run for 0.5 mile without stopping, and as the week progresses gradually increase that distance - if you can go for over 1 mile without stopping, that is a great place to start the season. 

- If you have done distance running before or are in great shape, start by getting out for about 1.25 - 1.5 miles, then try to get up to 1.75 - 2 miles by the end of the week. 

- If you're not sure where to begin, start with a shorter distance - if that feels comfortable, try to go for a longer run the next day. I don't want anyone going longer than 2.5 miles in a day, though.  

- Don't push through if you are feeling an unusual pain - there is a difference between soreness and injury, but we want to try to get you through the season without needing to take time off to recover. If you experience any weird pains, stop what you're doing and we will come up with a plan on Monday. 

If you have practice for another sports team, you may use that practice to substitute for one of your running days this week. 

Everyone should be running at a pace where they can hold a conversation without needing to pause for breath - we will train for speed at practice, but we need a solid distance foundation first before we can build on top of that. 

***

2021 HALE XC SEASON INFORMATION

Welcome to the 2021 season of the Hale cross country team! I’m very excited to get back to coaching the team this fall - it’s been way too long since we’ve had a cross country season, and I can’t wait for us to get started up again! 

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS 

The Hale cross country team is open to any student who wishes to participate, provided the following criteria are met:

- A student must be in good academic standing. Students must maintain an average of 70% or better in their core academic subjects throughout the season - if a student’s average falls below 70%, they may not be allowed to compete in meets.

- A student must have an up-to-date physical on file. The physical must have been conducted within the past 13 months; the physical on file needs to be replaced with a newer physical if the 13-month period expires mid-season.

- Online registration must be completed before a student can join us for practice. Our first practice is scheduled for Monday, September 13. Registration is done through a Google Form, which you can find at THIS LINK. 

- A user fee of $55 must be paid before the first meet. Checks should be made out to Hale Middle School and submitted to the school office, or you can pay online through the district’s Online Payment Center (LINK)

 

Team members are expected to attend all team events, including practices, and they cannot miss any team event to attend another non-school-sponsored sport. If an athlete has a conflict with a school-sponsored activity, such as an extra help session, instrument lesson, or club meeting, please let the coach know in advance. I do allow team members to miss practice for club meetings / band practice / extra help sessions, but I do ask that team members be in attendance for all meets. If an athlete is unable to attend a team event due to illness, religious observance, or other unexpected conflict, please contact the coach.

PRACTICES

Practices will be held every Monday through Thursday unless there is a scheduled meet. Practice will run from 2:30pm to 3:45pm. Please bring a pair of running shoes or sneakers, a pair of athletic shorts or sweatpants, and a weather-appropriate shirt. You will be practicing into late October, and some of you may run into November, so please dress accordingly!

If the weather outside is too poor to conduct an outdoor practice, we will hold that day’s practice in the school gym. Should the weather be bordering on dangerous, I will cancel practice outright. Be advised: I only cancel practices in extreme circumstances. If a practice is canceled, I will notify parents via email, and there will be an announcement made at the school to inform the athletes. If you do not hear anything, assume that the practice is still on.

There may be additional practices on Fridays and Columbus Day, depending on what we need to focus our training on. These practices will be announced in advance, and they will be held off campus at one of the town’s conservation areas. I know that not everyone has easy access to transportation, so any practice held on a Friday or Columbus Day is optional - attendance is not required. Be advised that these workouts will be challenging, and they will be designed to target specific areas of our training that we can’t address at Hale. If you are not able to make an optional practice, that’s fine - we will see you at our next regularly scheduled team activity.

MEETS

Our meet schedule will be finalized shortly, and shared with all team members once things are finalized. The first meet of the year will be during the week of September 20. Team members are expected to attend every meet, even if they are unable to compete. In the event that a meet is cancelled due to inclement weather, I will try to hold a practice at Hale. As previously mentioned, I don’t like to cancel, so be prepared to do some team activity.  

Our home meets will be held at Hale Middle School. I will try to start them as soon as possible, but they generally start around 4:00pm - the delay is due to the visiting team needing to travel to us, then they need to walk the course so that they know where they’re going. Our course is one of the longer races we will run this year, coming in at about 3km (1.87mi) in length. You are always more than welcome to come watch our meets - if you arrive late, please be careful of athletes running down Hartley Road, as the meet may have already started.

 

For our away meets, we will have a bus take us to the meet and back to Hale. If you are interested in coming to watch, I will try to provide an address to our away meets. There are three options to return to Hale from our away meets:

- OPTION 1: Your athlete returns to Hale on the bus. If your athlete is returning to Hale on the bus, I do not need to know in advance.

- OPTION 2: Your athlete goes home with their own parents / guardians. If you are taking your own athlete from the meet, I do not need to know in advance - I do ask that your athlete please check in with me before you leave so we know they are all set.

- OPTION 3: Your athlete goes home with anyone else. If your athlete is going with any other individual, advance notice is required. Please send me an email before we get on the bus the day of the meet (2:30pm). If no notice is received, your child will need to return to Hale on the bus.

MEET RESULTS

I have set up a page at Blogger to post results from all our meets, optional workouts, links to the season schedule, and other important information - check it out when you get the chance: coachbenlangelo.blogspot.com

 

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET / ADDITIONAL MEETS

We are planning on competing in the Mass. Middle School Cross Country Championship this fall. It will be held on Saturday, November 6 at Willard Field in Devens. This meet is open to anyone on the team who wishes to participate; everyone entered will be able to run in a race at the meet. Please mark your calendars and let me know if you are interested in competing.

 

We may also be participating in another invitational meet in late October, depending on what our schedule looks like - I will send along more details as the day approaches.

 

CONTACTING ME

I am including my email address and cell phone number - my preferred method of contact is via email, as I am in class during the day and won’t always be able to answer my phone. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will try to respond as quickly as I can. 

I’m excited to be back for my 13th season with Hale - looking forward to working with you all this season!

Email: blangelo@nrsd.net                 Twitter: @CoachBenLangelo

Cell Phone: 978-875-0720         Website: coachbenlangelo.blogspot.com