After a really big slump last week, what would happen this week? Would Basic just keep getting worse? The answer: Hell no. Basic came back better than ever, and with the times our younger guys ran this week, I'd say we're back on top where we belong :)

 

In the Frosh-Soph Championships, the mostly all of our guys ran really great. In the sophomore division, Noah Pinto led the team with the best time of the day in 14:37, and finishing 12th in the sophomore race. Not his best time, but it was good for the terrain, and he should feel very proud of himself. Also, sophomore Will Gibbs had a great run finishing 23rd in his division with a time of 14:58. In the freshman division, our 3 musketeers of freshman Terrill Betterly, Dillon Meeks, and Sam Stewart III all finished within 4 seconds of each other to grab the 42, 43, and 45. Betterly, the first finishers out of our freshman, ran a 17:14. Qadan didn't run his best...but don't count him out, I'm not even close to being done with this week's summary. I'm pleased with all our male performances at Frosh-Soph.

 

The girls really went to town in the Frosh-Soph Championships :) Sophomore Jessica Raymond came in with a smokin' time of 16:29, placing 3rd in the 92 person sophomore field. Dang! Also, sophomore Alex Acosta has finally got in to her groove!!! Perfect timing! She busted out an amazing 16:57, breaking her previous 2.5 mile time this season by a long shot. I knew it would happen eventually. Acosta placed 8th for the sophomores. Also running really well, freshman Melanie Harris ran a 17:41 to place 13th in the freshman division. That a girl Mel! Bailey Gallup also did extremely well as she continues to improve running an 18:30 and placing 18th in the freshman division. She beat her teammate Megan McCarthy by a single second, and placing. Great job Bailey and Megan! Sophomore Shira Cubero also did well running an 18:51 and placing 35th in the sophomore division. Danielle, Kayla, Savannah, and Crystal didn't run bad, but they also didn't do their best. I'm still pleased with their performances. The girls really did a great job in the biggest meet for them this year (besides Regionals, which is coming up).

Team Scores Sophomore Division:

1. Coronado-36

2. Arbor View-37

3. Basic-75

4. Clark-86

5. Durango-122

6. SECTA-No Team Score

6. Foothill-No Team Score

6. Boulder City-No Team Score

6. Shadow Ridge-No Team Score

6. Bonanza-No Team Score

6. Valley-No Team Score

6. Palo Verde-No Team Score

6. Green Valley-No Team Score

6. Bishop Gorman-No Team Score

6. Spring Valley-No Team Score

6. Liberty-No Team Score

6. Del Sol-No Team Score

6. Faith Lutheran-No Team Score

6. Centennial-No Team Score

6. Canyon Springs-No Team Score

6. Sierra Vista-No Team Score

6. Desert Pines-No Team Score

6. Chaparral-No Team Score

6. Moapa Valley-No Team Score

6. Western-No Team Score

6. Virgin Valley-No Team Score

6. Sunrise Mountain-No Team Score

 

Team Scores Freshman Division:

1. Coronado-28

2. Shadow Ridge-56

3. Foothill-71

4. Basic-78

5. Valley-121

6. Palo Verde-No Score

6. Centennial-No Score

6. Green Valley-No Score

6. Arbor View-No Score

6. Silverado-No Score

6. Clark-No Score

6. Canyon Springs-No Score

6. Bonanza-No Score

6. Durango-No Score

6. Liberty- No Score

6. Bishop Gorman-No Score

6. Del Sol-No Score

6. Virgin Valley-No Score

6. Cimarron-No Score

6. Desert Pines-No Score

6. SECTA-No Score

6. Faith Lutheran-No Score

6. Boulder City-No Score

6. Desert Oasis-No Score

6. Moapa Valley-No Score

6. Sunrise Mountain-No Score

 

Ok, now it's time to mention Huntington Beach. It couldn't have gone any better. Not only did everyone have fun at Olive Garden, taping Erika up, dressing up like ninjas and beating people with pillows, raving, saying "Hi, my name is Sam, and I'm a ******", and having fun at the beach...but we also did REALLY WELL at the Central Park Invitational!

 

I'll start with the boys. In the varsity division, junior Jonny Stiles led the team once again running a 17:10 3 miler...which converts to about a 17:44 5k. Which tied his previous PR. The next fastest time of the day belonged to sophomore Will Gibbs, who ran a 17:42. He destroyed the "high-expectation" goal I set for him by a lot, and the 3 mile time he ran converts to a about an 18:26!!! Which would have gave him about a 1:20 PR! Nice! Very good performance Will, you should be extremely proud of yourself :) another shocking performance in the mens JV race came from Mikeal Meeks. Hi previous 5k PR was around 20:40...20:40 you say? Well Mikeal busted out a 17:55 3 miler, that converts to an 18:40 5k, breaking his old PR by 2 minutes!!! WOAH! Mikeal deserves some sort of special award. The mens division 1 JV race was the first race of the day, and Mikeal's effort really jumpstarted Basic's surge to good performances all day. When Mikeal had about 150 meters left or so, I was yelling at the top of my lungs for him to catch the guys in front of him. He then changed gears to something I would have seen from an Olympic sprinter. Not only did he pick it up, but he began picking opponents off one by one. Just thinking about the intensity he must have been feeling makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and it added more dramatic effect when I looked at my race clock knowing he was about to PR by 2 minutes. I truely believe he inspired every single person on our team Saturday. I'm really proud of Mikeal, and I know he can keep it up...but Jonny, Will, and Mikeal weren't the only people to be freaks of nature Saturday. Ady NDiaye ran a 19:45 3 miler , which was the 4th fastest guy from Basic. He didn't do as well as he did in the beginning of the season before he starved himself, but he beat his SECTA time by about 3 minutes if you convert his Central Park time to a 5k time. Ady told me yesterday, "I finally feel good again". What perfect timing! The 5th fastest time of the day went to freshman Terrill Betterly, and boy did he sure finish his season with a bang! His previous 5k PR this high school cross country season was 25:58 at the SECTA course. His time coverted to a 5k at Central Park was 20:52, breaking his 5k PR by 5:06!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck! Who PRs by 5 minutes in a race? That is just crazy, and I'm really proud of Terrill! :) Also running a very impressive new PR was freshman Sam Stewart III, he ran a 20:42 3 miler, which converts to a 21:30 5k...breaking his previous PR by 1:50 :O what a beast! Freshman Dillon Meeks also finished his season strong with a 21:07 , which converts to a 21:57 5k...breaking his PR by nearly 2 minutes...dang! Way to finish Dillon. Also running a very good new personal best was sophomore Qadan Pavlides, running a 23:01, which converts to a 20:53 5k, beating his previous PR by 2:19. Good job Qadan :) I'm very happy with every single person's performance!!! Although we didn't have a bunch of our older guys due to testing, it gives us confidence going in to the Regional Championships!

 

Where do I start with these girls? Ohhhh, I know...JESSICA RAYMOND! She ran in the Frosh-Soph division 1 race, placing 6th overall in a field of 289 young ladies that consisted of 39 prestigious teams from all over California, Arizona, and Southern Nevada. She also would have placed 1st in the division 2 Frosh-Soph race with her time...but her time is what is most impressive. The time she ran converts to a 20:37 5k, which is amazing!!! With that time she would have placed her 4th in the Sunrise Regional Championship, and 10th in the Nevada 4A State Championship. She beat her previous PR of this year by about 2:12. Woah! :O Keep in mind that this girl is only a sophomore. Nice! The second fastest time of the day on the girls side went to another studly sophomore, little Alexandria Acosta. She's been in a slump all season, and didn't know what was wrong. The effort was always there, but she focused more on running to "not lose", than focusing on doing the best she could possibly do, no matter what place or time she ran. She has that winners mentality back in her head, and it came at the right time of the year. She ran a 20:37 3 miler to place 12th in the 289 lady field. Very impressive! Even more impressive is converting it to a 5k time...which is 21:25! With that kind of running, you'll see Alex in the State meet this year. I'm very proud of what she's done this year, all year...and hard work eventually pays off. Alex leads by example...23:47 was her previous PR this year...but that's not the case anymore. This saturday that dropped by 3:10 for Alex, DANG! In the varsity division 1 race, Erika Oceguera showed some mad skills running a 20:57 which converts to a 21:48 5k, just missing her already beasty PR of 21:47. That a girl Erika! If she just keeps it up, I'm expecting to see Erika in the State meet, along with the whole team...which I'll discuss later. Erika should be feeling confident going in to the regional race. With just 2 races to go in the season, she has done very well up to this point in the season, and I strongly believe her best race has yet to come. Watch out for that girl! The fourth best time of the day from Basic goes to junior Natasha Tomlinson. The hardest worker on our team ran a 21:17, which converts to a 22:06 5k, which is also very impressive! But still, not the best she can do. With how hard she works in practice, I know Natasha can break 21:00 on a good day, and there are still 2 races left in the season. Watch out for Natasha at Regionals is all I can say :) I heard that someone in the crowd said "Natasha's not even that good", and I think we all know who that is. I have one thing to say to them..."Are you drunk?" Do you know how hard this girl works? Do you not know how she practices? Do you know how bad she wants this? Obviously the answer is no. You have no right to say that to her, and you really have no life if all you can do is try to put someone down, and it's a shame to even think of someone saying that to their own team. You can't keep Natasha down. Sure, she may not run a smart race everytime, but I'd bet you my kidney she tries every single time. :) Natasha just needs to get in to her head what I tell Alex. "You can't focus on not losing, you must focus on running the best you possibly can no matter what place or time you come in. Winning isn't everything, but striving to win is." I'm not worried about Natasha, who should be worried are the Coronado, Green Valley, and Foothill girls :O The fifth fastest time on the girls side belonged to our "Super Fresh" Mel Harris (Super Fresh is what Coach Cherry called me my freshman year). Mel ran a 21:40 that converts to a 22:30 5k. What a beast! That would beat her 5k PR by about 1:46...another PR performance, but it doesn't stop there. Battling for a varsity spot is sophomore Shira Cubero. She was the sixth fastest of the day from Basic, and she also ran amazing! She ran a 22:24 3 miler which converts to a 23:13 5k time. According to PRs, that moves her to the number 7 varsity spot, just barely missing Alyssa's PR of 23:08. Shira has come a very long way from the beginning of the season, and she broke her PR by 1:20 this last race. Very impressive Shira! Just making varsity shouldn't be good enough for you though, aim at breaking 23:00 in Regionals because you can do it, and the hard work you put in makes you worthy. :) our 7th best time of the day went to freshman Megan McCarthy. She really beasted it, and proved to Coach Wells that she could be on varsity as well. Her time converted to a 5k would be 23:36, which would put her number 8 on the team, just barely missing clinching the last varsity spot. She really worked hard this whole year, and a nice 0:50 PR is a good way to end the season. Good job Megsn, I'm proud of you :) our number 8 Saturday went to Iris "Jummy" Munguia. In an epic battle for the last varsity spot, Iris came up a little short of Shira's mark, and ran a 22:47 3 mile, which converts to a 23:40 5k time. She ran good, and should be proud she PRd by 1:04...but she's on the bubble, so this next race coming up at divisionals will be the deciding factor on which girl will go to regionals. Shira vs. Jummy...who will it be? Epic!!! Hahahaha jkjk it's not that epic, Iris doesn't even care, and for that I'm disappointed with her...but ohhhh well, what can I say? The number 9 girl of the day went to freshman Bailey Gallup who ran a very impressive 23:09, which converts to a 24:02 5k. That beats her previous PR of 26:25 by 2:23! That a girl Bailey, way to finish the season strong :) Our 10th fastest time of the day went to  Alyssa Kuveke. She has the 6th best PR on the team currently, but the way she ran Saturday you would not think so...she ran a 23:23, which converts to a 24:18 5k, missing her PR by over a minute, but hey, everyone has their off days. I'm very proud of sophomore Kayla Sidenstricker! She ran a 24:32 3 miler, which converts to a 25:28, beating her old PR by 3:06. Nice! Way to finish the season Kayla. Also, her sister Danielle ran a time that converts to a 26:28 5k...which isn't the best she's done, but good for battling a hip injury all season. I'm proud of her for sticking with it, and finishing the season. Just heal up, and come back strong for track :) Freshman Savannah Hutchings ran a 27:35 3 mile time which converts to a 28:36 5k time. Good season Savannah! She really improved a lot throughout the year, and she PRd by over 5 minutes in Saturday's race! Nice! Another very good end to the season went to Crystal Munguia. She ran a time that would have been a 29:06 5k, which would have made her PR by a little under 4 minutes! CRystal, way to finish the season strong, and you should be very proud of yourself for sticking to it all season. You didn't give up. None of the people left standing did. I'm proud of you all. Watch out, Basic's going to strike at Regionals....just wait  and see :)

Team Scores Girls Frosh-Soph Combined Division 1 and 2: (I found this interesting)

1. Santiago

2. Trabuco Hills

3.  Santa Monica

4. Long Beach Poly

5. Basic

6. Beckman

7. Fountain Valley

8. Warren

9. Westlake

10. Godinez Fundamental

11. Capo Valley

12. Los Alamitos

13. Santa Margarita

14. Irvine University

15. Long Beach Wilson

16. Flintridge

17. La Jolla

18. El Modena

19. South Torrence

20. El Dorado

21. Beverly Hills

22. Sunny Hills

23. Cibola

24. Paramount

25. Paloma Valley

26. Culver City

27. Saddleback

28. Anaheim

29. El Segundo

30. Santiago (GG)

31. Wilson (HH)

32. El Camino

33. Magnolia

34. Patrick Henry

35. Archer

36. Bishop Conaty

37. Bishop Gorman-No Score

37. Ursuline-No Score

37. Kings Academy-No Score

37. Sanora-No Score

37. High Tech-No Score

37. Buena Park-No Score

37. Huntington Beach-No Score

37. Palm Desert-No Score

37. Orcutt Academy-No Score

37. Yuma Catholic-No Score

37. Costa Mesa-No Score

37. Monrovia-No Score

37. Venice-No Score

 

Out of 49 Teams that raced in the Frosh-Soph division, we placed 5th...that's pretty siick! :)

 

Male Athlete Of The Week:

(Jr.) Jonny Stiles, once again he ran swell. His time at the Central Park Invite was the best from the Basic guys. Good job Jonny :)

 

Female Athlete Of The Week:

(So.) Jessica Raymond, at the Central Park Invite, her performance was the best of the year yet by anyone from Basic. She placed 6th out of a stacked competetive field, and her converted 5k time comes out to 20:37. I'm amazed by what she has done in the past week, I really can't believe it. She deserves not only to go to State, but show all the older girls what's up. She is the second fastest sophomore in the state of Nevada right now, just 7 seconds behind SECTA's Taylor Coss, but Jessica's not even at her prime. Watch out come regional time for Jessica Raymond! Or as Iris would say Yessica Raymond. I also have yet to mention her 3rd place finish in the Frosh-Soph Championships last week. Nice! Jessica just had one of the best weeks in cross country :) I'm really proud of her, and she's confident going in to regionals...which is the only race that truely matters!

 

Most Improved Male:

(Fr.) Terrill Betterly, Every single person on the mens side deserves this....but you can't not put Terrill here after running 5 inutes and 6 seconds better than his previous PR, that's just crazy!!!! 20:52 5k as a freshman? Not bad Terrill...not bad at all! I'm very proud of this kid!

 

Most Improved Female:

(So.) Alex Acosta, almost every single girl on the team would also be worthy of this award, but Alex just stands out to me. Before this week Alex's year was not going according to plan, but after placing 12th in the big Central Park Invite (20:37 3 miler), and placing 8th in the Southern Nevada Frosh-Soph Championships (16:57 2.5 miler), i'd say she's back on track big time! Her coverted 5k time comes out to 21:15, which beat her old PR of 23:47 by 2:32...which is very good considering most girls would settle with a 23:47, but not the girls at Basic....and definetly not Alex. I have high standards for everyone on the team, and this weekend all the girls beat that high standard. Now they have to raise the bar again, Regionals is coming! :) Good job Alex, I can't even begin to explain how proud of you I am :)