Scott Vilas: AOTW

Freshman Scott Vilas is making a big splash on the cross country team already. He has been training consistently and set a good mile PR of 5:47 lat Saturday. Today Scott was our 7th man. He came out with a very surprising performance and finished 10th overall in the tri-meet. Scott and the rest of the cougars will really be tested next Friday as they travel to The Woodlands to face the toughest competition in the state.

Shalin Dalal won the boys race this afternoon and Hiba Kreidie led the girls' team with a 3rd place finish behind two Austin runners. Katherine Toy looked like she was coming back into form as she finished 5th overall and Briana Gifford once again proved she is always ready on race day with her 6th place overall finish. Errol Hampton and Matt Cortez finished in just about a tie for second. David Koistinen could not catch Bush's best runner and finished 4th just ahead of teammate Shanup Dalal. Abel Simie, Scott Vilas and Chris Ysais rounded out the top 8 for the boys team.

Kempner vs Bush/Austin Results

Partial Results

Girls Results

1. Caitlyn Howell Austin 13:34
2. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________ Austin
3. Hiba Kreidie Kempner 14:33
4. Casey Carswell Austin
5. Katherine Toy Kempner 14:47
6. Briana Gifford Kempner 14:53
Gina Keidel Kempner 15:21
Hannah Selesky Kempner 15:21
Jena Deitrich Kempner 16:39
Chelsea Nelson Kempner 17:16
Lisette Bogdan Kempner 17:38
Angela Cortez Kempner 17:39
Lillian Dominguez Kempner 17:39
Anna Koistinen Kempner 18:44
Sahar Halim Kempner 19:16

Boys Results

1. Shalin Dalal Kempner 11:13
2. Errol Hampton Kempner 11:34
3. Matt Cortez Kempner 11:34
4. Carlos Rodriguez Bush
5. David Koistine Kempner 11:43
6. Shanup Dalal Kempner 11:54
7. Chuck Raisinen Austin
Abel Simie Kempner 12:35
Scott Vilas Kempner 13:07
Chris Ysais Kempner 13:09
Evan Bogdan Kempner 13:21
Kyle Muscarello Kempner 13:24
Christian Salazar Kempner 13:27
Juan Trujillo Kempner 13:43
Travis Bogdan Kempner 13:50
Jonathan Amadio Kempner 14:36
Jimmy Luong Kempner 15:29
Daniel Cortez Kempner 16:22

Katherine Toy: a junior with a mission

Katherine Toy is a member of the class of 2009 and is looking forward to improvement during her junior cross country season. Last track season Katherine had PRs in the 3200 meters of 12:52 and 5:59 for 1600 meters. KXC talked with Katherine this morning.

KXC: You had a breakthrough season last spring, what do you think contributed most to that?

Katherine: Bri went to all the meets, just kidding! Seriously, there was a lot of pressure. I didn’t think my cross country season went very well so I wanted to prove myself to everyone.

KXC: What are your goals for this cross country season?

Katherine: My first goal is to recover from this quad strain. I’ve never broken 14 on a cross country course so I’d like to be up there. I want to be able to run my track times on the cross country course.

KXC: What’ your most memorable experience of the summer?

Katherine: I went with Gina to the Incarnate Word XC Camp. It was special because all these girls from different places were so fast; it showed me how fast we can be or how you get there. It really inspired me.

KXC: Which meet do you look forward to the most?

Katherine: I was looking forward to district because I want to see if your theory works!☺

KXC: It’s not my theory! Give me your prediction on how the girls’ team will do at district.

Katherine: Ok, I think from this point, people could be more mentally strong. I think if we work hard, harder than we’ve been working, we could win.

KXC: Tomorrow you race Bush and Austin, what are you expecting?

Katherine: To go to Ci-Ci’s afterwards, no matter what.

KXC: What’s your favorite food, workout, and TV show?

Katherine: Japanese food, “The Bri,” just kidding I hate that one, and I don’t watch much TV but, Sponge Bob!

KXC: Is there anything you’d like to add?

Katherine: I think I could run a million miles but in the end, it comes down to how bad I want it, victory that is.

This is to the boys- This is your last chance to walk away with the prize. You all have so much in you and when it comes down to district just go out, don’t hold back, and win!

To the girls- for some of us the clock is ticking. When Coach started talking to us yesterday I really started thinking about the amount of time all of us have left. I’m not going to say we have potential because I hate that term, but we definitely have the heart to win back the prize and go even further.

Good luck this year to everybody!

THE PERFECT FORM By Jane Unger Hahn

Mr. Toy brought this article to my attention and it is very important that you read it and try to imitate what it says. It is extremely accurate:

Head Tilt How you hold your head is key to overall posture, which determines how efficiently you run. Let your gaze guide you. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Don't allow your chin to jut out.

Shoulders Shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is critical to maintaining efficient running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don't let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain level and shouldn't dip from side to side with each stride.

Arms Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms aren't just along for the ride. Your hands control the tension in your upper body, while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. Keep your hands in an unclenched fist, with your fingers lightly touching your palms. Imagine yourself trying to carry a potato chip in each hand without crushing it. Your arms should swing mostly forward and back, not across your body,between waist and lower-chest level. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. When you feel your fists clenching or your forearms tensing, drop your arms to your sides and shake them out for a few seconds to release the tension.

Torso The position of your torso while running is affected by the position of your head and shoulders. With your head up and looking ahead and your shoulders low and loose, your torso and back naturally straighten to allow you to run in an efficient, upright position that promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. Many track coaches describe this ideal torso position as "running tall" and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. If you start to slouch during a run take a deep breath and feel yourself naturally straighten. As you exhale simply maintain that upright position.

Hips Your hips are your center of gravity, so they're key to good running posture. The proper position of your torso while running helps to ensure your hips will also be in the ideal position. With your torso and back comfortably upright and straight, your hips naturally fall into proper alignment--pointing you straight ahead. If you allow your torso to hunch over or lean too far forward during a run, your pelvis will tilt forward as well, which can put pressure on your lower back and throw the rest of your lower body out of alignment. When trying to gauge the position of your hips, think of your pelvis as a bowl filled with marbles, then try not to spill the marbles by tilting the bowl.

Legs/Stride While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

Ankles/Feet To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly--landing between your heel and midfoot--then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is springy and quiet.

Tri Meet vs Bush/Austin

We finally get to race on Friday. After last week's rain out, a lot of us are chomping at the bit for some competition. Here is this week's race schedule:

Wednesday, August 22
4pm Log Book Meeting in Coach Dye's Room 214

Thursday, August 23
7pm Team Pre-Race Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes at the Fountains near Lowes Theater.

Friday, August 24
4:00pm Meet at KHS track to leave for meet
5:30pm Girls' Race
6:00pm Boys' Race
6:30pm Team Cool Down
7:00pm Dinner at Ci-Ci's Pizza on Hwy 6 near Bellaire
8:00pm Arrive at Kempner

Team Sacrifice

A lot of sacrifices are made during a cross country season. You have to get out of your comfort zone if you want to run fast, wake up at 5am sometimes, stay away from junk food, go to bed at a decent hour to get at least 8 hours of sleep, etc. This year the team will sacrifice SODA. Sodas are not necessarily too bad for you, although they do have too much sugar and caffeine, the fact of the matter is, we are giving them up for each other. On Wednesday at the logbook meeting at 4pm in room 214 at Kempner we will further discuss this sacrifice. Parents and athletes please help your kids and friends by encouraging them to drink more water when they are thirsty. I am even giving up soda starting Wednesday at 4pm!