Paul Short Invite and Forward
The last time I was at the Paul Short Invite was in 1981 as a sophomore at the University of Maryland. It was called the Lehigh Invite back then but it was always a big meet with top teams from all over the region and country in attendance. Nearly 30 years later it was not much different.
Our Women’s team competed in the second most competitive field of the day in the Brown Race. There were many DI and DII schools in the field as well as our conference rivals: Cortland, Plattsburgh and Oneonta. The race conditions were excellent and the course is rolling but fast. It was our first big invite of the year and I think it was a bit intimidating for some of the younger runners who are not used to competing in highly competitive fields with 300 to 400 runners. I thought the women may have been a little bit too conservative the first mile but they have not been doing alot of the kind of work that would make them feel comfortable going out hard and mixing it up with very good runners. The women looked great overall for where they’re at this time in the season. Danielle crushed the school record with a 23:25 and looks like she’ll be ready to go under 23 on her next fast 6k course. Lisa was a little under the weather but still ran 24:07, just 9 seconds off last years best. Nikki McCarthy and Nichole Wishchoff both ran there first 6k’s in 24:43 and 24:51 respectively. Lisa, Nikki & Nichole were all out in 6:30 which was a bit pedestrian for them and need to be a bit more aggressive in the future. Sara Wenger ran 25:22 which was a big PR for her and was through the first mile in 6:40. Kate Frick ran 25:47 with a steady performance and a personal best and Alex Berenis ran a PR in 25:58 to round out our top 7.
It’s about time to start to switch gears and begin to focus on sharpening. We have less then three weeks to SUNYAC. We will start to see how all the work begins to pay off in the coming weeks.
The men had a wake up call at Paul Short. Jr Captain Joe Gentsch ran a personal best in 26:17 for his first 8k of the season. I think Joe was a little disappointed with his performance and knows now what areas he will need to improve on if he wants to take his running to the elite level in our conference. Albany will give us a clear indication as to whether or not he is ready to make the move. Rob Grazier followed Joe with a 28:28, 8 seconds off his PR. Dex Larsen ran solid with a 28:50 tying his pb from his freshmen year. Shawn Gannon and Jeff Raab struggled in together in 29:15. Rob Webster ran a personal best of 29:24 finally cracking the 30 min mark.
The men still have a chance to get themselves into a more competitive postion by the 31st It will take focus and determination on their part at Albany to set themselves up for a great race at Conference Champs.
These two teams still have alot to prove but they are both headed in the right direction. I can’t wait until Albany this weekend.