Post-MAAC analysis

General:

Overall, a great meet for us. There were several notable personal-best times and we achieved our team goal of a strong 2nd place finish. Most importantly, we ran in packs. We need to continue to do this in training and racing. Nicely done.

Girma Segni, 25:21.0. You did the job nicely on a day when you actually were a little bit flat. Time to focus on regionals.

David Raucci, 25:29.8: Believe it or not, you probably started a bit too slowly. You definitely made up a lot of ground and ran a nice, strong PR. Like Girma, you did the job we needed to get done.

Side note: If you take Girma and David out of the scoring, we still would have placed 2nd in the meet! That's awesome!!!

Mike Rolek, 26:04.0. Fantastic effort that has been building for quite some time. Extremely proud of this race. You really made the day for this team. Keep building on this success and close out a strong senior season in style.

Conor Shelley, 26:16.5. Best race of the season as you continue to rebound to your old form. Look to nail it big time in the final two races. Train hard and smart over the next few days/weeks and get it done.

John Keenan, 26:56.7. Once again, you saved your best performance of the season to date for the conference meet. You were focused, strong and motivated, and you filled a key role as our fifth man in this meet. Aim for this spot or higher at regionals, with a much faster time/higher placement to ensure our team fulfills its goals. Nice job.

Adam Vess, 26:57.6. A tough day in which you said you felt flat and raced flat. Part of that could be a result of a too-slow start with David, in which you could not switch gears well in the back hills. Our depth was key for us as we still achieved our goals easily. Aim for big bounce-back efforts in the final two meets. I have 100 percent faith you can do this, and you know you can as well.

Tim Keegan, 27:00.3. Another strong, solid effort in which you worked with your teammates well. You have been a consistent varsity runner all fall. Keep that consistency going, and aim for strong finishes in the final two meets.

Tom Dixon, 27:15.8. A major breakthrough effort that I honestly saw coming for a few weeks now. I'm proud of the season you have had. Finish it up strongly so you have something to truly remember.

Shane Reilly, 27:28.4. Definitely your best effort to date in what has been a rocky season for you. You were probably capable of even faster had you not cramped up. The key now is to stay fresh and sharp. Take easy/short days when you need them. Stay fresh. Stay sharp.

Matt Janczyk, 27:34.9. Great job! You finally put together a strong VCP effort. As good as it was, I believe you have another 30 seconds improvement in you on this course. Keep at it.

Joe Tarantello, 27:39.7. I was so pleased and thrilled to see you finish as strongly as you did. Honestly, it was one of the more satisfying races of the year. Now that you have broken through, it's time to build upon that for the final two meets. You can do that.

Nick Webster, 27:42.5. This was a positive effort for me to see. It made me (and hopefully you) believe that you still have life in your legs despite being a little ragged during the past few weeks. Continue with the sharpening by taking rest/easy days, and the times could keep improving.

Alex Emerel, 28:01.6. A bummer of a day for you.

Kris Geist, 28:25.3. You led a really nice pack of guys and it was great to see. It's been a tough road for you, but hopefully you can build on this and finish fast.

Ted Marak, 28:30.8. Your best VCP effort in years! Great job!

Sam McMullen, 28:32.1. Great effort, especially considering you were under the weather during the week. This race showed me you have great mental toughness. Nice work.

Zak Smetana, 28:48.5. You were the leader of the next Red Fox pack. Great effort as you continue to get stronger and fresher as well.

Greg Masto, 28:55.6. You looked strong and focused throughout, and I was glad to see that since your season has been rocky as well. Build on it!

Patrick Duggan, 28:57.6. Very strong effort for you! Like Greg, you looked mentally focused from start to finish and that was awesome to see.

Tom Williams, 28:59.5. I'm pleased that you gave it a 100 percent effort in your final cross country race. Although the time is way off where you have been, the effort was there.

Rob Fleming, 29:01.4. Great way to end the season on a high note. Let's keep building the mileage and stay strong for track.

Bryan Dixon, 29:22.3. Strong effort after a rough few weeks of training. Good job.

Matt Maynes, 30:03.5. You said your legs were dead during/after this. The key will be to freshen them up in the final few weeks so you can finish with a few PRs. You can do that!