Robert is top 15 in the Louisville Greater Classic

Actually he just missed top 10 by one runner!

Almost immediately after Devon ran we were racing back to the start line to see and talk to Robert before the NOMS boys middle school race.  Robert's race started at 3:30 pm.  Again, it was a perfect day for a cross country meet.

This is why it was so stressful today.  Betsy had agreed to take the team photo for the NOMS at 1:45, but Marissa was supposed to run at 9:20, but she ran at 10:45 in Cincinnati, OH (2 hours away)… so when you do the math her race will be over around 11:15 / 11:30 and that get's us back to Louisville at  1:30 (only 15 minute cushion).  Well, Robert and I made it just in time.

2012 Team Photo

 After the photo Robert went with his team on a walk through of the course while Mark and I ran over to see Devon run his race.  Then we were back to see Robert at the start.  He had a fabulous start - top 15!!!

Coming around the 1st mile

Robert moving forward just before the 2 mile mark

At the finish

Robert finished in 11th place with a PR of 14:53.  He finished 4th for his team and 11th overall.  Logan Otter was 1st, Alex McClarty came in 2nd, Matthew Morris was 7th, Robert 11th and then Nick Bierne was 23rd.

All five scorers were in the top 25 winning meet tee-shirts!

Greater Louisville Classic Cross Country Inv.
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Results
Event 5  Boys 4k Run CC MIDDLE SCHL
=======================================================================
    Name                    Year School                  Finals  Points
=======================================================================
Results - Men
  1 Otter, Logan              08 North Oldham          13:48.40    1
  2 McClarty, Alex            08 North Oldham          13:52.64    2
  3 Barsamian, Alazar         07 Christian Acad.       14:12.48    3
  4 Merkel, Collin            08 College View          14:16.93    4
  5 Perkins, Brennan          08 Pulaski County        14:30.14    5
  6 Pierce, Drew              08 South Oldham Middle   14:35.62    6
  7 Morris, Matthew           08 North Oldham          14:38.79    7
  8 Margle, Bryce             08 Meade County          14:39.85    8
  9 Shackleford, Austin       08 Bell County           14:43.82
 10 Heckman, Stevie           06 Northeast YMCA        14:48.70    9
 11 Lowe, Robert              08 North Oldham          14:53.22   10
 12 Osborne, Adam             08 East Oldham MS        14:54.74   11
 13 Grogan, Wes               05 Heath High School     15:03.29
 14 Hardy, Riggs              05 Goshen Elementary     15:11.42
 15 Schwartz, Noah            07 Meade County          15:13.61   12
 16 Swain, Glavin             08 Hite                  15:14.09   13
 17 Ott, Steven               07 Christian Acad.       15:14.71   14
 18 Madden, Andrew               Lexington Christian   15:20.52   15
 19 Boyle, Nathan             07 College View          15:23.82   16
 20 Crask, Andrew             08 Northeast YMCA        15:24.89   17
 21 Green, Connor             08 Bullitt East          15:29.63
 22 DeNeve, Mark              08 SMHS                  15:30.51
 23 Beirne, Nicholas          08 North Oldham          15:34.24   18
 24 Beyerle, David            08 South Oldham Middle   15:35.22   19
 25 Graves, Ethan             05 Northeast YMCA        15:36.61   20

Robert and Logan with the 1st place winning bat

Devon is top 10 in the Greater Louisville Classic

Well Saturday was a great day for the whole family and for Devon!!!

Devon ran in the Greater Louisville Classic at 2:30 pm.  The day was a perfect day - sunny, cool, and dry.  Devon ran a great race finishing 4th for his team, 6th overall (top 10)!!!  And the team took 1st place - Aaron Kay Anthony 1st place, Arseniey Semenov 3rd place, Luc Brazeau 5th place, Devon Lowe 6th place, Mark Scherer 11th place!!!

Devon after the 1 mile mark

Devon at the finish

The JV runners with the 1st place Louisville Slugger!!!

Everyone that finished in the top 25 won a meet tee-shirt (as seen in the photo).

Greater Louisville Classic Cross Country Inv.
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Results
Event 3  Boys 5k Run CC J.V.
=======================================================================
    Name                    Year School                  Finals  Points
=======================================================================
Results - Men
  1 Kay-Anthony, Aaron        09 North Oldham          17:58.32    1
  2 Ozier, Austin             10 Eastern               18:03.73    2
  3 Semenov, Arseniy          11 North Oldham          18:10.03    3
  4 Cavender, Hunter          11 Daviess County        18:19.30    4
  5 Brazeau, Luc              10 North Oldham          18:19.92    5
  6 Lowe, Devon               12 North Oldham          18:25.91    6
  7 McCauley, Tyler           10 Holy Cross Louis      18:27.04    7
  8 McCauley, Chase           11 Holy Cross Louis      18:27.43    8
  9 Ferguson, Nick            10 Daviess County        18:28.40    9
 10 Cooper, McKay             11 Daviess County        18:29.68   10

Marissa is top 10 in the Saint X (Cincinnati, OH) race

Marissa's XC team woke up bright and early leaving NOHS at 6:30 am to travel to St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, OH which is approximately a 2 hour bus ride away.  This race will have some of the fastest girls in the area (OH).  The JV team races at 10:10 and the Varsity team races at 10:45.  This makes the day very stressful for Mark and I because Robert and I have to be back in Louisville at Tom Sawyer Park for the Greater Louisville Classic by 1:45 for the team photo.  If everything goes as planned we should be able to do it but it will require everything to work perfect.

Luckily the races are starting almost on time!  YEAH!  Marissa, Maggie, Ally and Erin all get a great start to the race.  Marissa rests in at the 8th position.

The course has a lots of twists and turns.  The girls circle the start twice before heading over to another area of the school complex.  By her second lap Marissa was now in 6th place.  She looks good and strong.  

This part of the course was a perfect place to take photos!  

My favorite photo of 2012 so far :)

After running a ways away the girls circle back yet again to redo the first lap again before coming back to the stadium to finish on the track.  It's a very exciting course because (if you chose to run around) you can see them at several places/times during the race!

This is Marissa with Mark and Robert watching and cheering her on.  She is near the end of the race - probably only 600 meters to go.  We race from here to the finish line.

Here's Marissa rounding the corner just before the finish line.  She finished in record breaking time in 7th place with a new PR of 19:54.  It was tremendous!  We were all so happy for her.  She was presented with a shirt.

 

Erin Edmondson finished 2nd in 19:20, then Marissa in 7th, then Maggie in 9th, Shelby in 11th and Ally right behind her in 12th place.  The team won first place with 41 total points.  The JV team won 3rd place so all in all it was a wonderful morning for the girls… only to be followed by great fun as they stayed in Cincinnati for the "traditional team sleep out".

Marissa roomed with Kenzie and Mallory (I think).  She had a great time.  They played at the pool, ate dinner, went shopping, and really bonded.

Jessica gets a job - now she needs a bike

Jessica had texted the night before saying she had some very exciting news, but that she would have to wait to tell me tomorrow (today).  So, all day I've anxiously awaited her phone call.  I'm working all week so I can't talk during the day.

Luckily she calls after school while I can talk.  She has three important things to share:

1) she got a new calling - VT Coordinator
2) she got a great grade on an exam (100%)
and
3) she got a new job - at the MTC - serving food.  She got the job just one day after Quinn entered the MTC.  She's so excited to work there!

We are so happy for her.  She is having such a wonderful experience at BYU.  This will definately make it a bit more challenging managing the time to work and the time it takes to get there.  Now, she needs a bike!

Game 4 - We play our Premier team

The last game of the tournament for us is at 4:15 the same day we played Legends (at 10:35) so we've had time to relax and rest but it is probably the most intense game of the entire season we will play because it is against our own club's Premier team.  Our boys want to prove they are as good as the "A" team, and the "A" team wants to prove that they are better than us.  It was a battle from the very first whistle.  

Robert started the game in left forward and did a super fantastic job.  He had them under constant pressure.  Robert played very aggressive and assertive.  He was clean in his play, but he wasn't going to back down to the "A" team (especially since he was on Javanon's "A" team last year and would be still if we didn't switch clubs).

As the game went on, the "A" team scored a goal 15 minutes into the game due to a defender mistake (something correctable).  The pressure is on to perform … which is exactly what the "B" team did.  Before the half was up we too scored a goal.  The score is tie 1-1.

With the start of the second half, you can tell both teams are playing for the championship.  Robert has a few clean break aways that he crosses to a team mate, but the shot is missed (over or to the side of the goal).  Bummer!  Over and over again, we had opportunity to score.

receiving the ball

controlling the ball

distributing the ball (in a second)

In the end, the score remained a tie 1-1.  To the "B" team it is a victory.  Everyone feels wonderful about the game.  Everyone played their hearts out to show they are no less of a team - and they weren't!

There were a few of Robert's friends on the "A" team.  He was able to chat with them after the game.

Some more Soccer - 3rd game of Tournament

The following day Robert had the same schedule as yesterday.  His team's first game of the day was at 10:35 am.  Today they had to play against the Oldham County Legends; several of Robert's friends are on this team:  Ryan Danehy, Aaron Green, Fynn Isenhart, Holden Thompson, Ryan Waldren, - all friends from school.

The weather was perfect.  We have played this team before and beat them 3-0.

Today was no different.  Robert's team did fantastic.

Robert had a great game playing forward.  He scored the first goal of the day!  Then KFJ scored again.
Then again in the second half.  The game ends 3-0.  It was to see the KFJ work so well together.

Robert's Second game for the day

We played a team called USA, but they used to be the Fusion.

This was a team with big boys and fast boys.  It will definitely be a challenge, but one I think the boys are up too!  

The USA team scores first - within 11 minutes of the game.  YIKES!

We score before the second half.  1-1 at half time.

Unfortunately there was one play where the defender missed an important bounce and the ball was taken control of my USA and they made a perfect shot to score again.  

The game ended 2-1.  It was a shame - both teams played very hard!  

Soccer, Soccer, and more Soccer

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Today Robert had two soccer games and Marissa had a XC meet which meant Mark and I had to pick and chose what events to attend.  I went to see Marissa run in Bowling Green (had to leave at 9:00 am and would not be back until 4:00) so Mark stayed here and went to Robert's soccer games.  Robert's first game was at 10:35 at the Bullitt Fields (behind Oxmoor Mall).  He had to be at the fields by 10:00 am.

Robert started the game at forward midfielder.  Within the first 11 minutes of the game they were up by 2 goals.  It was awesome!  Mark texted Betsy so she was updated on the events of the game.  Robert had a great first half.  He was rested the beginning of the second half but then got to go back in.  In the last few minutes of the game, Robert made a break away run and scored the final goal of the day.

Game ended just seconds after his score at 6-0.  A fantastic WIN!!!

Great at Gaterland Run

Saturday, September 22, 2012 Marissa's XC team ran in the Gaterland Run in Bowling Green, KY.  It is 2 hours and 15 minutes south of Louisville.  We got her up at 6:35 to eat her traditional grilled peanut butter sandwich and banana before going to the school to catch the bus at 7:30.  

The girls Varsity Run was at 11:05 am.  Marissa and Erin Edmondson got a great start to the race.  Shelby Adams, Ally Hall, Alli Keeler, Morgan Workman and Maggie Fiorito also ran in the Varsity race.  

Marissa just before the 1 mile marker!

Marissa with only half a mile left to go

Marissa coming in for the finish! 

She ran a super great race earning a PR of 20:21  She was second for the team, 18 seconds behind Erin Edmondson and 9th overall in the Varsity race.  She did FANTASTIC!!!

Marissa with her coaches, the Phillips

Marissa with the Varsity team:  Maggie, Marissa, Shelby,
Morgan, Alli K, Erin, and Ally H.

We stayed for the JV race.
The Varsity girls got 2nd place behind Tennessee's top 3A team - AWESOME, and
The JV girls got 1st place!!!  Way to go Lady Mustangs!!!

Possessed Car

It's been a long weekend.  Mark had surgery, the kids were so busy with sports, the ElMasri Wedding, Stake Conference, etc.  I really needed a good night's sleep.  We all did, but we woke to the car horn of Devon's car (the Malibu) going off for no reason.

Beep - Beep - Beep

At first we thought it was an accident - that Devon had the keys in his pocket and he was tapping them or something.  But Devon didn't have the keys - they were sitting peacefully - alone - undisturbed on the kitchen counter.

Beep - Beep - Beep

Oh my gosh - not again.  I grabbed the keys and ran outside to see if something was making the horn go off, but nothing was near the car, and all the doors were unlocked so it wasn't the car alarm.  I got into the car as fast as I could and shoved the key into the ignition to start the car.  Luckily starting the car turned off the horn.  Oh, thank goodness.  I let the car run a few minutes thinking, "maybe it had something to do with the temperature."  There  that should be enough, but as I turned the engine off, there is went again.

Beep - Beep - Beep

Oh, my gosh!  What are we going to do.  I spent the entire morning - 6:20 - 6:40 trying to get the car horn to stop Beeping.  We left the car running while we had family prayer.  Mark decided to drive the car and drive Devon and Marissa to seminary.  From there he would take it into the Chevy dealer.  We couldn't let Devon drive the car because the we couldn't leave a horn-honking car in the high school parking lot.  YIKES! 

This effects everything.  If Devon doesn't have a car, then I have to arrange a way for him and Marissa to get home from practice.  YIKES!

Well, long story short - Mark has it fixed - it was a crazy transmitter that had gone bad.  He also had two keys made (since we lost one when Jessica went back to college), and an oil change.  It cost $250.  That's in addition the to $850 that I just sent getting the van fixed.  This year our Christmas presents are going to be "that we have cars."  YIKES!!!

Robert's Eagle project is Approved

On Saturday morning, while Robert is packing up his tent and gear from a fantastic camp out at Deam Lake - State Park in Indiana, his Scoutmaster, Zane Underwood informs him that the District leader has approved Robert's project.

Robert is so excited!  He can start getting people to help him make the collection boxes, decorating them, making posters, hang them in school … and so on.

Robert worked with his family over the weekend and through the next week getting the boxes and posters ready to hang up at NOMS and NOHS.

The next day Robert had his friend Ben O'Brien help him put boxes out and hang posters - it took them an hour to do both schools.

Robert Lowe and Ben O'Brien doing service
project for the American Red Cross