Girls take 3rd at State

It's a perfect day for the state cross country meet.  We are so glad that Jessica came home earlier so that we weren't rushing from the Philippines to get here to see Marissa run in her last state meet of high school.  It's so hard to believe she is a senior.

The girls race is at 11:30 am.  Marissa and the girls are in new uniform shirts and we have a hard time identifying them at first.  

Marissa had a good start to the race and maintained good positioning and pace throughout the whole race.

the start line

Marissa got a great start - looking strong

Marissa rounding the corner for the first mile

Marissa approaching the finish line - up hill

She can in 35th place - 3rd for the team.  Erin came in 8th place (7 points), Avery was 12th (10 points), Marissa 35th (32 points), Caitlyn 55th (46 points) , Christina 72nd (57 points), Jesse 86th (no points), and Emma 91st (no points) for a total of 152 points.

It was a close race between NOHS and CAL but CAL beat us for 2nd place. 

The NOHS girls still take the podium and receive the bronze trophy as the third place finishers for this year!!!  What a great year.

Marissa Runs in the State Championship 5K Race

This article appeared in the Courier Journal on Sunday, 11/3/13 after the Regional Race.  I couldn't get the blog program to rotate it so it is vertical instead of being horizontal.  Sorry!

Saturday morning Marissa woke up and had her regular grilled peanut butter sandwich before leaving for the bus.  The bus left NOHS at 9:00 am.  The girls don't race until 12:15 but it takes over an hour to get there and then set up, warm ups, etc.  The weather conditions are less favorable than expected.  It is sunny which is great and around 50 degrees but there is a strong wind - estimated at 25 mph.  It will help the girls in some sections but make it much more difficult in others.

The NOHS girls had a good lane location and got a good start to the race.  They were all in the first 30% of the runners.  Erin was out in front with Gaby from Collins and Alecia from Padukah.  Marissa was the next North runner followed by Grace, Jesse, Caitlyn, Charlotte and Christina.

Marissa is working hard.  She is right on pace for where we expected her to be considering her injury.  It would be amazing to see her run with times like last year, but that is just out of the question considering she had 5 weeks off.  She is in the top 50 maybe even top 40.

Marissa crossing from one section to the next.
This is just before the 1 mile mark

Marissa made great process on the hills section of the course.  The course is divided in two parts 1) the start/finish area and 2) the other side with all the zig-zags and hills.  It's hard to explain unless you have been there.  

Marissa going hard

Marissa just before crossing back to the finish section.
This is after the 2 mile mark (almost 2 ½ miles)

Marissa sprinting hard for a finish.  The finish is uphill.  Tough on the legs.

Marissa sprinting for the finish

Marissa finished in 39th place with a time of 21:37.  That's exactly where she was expected to be considering the injury.  Last year she ran a 20:14 at STATE.  She will be anxious to work next year to beat her sophomore time.  Based on the regional times, the team was expected to take 4th place.  Marissa worked hard for her team - so did everyone.  

Erin finished 7th at 19:45, Marissa finished 39th at 21:37, Jesse finished 49th at 21:59, Grace finished 51st at 22:00, Caitlyn finished 57th at 22:10, Charlotte finished 64th at 22:16 and Christina finished 74th at 22:30.  The top 5 scores from each team determine the placements - 6th and 7th runners are tie breakers.  Our team took 3rd place!!!  We beat the predictions!!!

After the race Marissa said it was really tough on the legs.  They just weren't prepared for all the hills and the wind was definitely an issue, but she was happy for her team!  They were all there together!!!

Marissa with Charlotte - senior and team captain

Marissa with the other juniors:  Jesse and Christina

Congratulations HUG!

The Seven State Runners:
Grace Dieterle
Jesse Sanders
Christina Ausley
Marissa Lowe
Charlotte Gettlefinger
Caitlyn Roberts
Erin Edmundson

A beautiful picture of Marissa

Marissa with her parents
We are so proud of you!

3rd Place Champions!

Track and Field State Runner Up

Amazing!!!  Truly Amazing - the goal of the NOHS girls track team was to try to take 3rd place.  6 years ago we were 14th or so, then 3 years ago we were 4th - big jump - new coach - new approach - excellent results ... that was Jessica's senior year.  That year there were 11 seniors and we lost a huge talent pool, but a new talent pool came in - namely we got Marissa!!  Last year, even without those 11 seniors we took 5th.  It was a little disappointing knowing we had 4th last year but still 5th in the state.  This year our goal was to take 3rd.  We have several amazing athletes, 7 seniors, and athletes in every event.

We took 1st place at Regionals (again) so the fight is on.  Right from the start the team did amazing.  The girls 4x800 team came in 3rd place with a time of 9:58.99.  Interestingly they took 3rd but had a better time than Jessica's teams that took 2nd place with at time of 10:01.16.  They broke the school record.  Then Bri took 2nd in the hurdles ... and the day went on like this.  Haley Oliver took 4th in Pole Vault, Bri took 4th in the Long Jump, Nicole Moeller took 3rd in the 400 and Erin Olsson took 5th.  Erin Edmondson took 4th in the 800 and Ali Hall took 7th with a PR of 2:26.

At 7:50 the 3200 M started.  Marissa got off to a fantastic start.  She is ranked 15th - she has the toughest competition of the whole meet; Gabriella Karas, Paducah Tilman, Grace Whitroth, East Bullitt, Presentation ...  all amazing runners that she faced at the XC State Championship where she finished 13th.  

Great start

Amazing - Marissa in in front of Grace!  Go Marissa!

Right behind Grace - good place

Right here Marissa got trapped on the inside of about 11 runners with 4 in front of her.  She was devastated, but still ran her heart out.   You can see the pack starting to trap her.

Keeping a good pace

Just one more lap to go

Sprinting the finish

Go Marissa

And look at her stride

Passing

Great Job!!!

Marissa took 14th place with a time of 12:07.  It's crazy because a time of 12:11 took 7th place last year.  She did great.  She didn't medal but she is still in the top 15 state fastest distance runners.  She ran against some National Elite runners - Gabbie ran 11:07.

After her race the 4x400 is the last race.  We had a dramatic finish for the girls to take 3rd place.  In a total team effort - the NOHS Girls take 2nd place at STATE.  They are the STATE RUNNER UPS!  It's just so unbelieveable because we didn't even know we could do that.  It's just like 2 years ago when we went from being 14th to 4th place.  AWESOME!!!  AMAZING!!!

Team Photo

STATE RUNNER UPS!

Distance Runners

Katie, Marissa, Makenzie and Kelsey

Marissa is so excited - not only are they state runner ups, but she can lift Makenzie!

Celebrating a VICTORY!

Robert Helps His XC Team To a State Championship

Up at 6:30 to eat a good breakfast and get ready.  Robert had scrambled eggs and toast.  YUM.  The weather is cold and miserable.  It rained all  night and it's only 40 degrees.  We made sure Robert was dressed in layers, had a hat, gloves and an extra pair of socks.  Vicki picked Robert up at 7:00 to take him to the school to catch the bus.  Unfortunately, the bus never came!  YIKES!  All the kids had to be farmed into car to get to the meet.  

Robert arrived at the meet around 9:15 am.  They got their bibs on and went on a walk thru.  The girls Championship race was at 10:30 am.  The boys Championship race was at 11:15 am.  Robert had to miss a soccer game (started at 11:00 am in Louisville) to run in the state championship.  He's so excited and a bit nervous to run in the championship race.  He's done great all year long - being very consistent in all his races.  

The boys kept their warm clothing on for warm up as long as possible.  

Mark counseled with Robert up to the last few minutes.

The boys are antsy and ready to run.  No more clothes covering their arms and legs.  BURRR!

On you Marks, Get Set, Go!

Robert at the 1 mile mark.  He looks good and strong!!!  There are 506 runners in this race.  It gets packed very fast.  Robert had to get to a quick start so not to get stuck in a crowd.  He did great.

At the two mile mark Robert was in a good position.  

He looked comfortable and relaxed.  

At the finish!  

Robert is just about to cross the finish line.

He finished in 30th place with a PR of 14:50.  

Wow!!!  What a great race!  Robert we are so proud of you.  You did fantastic!

Robert with friends Nolan and Max

As a tradition we always get the kids a Championship tee shirt or sweatshirt.  Robert prefers the sweatshirt ($40).  This year it is bright orange.

Back:  Mason Beard, Logan Otter, Alex McClarty, Nick Bierne
Front:  Robert Lowe and Nolan Ruggles
Not shown:  Max Miller

At the Awards ceremony they announced that the NOMS Boys team took 1st place for the third year in a row.  Robert was so excited to be part of the Championship team.  The weather didn't dampen their spirits!!!  These boys have won all their races that they were at (A few had to miss the DeSales meet so we didn't win that one, but 1/2 of the boys including Robert weren't able to run in that meet).

Congratulations to Robert and his teammates for another fantastic win at the State XC Championship!

State Track Meet for Marissa

May 18 - Marissa has been sick for two days and still doesn't feel very well.  She is scheduled to run the 4x800 Meter Relay and the 3200 Meter Run.

One nice thing was that Mark was able to get off work in time to see the race and Jessica brought Jake to the meet to support her sister!

It is the first hot day in a long time.  I keep warning her to stay out of the sun and stay hydrated.  She constantly is walking around with her friends and cheering her other teammates on (which is a good thing) except that she needs to stay out of the heat).  She should be in an air conditioned room sleeping/resting and saving all her energy.

Anyway, the coaches take her out of the 4x800 to reserve her energy for the 3200 M.  Ally runs the first 2 laps - she does amazing and is the first team to pass the baton.  Erin Didier runs second and loses some ground on the second lap but we are still in 2nd place, Rowan is the third runner and she does a tremendous job keeping us up close handing off in 3rd place, Christina is moved to anchor and falls behind but overall the girls did great - finishing 7th overall.

At 6:45 (at least it was a bit cooler) Marissa and Shelby Adams ran the 3200 M.  Marissa had a fantastic start keeping her normal 1:20 pace but then wasn't able to maintain her goals.  She gave the race everything she had, but while being sick she just didn't have the energy to finish with her PR time.  She finished 11th overall with at time of  12:19.  She wasn't thrilled but she was happy she gave everything she had.  She looked exhausted while running - at any point I probably would have just stopped and walked or passed out.  We were all so proud of her for giving everything she had and wished she felt better!

Lap 7 or 8 - she looks so exhausted