Forest Park Conference Action

      Today, the JV and Freshmen teams departed off to Castlewood Park (greatest park ever) to run in the Patriot Classic Meet. Coach Williams (@DeSmetTrackXC) tweeted after the meet that junior Nick Trunko PR'ed and broke the 18 minute barrier! Congrats to him. Full results will be posted at some point in the future, most likely the next post.

       While they were racing in Castlewood, the leftover runners ran a fartlek workout on the track at DeSmet. The workout was 200 easy, 100 hard x 12, making it nine laps in total. This was our first sprint workout of the season, and it will hopefully help us find the extra gear we need later in the postseason. After the workout, Coach Boehm lead us on a nice and easy stoplight cool down. After we got back, we had circuit weight training for the second time of the week, which basically means the cross country team took over the weight room. Coach Albes, Mahood, and Boehm oversaw the workout to make sure no one hurt themselves. After a quick core and stretching routine, a chocolate milk was well deserved by everyone.

       There was a fairly important meet this past Saturday, very important actually, and it was the MCC Championship at Forest Park. Once again, all three of our teams took second in the meet to SLUH. We did have numerous great individual performances, though.

       In the freshmen race, DeSmet's first finisher was Eric Boland who came in 3rd, and Nathan Bira also had a top ten finish with his 7th place. 

       In the JV race, Glen McGann, Nick Dolan, Matt Barkofske, Justin Potter, and Blake Waters all earned top ten honors. Glen finished 2nd with a sub 17:30 PR. You know what that means...new hat! 

       In the varsity, Austin and Collin both made the top ten, and Michael Callahan dropped a big PR of 17:12! Stephen Plassmeyer and Patrick Callahan also broke 17:30 earning a hat! That would make it a total of five hats earned this season with more to come.

Start of the Varsity MCC Race

          I appreciate you reading the blog, I wish you a wonderful day!

One, Two, Three Meet Recap

       I apologize for the blog's drought. Since the last post, the Spartans have ran in three meets, so hopefully this will be a thrilling post to read.

       Up first......Hazelwood East Invitational. For De Smet, the JV and Freshman teams ran, and they both blew away the field in this 4k race. 

       On the JV side, Scott Peetz (junior) lead the way to a team win with an individual victory of his own. The JV runners completed the sweep and perfect score of 15 with all top 7 finishers in the race being Spartans.

       For the freshmen, it was a very similar result as the JV team. Nathan Bira was the race winner and four more De Smet runners followed him to complete another perfect score of 15. This was a great showing for De Smet. Solid work.

       Next race......Rim Rock Farm XC Classic. The top 12 runners on the team were offered the opportunity to race at this huge meet. After a six hour car ride through the exciting state of Kansas, the team finally arrived at the usual Super 8 for the night, just outside Lawrence. In the morning, we headed to Rim Rock Farm. We were greeted by the alums Alex Potter, Drew Higgins, Jacob Seiler, and Nick Martini, who all came to cheer us on. Thank you to them! The conditions were prime, and we were ready to race. Almost everyone ran their best times. Collin Sullivan smashed the 17 minute barrier with his 16:38, and Michael Callahan PR'd with a 17:24. These performances both earned them the coveted "17:30 hat." Glen McGann and Patrick Callahan rolled in next just missing the mark with a pair of 17:35's. Those 5 seconds will surely drop off. Also, junior Stephen Plassmeyer made his return back from his injury and ran the same time as his personal best from before! Expect to see him dropping major time. The team ran spectacular as a whole which paved the way for a happy drive back to St. Louis. Good job to everyone who made it an exciting day with all of the fast times. And one last thing, the mound was due for a visit. This called for the annual shirtless picture.

Job well done, The Mound.

       And the most previous race......Parkway West Invitational at Living Word Church. There were four different races (Varsity, JV, Sophomore, Freshman) at Living Word Church, which was unknown territory. It was not liked very much after the race due to the many sharp turns and scattered mud. This meet had many of the highest ranked schools in Missouri, which made it an important and challenging meet. The Freshman team placed 8th out of sixteen teams lead by Eric Boland coming in 11th place. The Sophomore team came in 7th out of ten teams as Nick Dolan grabbed the 12th place spot. The JV team captured 2nd place out of eighteen teams with Andrew Hubbard's 5th place effort. Justin Potter also turned in a top 10 finish. Finally, the varsity team took 7th place out of twenty-one teams. Overall, this was not the strongest De Smet has looked this year with the exception of the JV team and some individual performances, but we will take what we learned and use it for next meet.

      This Saturday, October 6th, is the MCC Championship at Forest Park. The varsity race is first at 9 a.m. on the Central Fields. The JV and freshmen will follow. If you aren't busy, feel free to come and watch!

                                   After a long wait, thank you for reading.

       

Parkway Central Round 2

       Today the team met at DeSmet at 8 a.m. for a long run. Once again, we ran to Malcolm Terrace Park for some loops. It was chilly this morning as Coach Albes, Boehm, Mahood, and Schumacher lead the groups out to the roads. When we got to Malcolm, Coach Williams and Russo were at the usual park table with the water waiting for us. The three top groups were sure to hit the assigned paces after the outcome of the meet last Thursday, which is described later. The park trails were just a little damp from the previous rain, but the temperatures stayed down which was a nice. This could possibly be the end of the 90 degree days. Fall is in sight.

       Last Thursday was the Parkway Central Invitational. The race was held on the Central course, which will be our district and sectional course again this year. The freshman 2.4 mile race was first up, and the young Spartans did not disappoint. They captured 2nd place out of ten teams with the top five De Smet finishers being Eric Boland, Nathan Bira, Harry Reinagel, Sean Geimer, and Adam Craig. Congrats to the freshman!
       Next race, the varsity 5k, did not turn out as well as the freshman race did. The team took 4th out of 14 schools. Our goal was to win the meet, which was very possible if we ran well, but we could not put it together this meet. Collin Sullivan turned in the team's best performance with a 13th place finish. The team will take this as something to learn from and use it as motivation for next week at Rim Rock.
     The JV race was the final race. These guys really showed up to run. Out of the 13 participating teams, they came in first! Outstanding performances across the board: Patrick Callahan (2nd), Justin Potter (3rd), Jimmy Reed (5th), Andrew Hubbard (14th), and Mason Bracken (17th). This was a dominant performance by all of the JV runners.

Justin Potter, Patrick Callahan, Andrew Hubbard, and Jimmy Reed (1 step behind out of the picture) leading the race

       Thank you for reading and have a great rest of the weekend.

Loops on Loops

       Before practice today, it seemed evident to everyone that something was different in the locker room. It was not nearly as crowded as usual. The milk machine had been moved! It was relocated to the wrestling room, which frees up a good deal of space in the cross country locker room.

       As we departed De Smet for a middle/long distance run, the sky was looking a bit ominous. Our destination was Malcolm Terrace Park, one of the favorites to run at, so we would be relatively close to De Smet if the weather didn't cooperate. Before we left, we noticed that on the turf, a soccer match was about to start between the CBC and Chaminade JV soccer teams for a tournament. On our way to the park, the sky didn't lighten up at all. All the groups ran up to five of the 1-mile trail loops before heading back. On the fifth and final loop, thunder could be heard. Shortly after we left the park, the cold and blistering wind came crashing down on us. Coach Tom and I, Group Sullivan (consisting of Collin, Michael Callahan, Glen McGann, and Nick Dolan), and also Patrick Callahan who was running alongside Coach Boehm all experienced the weather's wrath. It was so intense, Michael almost had his USA hat blown away. Good thing that didn't happen.

       Upon our arrival back to De Smet, we saw a deserted stadium. Unfortunately, lightening did appear which postponed the game, and cut the run 10 minutes short for those who were still running. We made our way to the wrestling room for stretching, and the halls were flooded with CBC and Chaminde soccer players. It was an odd sight.

       While stretching, Coach Traughber took a look at his GPS watch that Group Sullivan uses to pace their runs. His reaction was priceless as he was reading off their mile splits. The watch said that they increased their mile pace by over 30 seconds throughout the run. Collin insists that the watch was mistaken, but it seemed like a fishy situation all around. Nobody is perfect, but what about watches? Surely they have flaws once in a while too.

Joke of the Day

"It's like gambling!" - Said by Glen McGann talking about how buying a milk from the milk machine is like gambling. You never know when it will fall or not, and this was proven after Andrew Hubbard's chocolate milk happened to get stuck. Thankfully Coach Traughber came in and saved the day. He deserves a chocolate milk and a round of applause for that.

                                                   Thank you for reading, goodnight.

Fleet Feet Kickoff 2012

       On Wednesday, DeSmet made a good showing at the Nike Fleet Feet Cross Country Kickoff at Parkway Central with the JV and Varsity teams both winning the team titles. The JV team lead by Patrick Callahan (race winner and JV course record holder now) didn't have much of a problem fending off 2nd place by 15 points. The Varsity had a bit more trouble, though. Fox High School and DeSmet tied, both with 50 points, so it went to the tie breaker: the sixth man. Who would be up for the task? Blake Waters AND Matt Barkofske were up to the challenge. Both juniors beat the opponent's sixth runner, securing the victory. Collin Sullivan and I both cracked the top ten finishers, and M Callahan, Glen McGann, and sophomore Nick Dolan (in his first varsity XC race) rounded up the top 5 on the team. We made that one interesting and luckily came out on top, but we can't be satisfied.

Nike Cross Country Kickoff

       This morning, the varsity team had practice at 6:30 a.m. before school. The plan was to get the workout in before school, so we would not have weather complications afterwards from Hurricane Isaac. We all arrived at Conway Park knowing the workout: 3 mile tempo, 2 minute rest, 2 mile tempo. Usually, we would have 3 minutes rest after the 3 mile tempo, and we were all wondering why it was shorter rest, but when Michael Callahan asked Coach Traughber, he responded with, "Because we want to get better." That is a what we need to do. Wednesday was a solid start to the season, but if we want to achieve the goals we set for ourselves, we need to get better!

       After the early out at school today, the coaches gathered the team in the wrestling room to go over the plan for Labor Day Weekend. There will be no formal practices for the next three days, but you are encouraged to run with your friends! Everyone was emailed a spreadsheet with each individual's schedule for this weekend. Remember to plan around Isaac's rain. 

       After the meeting was finished, everyone who ran this morning hit the weights, and the other runners got ready for tempos on the track!

       Thank you to sophomore Jake Fouts for enlightening me on the track workout. Everyone either ran a 2 by 2, 3 by 1, or 2 by 1 tempo on the damp track as it was raining on and off all day. They endured the chance of a storm breaking out at any second to get the workout in. Way to go, guys!

                               Thank you for reading, have a great Labor Day!

Tomorrow is the Day

       The big day is almost upon us, my friends. We are less than 24 hours from finishing our first cross country race of the 2012 season. The location of this event, you ask? Parkway Central High School. The time? 5:00 p.m. The plan? Dominate. The Nike Cross Country Kickoff, which we will be running tomorrow, is a 2-mile race instead of the typical 5k for the first meet of the season, and the more support we have, the better!

       Today, the team circled up on the track (a very large circle) while Coach Traughber and the rest of the coaching staff laid out what the plan looked like for tomorrow, and unfortunately, informed us that we would not be practicing on the course at Central today. After they finished, everyone ran through the race day procedure with his training group on the track (warm up, stretches, etc.) minus the race part. The soccer team had a lot of pressure with the whole cross country team running circles around their practice the whole time, but they provided nice entertainment for us during our laps.

       During the cool down, different groups were running in opposite directions around the track, so we exchanged high fives as we passed. The enthusiasm in the high fives looks like our team spirit will be through the roof this year, but I have learned from some alums that this is a "no fun team," so we can't have too much fun along with the team spirit (not really). Then after our stretching in the cross country corner, we were devastated by the news that the milk machine was empty. Luckily, coach was prepared and had some throwback chocolate milk cartons for 25 cents, just like the old days.
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       Again, we have a meet at Parkway Central tomorrow, August 29th. JV and Freshmen run together at 5:00 p.m., and Varsity runs after them at 6:00 p.m.
       Runners, remember to bring spikes, uniform, warm ups, and snacks, just like coach said, and let's have a good start to the season!
     Here is a quote you have probably heard sometime throughout your DeSmet cross country experience so far. Hopefully it helps everyone run a bit faster tomorrow, good luck!

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine

On a side note, you can like the Milk Table Facebook page if you have not already to get updates whenever the blog is updated.

                      My work is finished for today, thank you and farewell.

First Day of Classes

      Today kicked off the first day of school.  The school bell rang at 12:18 today because we had a half day, so practice started around 12:35 instead of the usual 3:10.  We had a handful of new runners because of the start of school which was great.  The coaches gathered the team on the bleachers under the extra bright sun, and went over some basic ground rules.  Then came the passing out of the uniforms.  Everyone went into the cafeteria where the coaches passed out the brand-new, sharp-looking freshman and JV Nike uniforms.  They will be the best looking runners out there.  Unfortunately, the new varsity uniforms were not in yet and won't be until after the first race, so last year's uniforms will have to suffice until they arrive.

       After the uniforms were dispersed, the team embarked on an easy run, still recovering from Saturday's hills.  The different runs varied from 4 to 7 miles.  Two easy days in a row, today and tomorrow, will hopefully have everyone ready for the 2 mile time trial on Wednesday.

      The big news of the day was the arrival of a chocolate milk machine in the locker room, which happens to be right next to the cross country lockers.  It seems like the rightful place for a milk machine.  This new idea could come off as bad because the machine sells pint-size bottles for a dollar, instead of the usual carton for 25 cents, but it will become more convenient for everyone as we get used to it.

CHOCOLATE MILK MACHINE

REMINDER:  Any DeSmet runner who reads this on Monday, August 20th, needs to have their uniform for picture day tomorrow.  This will hopefully not be a problem because Coach Traughber told everyone to leave his uniform at school.  Also, if you have not claimed a cross country locker yet, do so as soon as possible.

Thank you for reading, I wish you a happy week.

We Meet the Hills

       The team met at 8 a.m. at Big River Running Saturday morning.  Unlike this practice last year, the weather was beautiful.  There was no lightening that forced us to run our strides under the stores' overhang this time.  Off we went to Queeny Park.  Inside the park, we did our stretches in a grass field next to the Washington University cross country team.  When we were done, Coach Traughber and Coach Williams brought the team to the base of the steepest, tallest, meanest hill in the park.  Anyone who has ran at Queeny Park knows of this monster.  The groans could be heard from miles away as coach explained the workout.  "200 meter hills at 5k pace."  We were split up into groups and everyone had either 4, 6, or 8 hills.  After the workout was finished and the pain subsided, the team ran back to Big River for team day.

       On team day at Big River, everyone on the team can buy shoes, apparel, or anything in the store and receive a 20% discount.  There was much commotion about the release of the new Nike Flyknit technology shoes, but no one besides Coach Tom has them.  Maybe he will share.  Thank you to the Big River workers, they were as helpful as always with suggesting the right shoes for everyone who needed them.  We should be geared up for another successful fall!

       Today was the last practice before school starts for everyone except the freshmen, who had Freshmen Orientation on Friday.  Good luck to everyone with school. 

Joke of the Day is back!! (for one day at least)

       "I might need to ban shirts from practice" - Coach Traughber after some runners had to run back to get their shirts from the park bench.  He could probably start a collection with all the shirts that are forgotten at parks we run at.

Thanks for reading, have a nice day.

Taking a Dip

       This morning brought more favorable weather on the track.  Everyone was asked to show up to practice determined to dominate tempos after an overall unsatisfactory workout last week.  During the warm up skips and stretches, all of the runners carried on the usual jokes and chatter, but when it came time to tempo, we were ready.  Last week's workout didn't phase anyone this time.  To Coach Traughber's delight, the groups rolled in, one after another, nailing each of their paces.  Also, we were even lucky enough to receive cross country race simulation! The varsity soccer squad (congrats to Justin Abernathy, Kevin's younger brother, for making the team) ran their 2-mile race while we were tempoing, so we were weaving and wiggling our way through their pack like a real race.  Hopefully this workout is foreshadowing what is to come later in the season: Domination.  But this will be no easy task, especially because we are going into the season as the complete underdog.  We need to keep up the fantastic workouts like these, great work runners!

       Shout out to Alex Potter for making an appearance today at practice!  It was great to see him again and talk with him before he heads back to Columbia for his second year at Mizzou.  We wish him luck as he will join the Mizzou Running Club. #freepotter

       After practice, most of the team took a trip over to Coach Boland's house for the beginning of the season pool party.  Coach Boland, accompanied by Coach Russo, Williams, Traughber, and Mahood, barbecued the most hot dogs I had ever seen, and good thing because a high school runner sure gets hungry after tempos.  The pool water was a bit chilly because it had not warmed up yet, but since when does temperature affect a DeSmet cross country runner?  Despite the cold water, we all had a great time playing in the pool.  The Boland family deserves a big thank you for their hospitality, so thank you!

Thank you for reading. Cheers, my friends.

Back on Track

        Our first official week of practice is complete, and we seem to be off to a great start. Monday kicked off the season with a mile time trial to make sure everyone is placed in the right training group. Coach Tom lead the team and finished in the 4:35 range. It looks to be a very promising start to the season with six runners under 5 minutes, and many more right above! After the cool down, Coach Traughber gave his welcome speech to the team and announced the two new additions to the coaching staff: Coach Stephen Schumacher and Coach Adam Boehm, both who are SLUH grads.  They will each be leading a separate training group, and we are looking forward to a great season with them.  After the speech, some of the runners hit the weights to top off some fast running with a new weight lifting plan made by Coach Williams.

        On Tuesday, the team had the first "long run" of the season. Two DeSmet alums and school record holders, Connor Callahan (Marquette University) and Kevin Abernathy (Drury University), ran a Double Spoede with the top group and deserve our thanks for visiting. Unfortunately, one of our sophomores who ran on the state team last year, Stephen Plassmeyer, has a foot injury, so he could not train with the team. Let's hope and pray that he returns as soon as possible!

        Wednesday brought the well known "tempo workout." With this being our third tough day of practice in a row, everyone got the message that we mean business this year. The workouts varied between a few tempo miles to a 2x2x1 mile tempo depending on the groups. Top to bottom, it was not the team's best workout, but we did have multiple standout performances including Glennon McGann, who hit all of his paces. Afterwards, Coach Traughber recognized that we may have been unprepared for the tempo and gave us tips and suggestions on handling multiple hard runs in a row such as stretching, icing, hydration, and nutrition.

        To everyone's relief, Thursday and Friday were declared recovery days.  On Thursday, Connor Callahan made another appearance and ran a Falaise with the top group, but he went for another few miles by himself when we were done because his easy days aren't quite as easy as ours.  After practice, a few runners stuck around to watch the soccer tryouts and listen to Coach Tom and Coach Mahood reminisce about their glory days at DeSmet. We all had a good laugh or two from their stories.

        Friday was going to be the most exciting day of the week. Everyone went to practice expecting a pool party at Coach Boland's house after practice, only to be informed that it was postponed until Tuesday of next week due to cold weather (70 degrees seems cold now). These weather complications did not hinder our run but arguably made for the best running conditions for as long as we can remember. While enjoying this rare weather, everyone ran to Malcolm Terrace Park for some trail loops and then back to DeSmet. Coach Traughber had put together a PowerPoint with tips on how to become the best runner you can be. Senior team captains Collin Sullivan, Michael Callahan, Glen Mcgann, and Jimmy Reid partook in presenting the PowerPoint along with Coach Traughber. They all did a superb job of informing the rest of the team with useful information.

       We all have high hopes for the team this year, and this week got us started on the right foot. I wish everyone in the DeSmet Cross Country program the best of luck this year, and here's to a good year!

EXCITING NEWS! 

        Coach Traughber has a challenge for all runners... anyone who runs under 17:30 during any meet this season will receive a customized DeSmet XC running hat! This should act as a good incentive for all runners, and hopefully the motivation will push all of us. So if you want to get a snazzy-looking hat for free, make running 3.1 miles in less than seventeen and a half minutes your goal.

        I would also like to remind everyone about the Annual Alumni Run tomorrow morning, August 11th. If you are interested in running or even just stopping by to watch, take a look at this link: DeSmet's Fourth Annual Alumni Run. We'd love to have you there!

                                    Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed :)

A New Generation

Greetings Milk Table Enthusiasts,
        The Blog has indeed been handed down by Waller Baller after the past year, and now it is time for the next generation of Milk Table bloggers to take control.  Michael Callahan, Glennon McGann, and myself, Austin Del Rosso, decided we will try to follow in the footsteps of many legends that came before and run the blog. As for now, it has been a successful summer of training for many cross country spartans, and we plan to continue.
        For this upcoming "Dead Week" we have decided on a plan for where we will meet to run.  We threw in a couple new places to run that are sure to spice it up a bit.  I am almost positive Castlewood will be everyone's new favorite place to run after this week.  If there are any questions about the upcoming runs, I'm sure we can get those cleared up during a familiar run like Monday.  Let's keep up the good turnouts!


Week of July 1st Running Schedule:

• Monday: Big River Running on Manchester at 8 a.m.
• Tuesday: the Lake House resturaunt at Creve Couer Lake 8 a.m.
• Wednesday: DeSmet 7:30 a.m. for tempos
• Thursday: Castlewood State Park 8:00 a.m. (1401 Kiefer Creek Road, Ballwin, MO 63021)
• Friday: Kirkwood City Park 8:00 a.m. (201 W Adams Ave, Kirkwood, MO 63122)

Thank you to all who read my first blog post.  If it was a little below par, don't lose faith because with Coach Russo being my new English teacher I will be sure to improve throughout the year.  I have a good feeling that this is the first of a bountiful collection of new posts.

One Last Time

As you all know the track season has been over for a few weeks now. Since I have posted since before the conference track meet I will post a few results in case you forgot or never heard. We finished second to SLUH at conference and scored points at the District, Sectional, and State track meet. Out top performer for the distance team was Austin Del Rosso who finished 3rd at the district meet at Marquette, fourth at the sectional meet at Poplar Bluff, and 15th at the State meet. Other strong performers on the team were the 4 by 200 team (5th at state and school record) , the 4 by 100 team (school record), the 4 by 400 team (school record), Tommy Brown in the high jump, Durron Neal in the 100 meter, and Justin Labelle in the triple jump. We had a great team this year that accomplished a lot of cool things.

Moving on...I'm sad to say that this is my last post because I will be leaving for college in the fall to attending Missouri University of Science and Technology where I will join the great Brain Scherping and teammate Josh Pribe to study mechanical engineering. I really enjoyed my four years at De Smet and had a blast. Some of my favorite accomplishments were those that I made on the track. Here they are in case you were wondering...

400 meter: 55 seconds
800 meter: 2 minutes and 1 second
1600 meter: 4 minutes and 40 seconds
3200 meter: 10 minutes and 23 seconds
5000 meter: 17 minutes and 10 seconds

To my fellow seniors: All of these records I accomplished this year in track and cross country along with my other three senior distance track teammates Nick Martini, Matt O'Connor, and Josh Pribe. I could never have accomplished them without my teammates support and I thank them for their hard work, motivation and love for the sport. They are all special people and I will miss them very much at college. We shared a lot of great memories together that will never be forgotten and I consider all of you my dearest friends.

To the underclassmen: I've gotten to know most of you very well over the years and unfortunately some of you I don't know too well. I thank all of you for your outstanding work and motivation to the sport and I wish you all the best of luck as you continue on in your high school career. I will be cheering for you and attending as many meets and practices as I can. A special shout out to Collin Sullivan, Glenn Mcgann, Michael Callahan, Patrick Callahan, Austin Del Rosso, and Steven Plassmeyer. You guys still have big things to accomplish and I know that you are going to dominate next year in cross country if you put in the work.

To the runners before me: Jacob, Seiler, Eugene Morganthaler, Ethan Stack, Connor Callahan, Zach Boyle, Black Bender, Joe Gibson, Kevin Laughter, Kevin Abernathy, Andy Mcwhorter, Alex Potter, Brian Scherping, JC Madey, and many more...Some of you I knew better than others and some of you I'm still close friends with today. You all taught me what It means to be a De Smet runner and I thank you for all that you have taught me and shown me how to become a Men For Others. We have had some great memories together that I will never forget.

Coach Rob: Rob you taught me what it takes to becomes a De Smet varsity runner and I can't thank you enough for all that you have taught me about running and helped me find the motivation to become the best runner that I can possibly be. Thanks for all the great memories and you will never be forgotten.

Coach Tom: Tom you picked up right where Rob left off and pushed me farther than I ever thought I could go. I would have never accomplisheed most of my Pr's without you and I hope you continue to be a leader to the men of the cross country and track team. Thanks for all that you do!

Coach Traughber: I can't say enough about what you have taught me not only about running but life in general. You have been a great role model for me through my four years and I enjoyed getting to know you and sharing a lot of good times with you. Your dedication to your runners is amazing.

All other coaches: A special shout out to Coach Leeman, Coach Williams, Coach Russo, and Coach Boland for all that you have done for me. You have all been great coaches and have taught me a lot while help keeping me motivated to succeed.

Finally to the readers: I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog posts and staying loyal even when I posted so very few compared to the previous blog masters Kevin Abernathy and Zach Boyle. I couldn't even compare with the time and effort that they put into that website and I tried my best to fill their shoes.

Cool stats we've accomplished as blogmasters and loyal readers...
204 posts
59 followers
116 likes on the Facebook page
567 comments
30,056 pageviews all time

One of my regrets in high school is not putting more time and effort into this blog but.....
Don't worry I am leaving the blog in good hands. Next years varsity runners Collin Sullivan, Glen Mcgann, Austin Del Rosso, and  Micahel Callahan have all received invitations to become Blogmasters and keep the tradition alive. I am no longer in charge and the fate of the blog no longer rests in my hands. I enjoyed writing but this is the end. Goodbye.

Quote of the day: "I am going now and I big you all a very fond farewell. I might not return. In fact, I plan not to." Bilbo Baggins

Pre Conference Post

Last Thursday, the varsity distance team ran at the Jim Farrel Invitational. In the first race of the day, the 4 x mile team took second place with solid legs by Plassmeyer, MC, Hilmer (5:03 pr), and Sullivan. The 4 x mile was followed by the 4 x 800. I opened with a pr of 2:01 and I was followed my solid legs from Matt O'Connor, Nick Martini, and Justin Potter (2:08 pr) and we ended up finishing third. After the 4 x 800, Austin won the mile with an impressive 4:35 pr putting away the competition in the final lap. Finally, in the two mile Austin won again with a 10:08 and Glenn Mcgann also had a solid race while battling tonsillitis.

On Saturday, the varsity guys met at Forrest Park for a long run. Shortly after arriving we realized that the Relay for Life was was going on at the same time and the police had all the roads in and out of the park on lock-down. After persuading some policemen to let me through a blocked off road, I made my way over to the visitor center where I was joined by Tom, Mike, Austin, and eventually Nick who showed up the morning after going to Cor Jesu Prom. Potter and Plassmeyer didn't get the memo about meeting at the visitors center but we eventually found them jogging around the central fields. Nick, Matt, and myself finished a 60 minute run in which we traversed Art Hill, the World's Pair Pavilion, the Zoo, and the Muny. It was a great run and when we finished we spotted the Nerinx distance team and chatted with them for awhile while we waited for the other guys to finish. We finished the day with a visit to Legrand's Sub Shop where Tom personally made us our sandwiches. It was totally worth the wait, even though Mike got lost on the way over.

Final Notes:
1.) Congratulations to the 4 x 200 team of Kevonn "KV" Mabon, Tim Pickel, Durron "Hawkin" Neal, and "Sick" Nick Anderson as they broke the school record at the Kirkwood Invitational last Saturday.

2.) Mike needs to stop sending in-game tweets because the Blues lose every time he does.

3.) Nick Martini ran a big pr in the mile today of 4:41 in a JV meet. Go Nick!

4.) Our conference meet is Thursday beginning at 4pm at Chaminade.

Pre-Conference Post

Last Thursday, the varsity distance team ran at the Jim Farrel Invitational. In the first race of the day, the 4 x mile team took second place with solid legs by Plassmeyer, MC, Hilmer (5:03 pr), and Sullivan. The 4 x mile was followed by the 4 x 800. I opened with a pr of 2:01 and I was followed my solid legs from Matt O'Connor, Nick Martini, and Justin Potter (2:08 pr) and ww ended up finishing third. After the 4 x 800 Austin won the mile with an impressive 4:35 pr putting away the competition in the final lap. Finally, in the two mile Austin won again with a 10:08 and Glenn Mcgann also had a solid race.

On Saturday, the varsity guys met at Forrest Park for a long run. Shortly after arriving we realized that the Relay for Life was was going on at the same time and the police had all the roads in and out of the park on lock-down. After persuading some policemen to let me through I made my way over to the visitor center where I was joined by Tom, Mike, Austin, and eventually Nick. Potter and Plassmeyer didn't get the memo about meeting at the visitors center but we eventually found them jogging around the central fields. Nick, Matt, and myself finished a 60 minute run in which we traversed Art Hill, the World's Pair Pavilion, the Zoom, and the Muny. It was a great run and when we finished we spotted the Nerinx distance team and chatted with them for awhile while we waited for the other guys to finish. We finished the day with a visit to Legrand's Sub Shop where Tom personally made us our sandwiches. It was totally worth the wait, even though Mike got lost on the way over.

Final Notes:
1.) Congratulations to the 4 x 200 team of Kevonn "KV" Mabon, Tim Pickel, Durron "Hawkin" Neal, and "Sick" Nick Anderson as they broke the school record at the Kirkwood Invitational last Saturday.

2.) Mike needs to stop sending in-game tweets because the Blues lose every time he does.

It's Cold Up North

Last Monday we competed in the All Catholic meet because it was rained out on Saturday and was rescheduled. De Smet finished 2nd to CBC because we decided to split some of our sprinters between that meet and the Parkway North meet last Friday. The distance team ran quite well with fast times all across the board. The 4 by 800 team finished 1st as Austin Del Rosso came up with a big 800 pr of 2:04. Matt O'Connor, Justin Potter, and myself also ran strong legs to take the gold. In the mile, Glenn Mcgann came up with a huge pr of 4:41 as he out-kicked Rubio from SLUH to finish a close second behind a runner from Saint Dominic. Good job guys! In the 800 I helped push sophomore Tristan Morgan to a big 2:05 pr and I was quite proud of him as he beat me for the first time this year. Sullivan and Plassmeyer finished with solid races in the two mile as they finished close to their pr if they did not pr.

On Thursday and Friday the track team traveled to Parkway North for a meet that was split over two days. Collin Sullivan finished with a big pr in the mile of 4:43. Nice job Sullivan! Friday turned out to be a quite chilly and windy day for running. In the the mile Mcgann, O'Connor, and Callahan ran solid races as they battled the cold. In the 800 I'm proud to say that both myself and Tristen Morgan pred with a 2:03 as he narrowly beat me again. Don't worry though because I'll catch him next race. In the most exciting news of the week Austin DelRosso "threw down" as Coach Traughber would like to say a huge two mile pr of 9:44. Yes, that right I couldn't believe it myself. Nice job Austin you are the man!

To celebrate we all went out to eat at First Watch after practice on Saturday morning with Coach Tom. As we were leaving we spotted Coach Russo walking into First Watch with his two children, Liam and Brooklyn. They are quite cute little toddlers if say so myself. Our next races will most likely be next week at Vianney on either Tuesday or Thursday so stay posted for more post race updates. Hope you enjoyed and stay classy!

Monday is a Fun Day

Hello again and Happy Easter to everyone! I haven't written on here in awhile so I'll try to get everyone caught up on all the news and excitement. March 29th was MCC Relays at Chaminade. We finish a close second, just a few points behind SLUH. Although we didn't run quite as well as expected we ended up having a few good performances. In the JV 800 meter race Plassmeyer ran a nice leg, along with Michael Scherping, Tristen Morgan, and Dolan. Our next meek is this Saturday at Chaminade for the All Catholic Meet.

Last Saturday Coach Traughber decided to run a time trial since we did not have a meet last week. In the 800 time trial I pr-ed with a 2:04 and Nick Martini did as well with a 2:08. Coach is trying to make Nick into an 800 meter runner much to his displeasure. Anyway, team junior all ran well in the two mile time trial and I was quite proud of them. Glenn Mcgann ran a big pr of 10:20 followed closely by Sullivan and MC also pr-ed with a 10:31. Nice work boys!

Today at practice we were all quite delighted and surprised to see Coach Rob, who I hadn't seen since Christmas break. It was great to see him even though he decided not to run with us he was there for emotional support as we completed a tough tempo workout. Coach Tom has been cleared to run again because his wrist has healed after breaking it playing indoor soccer. Tom didn't run with us today because he shin is bothering him but he was there to motivate us. Of course Rob and Tom got some good debating it about the same old argument of who is faster. That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed Easter and stay tuned for a post All Catholic post!

Catching Up With Coach Rob

Boys I am excited to announce that I have conducted an exclusive interview with Rob Garwitz via Facebook chat. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Without further ado here you go...

Hows the job going at Nike and have you done any traveling lately? Whats the new hip Nike product?
The job is going well! March is busy season with Track & Field beginning and the weather getting warmer, so yes I have been on the road a bunch! My travel destinations include: Portland, Chicago, Lansing, Detroit, Canton and Youngstown. Some places are more exciting than others.

And YES...there is always cool stuff coming down the pipeline. The new FLYKNIT shoes (Google it) for the Olympics will be coming out at the end of July. There is a lot of buzz around these shoes.

Hows the marathon training going and where are you expecting to run next?
Training is hardly training these days. Life and work have gotten the best of me the past month or so. I am averaging 35 miles a week or so and am hoping to up my mileage as the weather gets nicer.

Have you heard any news from Coach Leeman?
Coach Leeman and I have not spoken unfortunately. Get that man on Twitter!

Now that Mizzou choked who will you be rooting for in the tournament?

Sore subject, Waller. Since the Mizzou Meltdown, I have been avoiding the NCAA tournament altogether. Needless to say, I took the loss very hard. As far back as I can recall, I have never been more disappointed after a sports defeat. I still believe we were one of the most talented teams in the field of 68, but they call it March Madness for a reason. As far as who I am rooting for, hmm...anyone but KU.

Rumor has it (from Coach Tom) that you are dating Miss Morris. How is that working out for you?
Is that the rumor, huh? It is perhaps true. And it is, perhaps working out well for myself and "Miss Morris." But I am sure Danny and Jack already told you that. Speaking of those two, you better make sure those two are taken care of or I will come after you.

Will you be making a trip back to Saint Louis anytime soon and should be expecting a visit?
I have yet to book a flight, but I have thought about coming back to spend Easter with my family. Anyone up for a run?

There has been a lot of speculation of a Garwitz vs. Albes mile competition (Pacquiano vs. Maywether). Will this ever happen or is it just Twitter talk?
Last time I checked, I am 1-0 vs. Tom in head-to-head competition. Our camps have discussed a few potential showdowns this summer, but not race has been confirmed. I will take that scrub anytime, anywhere, any distance.

Oh, and for all the fellas that don't follow me on Twitter, holler @RealRobbyGee. Happy Running dudes!

Fun in the Sun

Yesterday was the first varsity track meet of the year, the Gateway Invitational at Washington University. There were a lot of good teams and talent there so the boys were pushed to run to bring their "a" game. Starting out in the 4 by 800 we finished fourth. I ran a 2:04-2:05 and was followed by solid legs by Matt, Potter, and a sprinter named Tristen Morgan finishing 8th out of 16 teams. In the mile Glenn and Plassmeyer both ran great races with big prs. Glenn came in at 4:47 and Plaz ran a 4:51. I was quite impressed.  The big news of the day Austin throwing down a big pr in the two mile with a 10:01 two mile finishing second behind Billy Leighton. It was pretty fun to watch.

In other news the 4 by 100 relay of "Sick" Nick Anderson, Duron "finna be hawkin" Neal, Kevonn "KV" Mabon, and Creig "Reverend" Durham broke the school record with a sizzling fast 43:10 second race. It was awesome to watch and we are all extremely proud of them. De Smet finished second overall in the meet behind our friends from SLUH and C.B.C. took third. This Thursday is the conference relay meet at Chaminade so it will be fun to run against them again.

Fun tidbits of knowledge:
-Coach Tom has been downgraded to questionable in his fantasy running status after breaking his wrist playing indoor soccer.
-MCs friend Emily showed me a picture of him in a dress that the entire distance team found quite hilarious
-I'm not sure about you but I got a nasty sunburn yesterday at the meet
-The De Smet track alumni made a strong showing at the meet as we were joined by Johnnel Williams, Alex Potter, and Ethan Stack. Its always great fun to catch up with them

First Meet Was Sweet

Hey guys its time for your spring break update. I've got a lot to talk about so I'll try to touch on some of the more important events that have occurred the last two weeks. The track team has been working hard at practice and last Friday was our first oppurtunity to showcase that week during our JV scrimmage with SLUH and CBC. In the mile Austin Del Rosso ran an easy 4:42 with Sully coming in at 4:51. In the two mile Glenn Mcgann finished first with a 10:36 and MC and Martini came in shortly behind him. Finally in the 8:00 I won with a 2:05 and Matt came in second with a 2:10. Matt ran a fast 400 meter relay split of 54 seconds also which I found quite impressive. All in all it was great day for the entire team and we had a lot of fun. In attendance was the man himself, Mr. Brain Scherping who came home from college for a short break and watched us run. Brain is beginning his track season at Missouri S&T. We wish him the best of luck.

Speaking of esteemed alumni, the following morning was pancake breakfast at coach's house for the guys that ran a lot over the winter. We were met by Kevin Abernathy who was home for spring break. Kevin ran on Grant's Trail with us and stayed after to eat pancakes and tell stories after the run. We had a lot of fun as pancake breakfast is always a good time and good for team bonding. Anyway yesterday Glenn, Austin, Coach Tom, and myself met for an informal long run in which we traversed the entire Westwood Country Club. I had never run their before so that was quite enjoyable.

On Saturday is our first varsity meet of the year at Washington University. The team is super excited to run against some good competition, at least I am. Anyway I'll make sure to update the blog after that meet to report on results and such. That's all for today. Enjoy your break and don't forget to run as always!

March Madness

I am pleased to announce that with the help of Coach Tom we will again be having a March Madness Bracket Challenge. This bracket is for bragging right and there is no money involved. If you have any sprinter friends that are sports fans they are more than welcome to sign up along with cross country and track alumni. It should be a good time. The brackets will be announced Sunday night and the first games will likely be on Thursday and Friday so make sure you have your brackets filled out by then because they will close when the first game starts. I will enjoy the competition as I try to defend my title from last year. The password is running and the group ID#er is 21828 to keep out riff-raff. Finally if you'd like you can make a funny bracket like Nick Martini did last year....With that said here is the link. Enjoy and may the best man win!

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/

Lovin' The Loops

This week kicked off the first week of track practice. We started the week in the cafeteria with a goals meeting that included repeating this year at Conference, repeating the All Catholic meet, and trophy-ing for the first time ever at State. Coach Williams and Russo talked about how awesome are team could be this year if we compete and work hard. Hopefully all of our hard work will makes these goals a reality.

On Thursday the long distance guys competed in the first mile time trial of the year. Austin set the tone early by running a 4:42 mile and proving that all of his hard work during the winter was working. Team Junior turned out not to be deficient after all while posting some big PR's across the board. Breaking 5:00 in the mile for the first time ever were Sullivan, Glenn, MC, and Plassmeyer. Good work boys! Afterwards we took a walk around the school and then came back to run three miles at tempo pace. Yes, I'm still sore if you were wondering.

Today was our first long run of the year and we decided to run seven loops at Malcolm Terrace Park. Terrace is one of our favorite places to run and I have a lot of fond memories playing tag and other shenanigans at that park. Anyway, Matt showed up to practice sick today and by the end of practice today his face was looking paler than usual, which is quite pale. Poor Matt.

Other important stuff:
1). Tom will be creating an NCAA tournament game open to all De Smet runners and De Smet alumni. I will post a link to the game on the blog when he makes it. This will be the third year of the tournament with past winners Andrew O'Connor (2010) and myself (2011). 

2.) After practice on Thursday Matt and I helped Nick set up his classroom for the El Camino retreat in Coach Russo's room. We built a pretty awesome tent...just thought you should know.

And So It Begins

Hello, and welcome back one again all you Milk Table afficionados. Hopefully all of you are enjoying your winter. As February begins to wind down, track season begins to creep slowly closer with first day of practice only two weeks away. With winter training coming to a close I wanted to give our readers and update on our offseason training and look ahead to what you can expect from the 2012 De Smet Track and Field Spartans.

Team junior has put together a big offseason as they look to come into the track season in great shape. Leading the charge will be Michael Callahan, Glenn McGann, Collin Sullivan, Justin Potter, and Matt Beers. The juniors are out to prove that they can  succeed through hard work and dedication. All of these guys will be competing for the four varsity spots in the mile and two mile with Potter hopefully being able to also help out with the 800. In fantasy track news Michael Callahan's arm was broken while he was playing recreational basketball, and he has been listed as probable for first meet of the season.

On the sophomore level Double duty Del Roso has put together a huge offseason this winter. With his focus only on running this spring look for Austin to do some serous damage in the mile. I'm not sure he is ready to break Kevin's record yet but he's going to be pretty dang good if he can stay healthy. Also, Steven Plassmeyer has been running a lot and should compete with the juniors for a varsity spot.

On the senior level Nick, Matt, and I will be back as senior captains taking over where we left off in the fall. Matt's offseason running has been a mystery but he will contribute in the 400 and 800. Nick has been training with the juniors and hopes to compete in the two mile this year, which I believe he will. As for myself I've been battling tendinitis in my foot the last month which has slowed my training but I am back to almost 100%. Ive spent a lot of time in weight room while recovering and I hope to compete in the 800 this year.

Anyway, the sprinting squad this year will be absolutely stacked and will hopefully help us to repeat as conference championships and compete for a state championships. I won't bore you with the details but they will be lead by Tim Pickel, Durron Neal, Kevonn Mabon, MVD, Chris Moore, Justin Genova, and many others. Tim placed 8th last year at state in the 400, Neal placed 8th in the 200, and Kevonn will be joining us after sitting out the last two years. Keep your eye on Kevonn as he could win state in the 200, 400, and maybe even the 800 if healthy and motivated.  Like I said the sprinters are amazing this year and the jumpers and throwers will be solid as well. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for updates throughout the track season. Hopefully it will be a memorable one!