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!