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Post-Nationals Quotes

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Tyler Sigl, Wisconsin – Platteville, Individual Champion, 11^th place team

With my team’s lane assignment being on the very inside, we knew that we had to get out hard, and that is what we did. I managed to get out front right away so I didn't get cut off at the first turn. From then on, I just kept pushing the pace along up front. At about three miles the front pack was really thinning out and shortly thereafter it was just Peter and me. For the next mile and a half we just kept pushing each other along and separating ourselves from the rest of the field. With about 600m to go we were still side by side, then there was a nice little uphill. I surged up the hill and he broke. I sprinted my way across the finish line and let out some shouts of excitement as I won my first [cross country] national championship after my 4th appearance.

As stated earlier my team tried to get out pretty quick so we didn't get cut off at the first turn. They all ran strong but no one really had an outstanding performance to bring us up in the results. Likewise, no one had a bad race to bring us down. After the way that we ran at regionals, we were happy with our performance. We got our bad race out of the way there, unlike last year when we had by far our worst race at nationals.

Our team goal was to better our 10th place finish from back in 2000 which was our best finish in school history. We were ranked 15th, ended up 11th, and we just barely missed finishing in the top 10. Also, we beat North Central for the first time in our school’s history. Considering all that we were happy with how we raced and the place that we got.

Peter Kosgei, 2^nd place individual

At nationals, the first mile wasn't that fast -- 4:50, but definitely faster than the second one which was like 5:03.We picked up the pace in the third and fourth miles and I think we brought it back to low 4:50s.  I felt good the whole race but I still don't understand what happened in the last half mile.  Anyway, I believe that the best man wins a race and Sigl was the best.  I'll try next year.

Paul Zdroik, Wisconsin - La Crosse, 5^th individual, 5^th place team

For my team, we were pretty disappointed with the end results. Obviously we wanted to trophy and we came up just shy of that. I'm happy for their strong pack running, you just don't see something quite like that in a National race; maybe in tryouts or the first few meets, but at Nationals and other championship races the trend usually follows every man for himself the last few kilometers.  So I'm proud of them for this.  However, the pack was a few spots too far back to make the noise we wanted.

My race went exactly how I wanted it to go; I got out fast, tucked in behind the top 25, settled in to about the 4k, turned up the heat for 3k and was fortunate to have some gas left in the tank for the last kilometer surge. I knew I could break the top 15, was hoping for top 10, and I couldn't believe my 5th place finish. In the end it was the absolute definition of "bittersweet".

Erik Donohoe, St. Lawrence, 6^th place individual

Going into the race I didn't really know what to expect. After running a hard race at regionals and coming in ninth I was shooting to try and break into the top 35. Eli Howard and I had both qualified individually for the race, but our team finished 5th and didn't get a bid. The whole team was really disappointed as that was the main goal of our season, so Eli and I went into the race really wanting to prove that our team deserved to be there. Once the race started I tried to position myself around 35th by about the mile and planned on just trying to stay there the whole race. Right before the two mile I made a move around a pack and ended up being somewhere around 10th. At that point I was pretty nervous that I had gone out too hard and would be falling back the rest of the race. I ran the last three miles or so of the race with Shamus Nally from Cortland, we've raced against him a lot so that helped to pull me through. I got pretty excited with around 800 or so to go when I realized I wasn't gonna fall out of the All-American spots. Then coming into the finish I lost a little ground on the final hill and then was passed by Paul Zdroik on the final straightaway. After the race I was really happy that the season had ended much better then expected. It was good to end the season feeling that I had put everything into the last race.

Brandon Mull, Wheaton, 10^th place individual

Coming off the line, people were packed in tight as the course narrowed down and I found myself right in the middle of an impassable mass of runners. I think I was around 40 to 50th place at the 800 mark and I was worried about my position. Looking at some of the other top 10 results, it would appear that I wasn‘t the only one who got buried in the pack at the start. Anyway, I eventually worked to the outside and was able to move up. Once I got into position at the mile, the race opened up and I was in 16th place with the leaders about 5 seconds in front. At this point, I was a little upset at myself for not getting out harder because I knew that the few seconds the leaders had on me would be difficult to close given the quick pace we were running.

I decided to stay where I was and started racing with the people around me as we went into the loop through the field. It was a weird feeling back there -- the roar of the crowd faded away and it got very quiet. You would hear the labored breathing of runners and spikes smacking the ground but that’s about it. Coming out of the loop I felt great and as we moved up the hill, I settled in to a comfortable rhythm near Abdallah of NYU (props to the NCAA for putting the names on the bibs this year). I believe I was in 8th at this point and tried to hold position as we ran back across the soccer fields for the final loop. Eventually, as Sigl, Kosgei, and Erichson made their moves, it became a race for position among the top 10 as the pack went through the last kilometer in the woods. With about 800 or so to go, Zdroik from LaCrosse made a big move from 12th up into 5th, and I moved into 10th. At that point I was starting to hurt a little bit and just prayed for strength to hang on.

The feeling I had when crossing the line is one that I will never forget. My coaches Scott Bradley and David Walford, my high school coach Randy Moore, my parents, and a host of Wheaton friends and supporters were right there cheering for me and congratulating me after the race. I turned around a few seconds later to see my teammate Matt Field, clinch an All-American spot as well. On the whole it was a great day and the race gave me some confidence as look forward to track.

 Ryan Williams, NYU, 53^rd place individual, National Championship team
Going into the race we were pretty excited. All of us had been running pretty consistently all year, and since 6 out of 7 us have been together for the past three years we knew we had a lot of experience. When we saw the course I was really excited. I thought the first 5k or so was deceptively hard since you were rarely on flat ground. A lot of people get overly excited at nationals and go out way too hard so I thought we would be able to run our own race and not panic since we are used to running in big meets. I figured if all of us got close to where we needed to be and then relaxed, the course would punish those who got overzealous and we'd be able to roll on some people in the last 2k. At the beginning of the race Hany and I got out pretty well. Hany went right to the front like he planned, while I wanted to stay in the second pack. I'm not the strongest hill runner so I wanted to be relaxed for the first half and be ready to pick it up when it got a little flatter on the way back. I was feeling fine and somewhere between the 1k and mile mark I was running on the side of a hill next to two Calvin guys and I lost balance and fell. I have no idea how it happened, but I got up really quickly and sprinted to get back where I had been. That was a dumb move on my part because without realizing it, I had spiked up my heart rate pretty big between panicking and then sprinting like a madman. I think the mile split was 4:53(?) for me but the effort was probably a lot faster than that. After that, it was hard to relax. It seemed like every time I just tried to run with the pack 10 guys would fly by me. I had to push a majority of the race just to try to hold me position. After getting through the 5k I thought maybe when I saw the finish line that would get me amped up and I'd be able to suck it up and move up the last 3k. Unfortunately, I couldn't get going at all, and with close to 1k left my teammate Spenser got on my shoulder. I knew I had to get with him and I tried, but I was gassed. When James went by me I thought for sure we weren't in it for the title because there were so many good teams this year, I thought we would have to all run close to perfect to win the meet. After the race I was pretty upset; I walked to the gym alone and I couldn't look anyone in the eye because I thought for sure I had lost the team title for us. I knew Hany, Jessie, Spenser, and James had ran pretty well, good enough to keep us in the hunt. Waiting for the scores was probably the longest 10 minutes of my life. Finally, some of the guys on the team that came to watch came sprinting into the gym screaming and then we all went crazy. I almost collapsed because I was so relieved. After I found out we won I didn't care at all how I ran since all I wanted was the team title. Everything was kinda forgotten and I was able to really enjoy the experience with my best bros and all our families.

In the time since nationals I've had time to reflect on my season and I'm disappointed I didn't run up to my potential. Other than nationals I was very happy with my season, as I had been pretty consistent throughout the year. Inconsistency had plagued me for my previous three cross seasons so this was a good step for me even though Nats didn't end up how I would have liked. I really expected to be in the top 10 or top 15 at worst, especially after I ran 24:11 at Oshkosh in October. I think I have a lot to prove the rest of the year. I'm looking forward towards indoors to be running on something flatter.

As for next year I think there're some great young teams out there but our boys will have a pretty good year next too. Even though 5 of the top 7 are gone, there are a lot of hard working guys on our team that don't get the recognition they deserve since we've been so deep the last 2 years. I think they will surprise some people.

Congrats to everyone who ran at nationals, and I just wanted to give a shout out to the Haverford guys who had a great season and ran smart all year and the Wash U girls for being our #1 fans all year.

WOMEN

Alexandra Krieg, Middlebury, 3^rd place individual, 15^th place team

I was very happy with how the Nationals race went! I had placed third the previous weekend at NE Regionals, and my main goal coming in was to beat everyone from NESCAC and NE who I had raced against earlier in the season. I wasn't sure what kind of competition to expect from the other regions, though. At Nationals, I passed everyone from NE during the first half of the race, which at the time made me a bit nervous because I wasn't sure I could hang onto that position--but I just kept running and it felt great. I guess you have to trust in your taper! I spent the first half of the race moving up from the top fifty-ish to the top five; most of the second half of the race I ran with Janet Dobyns, who was my teammate in middle school. That was definitely fun. Overall, I felt more prepared for and focused on this race than any previous races and it was a great finish to the season.

Becca Jordahl, 4^th place individual

I thought Nationals went very well for me. Moving from 19th place last year, to fourth place this year was a huge accomplishment, especially since this was only my second year ever competing. I hope to continue to improve over the next year and really be a threat next season.

Janet Dobyns, Luther, 5^th place individual, 10^th place team

I was pleased with how the race finished as our team was able to place in the top ten amongst other strong and talented teams. I was happy with my finish individually but more so I was just excited to be a part of such a fun atmosphere and competitive group of women.  The pace started out at a clip as I was anticipating and I concentrated on moving up throughout the pack and looking at my teammates and other fans in the eye as I ran passed them to give me more energy along the course. The support from Luther
teammates, fans, family, and alums was so special!  Those 20 some minutes were exhilarating but incomparable to the whole championship weekend and whole season which was so memorable.  I'm proud to be a part of such a strong and supportive team.

Looking back on the experience I don't think I will remember the place or time I got as much as the opportunity I had to share with my teammates and to be immersed in the best atmosphere ever- division III cross country!

Allison Busby, Plattsburgh State, 8^th place individual, 2^nd place team

Nationals was by far the best race of the season and wrapped up an exciting fall for my team. I raced as hard as I could and was really pleased with how I did.  The best part was our team's runner-up finish though; it made the whole trip one of the best experiences of my four years in college by far. It’s just so hard to believe my college xc running career is over.

Jennifer Adams, Keene State, 9^th place individual

I thought nationals went ok; I was happy to get in the top ten because that was my goal.  I was a little disappointed in how I felt throughout the race and think that the cold weather really hindered my performance. I enjoyed the course and was happy that it was nothing like last year’s.

Toni Wiszowaty, Plattsburgh State, 10^th place individual, 2^nd place team

Nationals was a different experience for me this year because it was more about the team then me being an individual. I suffered through an injury that held me out for a bit of time and I focused most of my time the week before Regionals trying to get back into things. I am not to content individually with how I placed but then again I wasn't in the shape I expected to be in at that point in time, and 10th is still decent. Our team did amazing and I feel like we really shocked a lot of people out there. We really dedicated our whole season to performing well at Nationals and every other race was just a step closer to our goal at Nationals. From the start we knew what we could do, given that everyone was healthy, and my teammates and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Now I am just looking forward to Indoor and staying healthy and injury free.

Club nats

9:37 PM, December 13, 2007 .. Posted by Spooter

Keith- great race at club nationals!

And you two keep this blog rollin' it is great.

Untitled Comment

11:05 PM, December 13, 2007 .. Posted by Trackshark DIII Blog Webmasters

Keith can be found at http://www.theleadpack.com/ this year. If you're interested in who we are (the two webmasters this year), you can check out our profile section. Thank for your comment, though.