Hello, athletes! It is hard to believe, but I’m nearly done with my UPenn program. I have uploaded all my final papers for this semester, there is some final polishing on a group project, and then all that is left is my capstone project. I don’t know if everyone knows, but Angela Duckworth wanted to be my advisor for my capstone thesis project…which is great; however, at the same time, I do not want to disappoint Angela! Like many of the high achievers I coach, my standards keep pushing me to work a bit harder.
Penn Relays April 25-27
I knew that the Penn Relays was one of the top track meets anywhere, but I was still unprepared for the reality. Penn is great! It’s not only the magnitude–Penn is a big meet, and Franklin Field is an impressive place. It is…everything. Incredibly competitive meet, unreal atmosphere. There is a big Jamaican presence at Penn, and they are so passionate about track, there is a LOT of loud cheering. The fans are very knowledgeable, and everything about the meet is so pro.
It’s hard to pick a favorite race, but the college men’s 4xmile might be it. Villanova won with a 15:51.91 mark–their four runners averaged 3:58 for each mile. If that was not amazing enough, Virginia and Georgetown both put up 15:52s. There were 13 runners in that one race who ran legs under four minutes! When people realized what was happening, the noise in the stadium got to jet-engine levels. It was a fantastic race. I feel so grateful that I saw it. Find the video online.
There are races at Penn for high school runners and for athletes over 85 years old. Penn truly is a carnival.
Hop had a great Penn meet! The highlight for Hop might have been the women’s 4x800m team who set a new school and conference record, 8:57.87. Everyone was so happy to participate in the meet, and they competed well. It was exciting for me to walk around as a coach, being helpful while also being a track fan.
Hop’s conference meet is this weekend, May 3, 4, and 5, while you have SCVALs. This morning at practice, Coach Bobby wanted to see who was interested in running the 10,000m this weekend. I think 14 boys raised their hands, everyone wanted to help score a couple points for the team, and no one was ducking the 25-lap race. I love the spirit and the desire to take on the hardest challenges.
MV Alumni Update
Several Monta Vista alumni were competing in conference meets this past weekend.
Zoe Wang helped her Middlebury Panthers (Vermont) team win a New England conference championship, taking third place and earning all-conference honors in the pole vault with a 3.7m vault. Zoe owns Middlebury’s all-time record vault!
Meanwhile, Sammi Dunn scored 4 points for her University of Chicago team, placing in both the high jump and the javelin. I’m so proud of Sammi. Sammi added the jav because she wanted to try something new, and to help her team. Then, Sammi worked hard to be good at her new event, she was not just goofing around. Now she has the #8 javelin throw in University of Chicago history! Sammi’s story has so many admirable lessons.
And in Southern California, Rohun Agrawal also earned all-conference honors in the 10km, representing CalTech at the SCIAC championships.
Well done, MV!
