Last year's big winners in 4A were Reno High (boys) and Centennial H.S.

(girls). Reno lost of four of their top seven to graduation, but then most

boys teams have more seniors than do the girls teams. It appears that Reno

was hit no harder by graduation than its closest rivals in 2000, South Tahoe

and Galena. On the distaff side, Centennial, South Tahoe, and Green Valley

finished within eight points of each other (in that order) and all three

teams remain pretty much intact.

The boys team most likely to contend for the 4A state championship, aside

from Reno, South Tahoe, and Galena, is Chaparral, led by the Patrick Swick.

Patrick finished 6th last fall in cross country and was runner-up at state in

both the 1600 and 3200 on the track this spring. Chaparral graduated no

seniors from their top five of a year ago and picked up an off-season

transfer from Texas, Joe Burrola (9:58/3200 and 4:30/1600 on the track at

state). Swick and Burrola (now a senior) give Chaparral a great 1-2 and make

the Cowboys the preseason team-to-beat in Sunrise. After Chaparral, the

"usual suspects" from Sunrise are Green Valley, Silverado, Basic, and

Foothill--what I call the "Henderson Division".  On the other side of the

valley in Sunset, Centennial looks like a clear favorite with

Cimarron-Memorial, Durango, and possibly Palo Verde--like Foothill, a

program on the rise--fighting for the other two spots.

Across the state, here are the other returning individuals in boys 4A who

finished in the top-15 last fall: Jamalo Adem of Clark (5th), Swick, Kole

Krahenbuhl of Basic (10th), Matt Dodd of Reno (11th), Mike Ceparano of

Silverado (13th), and Chris Cosmi of South Tahoe (14th).

Reno's Chris Concha (24th), who placed third at state in both the 1600 and

the 3200, should also be given a top billing among "runners to beat" this

fall.

Some of the other boys from Sunset who can be expected to lead their

respective teams are Matthew Yadegar (Cimarron-Memorial), Jordan Stephens,

Jorge Martinez, and Preston Mathews (Centennial), Allen Larsen (Bonanza),

Marcus Whitehead and Emmanuel Garcia (Durango), Kevin Sully (Palo Verde),

Devon and Stephon Davis (Cheyenne), and Kumiye Hussein (Clark)

From Sunrise also watch for Agustin Luna and Anthony Petrillo (Chaparral),

Ron Stoker (Foothill), Alex Wilcox (Coronado), David Winkler and Korre Heggem

(Green Valley), Paul Hafen and Tyler Sorenson (Basic), Corey Thompson and

Brad Royal (Silverado), and Ray Rodriguez (Vo Tech).

In girls 4A the competition should be very tight. Centennial, which returns

its top seven from a year ago, is led by sophomore Meghan Mathews (runner-up

at state) and senior Allison Carney (7th at state). Centennial also has three

other returning runners who placed in the top 30 at state last fall. South

Tahoe returns four of their top seven, including sophomore Amber Ramos (4th

at state) who ran a 11:57/3200 at state this spring. Green Valley, likewise

with no graduating seniors, will be led by junior Emily Eskin (6th at state).

Other teams that will likely be leaders in the battle for a trip to State

are--starting at the top--Foothill, Basic, and Silverado from Sunrise; Palo

Verde, Cimarron-Memorial, and Bonanza from Sunset; and Carson, Reno, and

McQueen from the North. Carson, especially, is a team from the north to

watch. The Lady Senators have four incoming freshman who are all expected to

have an impact.

The outstanding female runner in 4A is Carson's Shanna Sparks, the defending

state champ. Sparks was 2nd team All Western Region at Footlocker in 2000 and

ran 11:19 in winning the 3200 on the track at state this spring as a

sophomore. Shanna is a legitimate "national contender".Close behind her is

Christa Avena from Gorman who was third last year in 4A cross country and

runner-up in the 1600 and the 3200 on the track.

The following girls were All-State (top 15) last year and are returning this

fall: Sparks, Mathews, Avena, Eskin, Carney, Karen DeMartini of Reno (8th),

Taryn Joyce-Mendive of Douglas (10th), Michelle Glenn of Reno (11th), Lindsay

Harris of Green Valley (12th), Karen Brigman of McQueen (13th), Kali Baker of

Centennial (14th), and Erica Zampardo of South Tahoe (15th).

To that list add the following girls from Sunset who are expected to be

among the front runners this fall: Natasha Wicks and Shoshanna Yadegar

(Cimarron-Memorial); Natilie Fehrensen and Melissa Voss (Palo Verde); Tamara

Dudas, Minette Porterfield, and Jen Fajardo (Bonanza); Patty Boghos and Shana

Wiltshire (Durango); and Laura and Melissa O'Connor, Kelli Brown, and Megan

Romeo (Centennial).

And from Sunrise : Deann Bradshaw, Colleen O' Brien, Megan Karl, and Beth Stoner, (Foothill);

Jackie Favreau, Katie Hughes, and Stacie DeGagne (Green Valley); Samantha

Serrano, Ashley Perkins, and Brianna Krahenbuhl (Basic); Yolanda Chee

(Eldorado); Michelle Chee (Rancho); and Karen and Debbie LaHodny (Silverado).

There are four "new" 4A schools that are opening this fall: North Valleys

and Spanish Springs in the Northern Region and Coronado and Sierra Vista in

Sunrise and Sunset. None of these schools will have seniors and all are

expected to feel the "first-year pains" of competition against established

programs. The bigger impact that they may make this fall is in the athletes

they will "take away" from their surrounding schools: Sparks and Hug in the

north and Foothill, Silverado, and Durango in the south. A number of athletes

who ran as freshmen and sophomores at Durango and Foothill, for instance,

will now be changing their colors to run for Coronado and Sierra Vista.

Among the lower divisions (2A/3A), the one team that truly stands out

state-wide is the girls team from Lowry. The Buckaroos from Winnemucca won

the 3A title in 2000 with 17 points and graduated nary a senior. Lowry is led

by sophomore twins Kelsey and Katie Engstrom. Kelsey was the 3A state champ

in cross country, as well as both the 1600 and the 3200 this spring. Katie,

7th in cc in '00, was 4th at state in the 1600 and 3rd in the 3200. Heather

Thompson, also from Lowry, was runner-up in cc last fall and was the 800

meter state champ in 3A track. Boulder City, North Tahoe, and Spring Creek

will fight for the scraps in girls 3A. Boulder City's Kristie McRae (9th at

state) is the south's top returning runner.

Boys 3A should be more "up for grabs" this fall. Boulder City, the defending

champs, was hit hard by graduation and only returns two runners who finished

among the top 10 last fall--Justin Barrow (6th) and Aaron Ross (8th). The

team most likely to challenge for team honors is North Tahoe, which will be

led by Jose Ramirez--runner-up in cc in '00 and both the 1600 and the 3200 in

state track this spring--and Tommy Mills (9th in '00 cc).

2A boys is dominated by three outstanding young men: Drew Casselberry of

Incline, Greg Sullivan of Beatty, and Chris Clauson of Independence. Seniors

Casselberry and Sullivan finished 1-2 last fall while Clauson, who placed 6th

in cc last fall, ran a 9:48 3200 as a freshman in winning the 2A 3200 at

state.

Girls 2A features one of the better teams in the state, at any level, Faith

Lutheran. The Crusaders from Las Vegas are led by sophomore Nikki Peterson

and senior Chaz LaHodny. The defending 2A cc champ, Peterson was a quad

winner in 2A track this spring (400/800/1600/3200). LaHodny, who has not run

cross country since her freshman year at Clark (when she was third in the

State Meet), had an outstanding season on the track this past spring. Faith

Lutheran also has an outstanding incoming freshman, Delayna Jensen. Three

returning runners who finished in the top five in 2A last fall are Christine

Barrett (2nd) and Sarah Day (3rd), both from Faith Lutheran, and Lindsey

Zeller (5th) of Indian Springs.

Finally, there is the "coach factor". It's no coincidence that the most

successful programs in the state are headed by experienced coaches who coach

their distance runners year round. This is not a knock on multi-sport

coaches. There have been--and are--excellent coaches in this state who coach

cross country and then turn their attention to other sports at the end of the

fall season: basketball, wrestling, baseball or softball.... But these

coaches are at a distinct disadvantage when they compete against coaches who,

in addition to cross country, work with their runners over the winter months

and then coach them on the track in the spring.

I will confine my examples to southern Nevada, since that is where I've

resided and coached for the past 20-plus years, but I suspect the assertion

holds true up north as well. (Warren Mills at North Tahoe, Dave Nolte and

Lynn Mentzer at Reed, Lee Hurren at Galena, and Roland Martin at Reno come to

mind.) First, the success of the Basic program is due to the dedication and

expertise of Larry Burgess, the dean of cross country coaches in southern

Nevada. (In addition to five team state championships, I don't believe Coach

Burgess has never failed to qualify his boys team for the State Meet.)

Likewise, Cimarron-Memorial has Harold Vaughn to thank for its long-time

success in cross country. Boulder City has been blessed to have Bruce Momsen

as its cross country coach for more years than I can calculate. Mike O'Dea

has been a super-successful cross country coach wherever he's been, first at

Eldorado then Durango and now Palo Verde. John Dixon has been a winner

wherever he's coached as well, first at Cheyenne and now at Foothill. Tim

Daily worked miracles at Indian Springs; it might take him a couple of years,

but I expect he'll do very well at Sierra Vista. Jeff Doyle and Jessica

Scobell, both relative newcomers, have had great success at Green Valley and

Faith Lutheran. And sometimes two coaches are better than one: Sam

Richardson, a veteran coach (Eldorado, Cheyenne, Valley) coaches the boys at

Centennial while another veteran, Bill Miller (who coached under John Dixon

at Cheyenne), coached the girls team at Centennial to a state championship

last fall.

I know I've left out other examples of terrific, successful coaches. So be

it. But the coaches I have cited all have one thing in common: they coach

their runners year round. They recruit, they raise funds, and they work with

their athletes one-on-one from August of one year until July of the next. And

come November I suspect these are the coaches who will be traveling to Reno

for the State Meet. I rest my case.

coachphil@aol.com

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"Newbies" and "Retreads"

(September 3rd)

Scouting the fresh faces is something that coaches do early in the season.

And here in southern Nevada we’ve now had two opportunities to size up the

talent: the week one “dual’s/tri’s” and the Lake Mead Invitational in

Boulder City. There were a number of runners who stood out among the

newcomers this week. Some are 9th graders; some are runners who may have run

track last spring but who are new to cross country. And there are two

“old-timers” who appear to be making a successful comeback.

Among freshmen girls none stands out like Deleyna Jensen of Faith Lutheran.

This young Red Rock Racer can flat out fly! She posted the third fastest time

at the B.C. meet on Saturday (behind Nikki Peterson (FL) and Natasha Wicks

(C-M). She will likely remain in the shadow of her state champion-teammate

Peterson for the next couple of years, but she’s a “good un”. Three other

9th grade girls who have run well early are Katherine Fine of Gorman, Holly

Walker of Green Valley, and Debbie LaHodny of Silverado. Lindsay Pardee

(sister of recently graduated Kelly) of Durango also looked good in her race

at Green Valley on Wednesday: a chip off the proverbial old block. One

newcomer who ran well both on Wednesday and Saturday was sophomore Magali

Hernandez of Mojave. She placed fourth in her race against the girls of

Chaparral and Las Vegas on Wednesday and fifth among sophomore girls on

Saturday.

As for old-timers returning, it seems unfair to call Faith Lutheran’s Chaz

LaHodny a retread. She never stopped running. But she has not run high school

cross country since she was freshman at Clark. She sat out two years due to

injuries and transfer restrictions. But that’s now behind her. She may be

only the number three runner on her team, but she won the senior girls race

at Lake Mead on Saturday, posting the fourth fastest time-of-the-day, and

finished third--behind Peterson and Jensen--on Wednesday, running against the

best that Bonanza and Cheyenne had to offer. Chaz is back, like a Phoenix

rising from the ashes!

Turning to the boys, there doesn’t appear to be any “Patrick Swicks” out

there, but several freshmen turned in good performances this first week. Josh

Sillitoe of Basic and Alex Hunter of Boulder City went 1-2 in the 9th grade

boys race at the Lake Mead Invitational with respectable times. Hunter also

placed third in his race--behind two teammates--up at Moapa Valley on

Wednesday. Among newcomers who have looked promising are a couple of Bonanza

brothers: sophomore Trevor and junior Tyler Peterson. Trevor ran track last

spring for the Bengals.  Both boys placed in the top five In their race

against Faith and Cheyenne on Wednesday and Trevor was second in the

sophomore boys race at Boulder City on Saturday. Tyler finished seventh in

the junior boys race at Lake Mead. Clark, likewise, has two newbies to watch:

sophomore Daniel Melesse and junior Marinko Dyukic. Melesse, especially,

raised eyebrows at Boulder City when he posted the second fastest

time-of-the-day (behind Bonanza’s Allen Larsen) in winning his 10th-grade

race. He placed second on Wednesday, behind teammate Kumiye Hussein, in his

race against Valley and Coronado, beating Coronado’s state-qualifier Alex

Wilcox among others. Dyukic finished eighth in the race on Wednesday and

fourth in his 11th-grade race on Saturday. Also keep an eye on newcomer Ray

Rodriguez Jr. of Vo Tech. Rodriguez caught some attention big-time when he

beat the best that Silverado, Basic, and Western had to offer on Wednesday

and then placed third among junior boys on Saturday. Finally, another

newcomer to cross country is Basic’s Bryan Stiles, who right now looks like

Coach Burgess’ number three runner (behind Krahenbuhl and Hafen). Stiles

placed fifth among junior boys at the Lake Mead Invitational.

As for the old-timers returning as retreads In the boys ranks, the one who

truly stands out is Alec Chapman of The Meadows. Chapman was, arguably, Green

Valley’s best cross country runner as a freshman, but when he transferred he

lost a year of eligibility. Now a junior, Alec made his debut for his new

school by knocking off some the “big dogs” from Palo Verde and

Cimarron-Memorial on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, The Meadows doesn’t have a

full boys team--yet at least--but Alec will likely be a force to be reckoned

with come State, when he’ll go head-to-head with 2A runners such as Drew

Casselberry of Incline and Greg Sullivan of Beatty.

For those newbies and retreads that I’ve overlooked, I apologize. I look

forward to discovering you throughout the season. It’s still early, with some

runners out there possibly still waiting to lace up their shoes and set foot

on the course.  Good luck to all of you--veterans as well as newcomers. Is

this a great sport or what?

coachphil@aol.com

Parents can be great but...

Most parents that get involved with the program are terrific. I'm reminded of

the Angel Park Invitational that Bonanza H.S. sponsored every year. It became

a real parent effort. Parents issued press releases, helped set up the

course, manned the registration table, acted as course officials, assembled

and worked the finishing chute, did all the timing, posted the results, and

even raffled off donated prizes after the awards had been handed out to help

raise additional money for the cross country program. I was the race

director but the parents did most of the work, and they loved it!

In 1997 I had the parents of one of my boys drive all night from Las Vegas up

to Reno so they could meet us at the airport gate with welcoming signs when

we arrived the next morning for the 1997 State Meet. Great parents.

This reminds me of an anecdote that's worth a chuckle yet makes another

point. In 1991 our girls qualified for the State Meet--also to be held in the

Reno area--and we drove up by bus in those days. We departed at "o-dark-30"

in busses chartered by the Clark Country School District, but one of my

parents wasn't about to get up that early. He slept in. He and his wife left

an hour later but assured us that they would still beat us there! As our bus

was chugging its way north on US 95 just past Hawthorne, still several hours

out of Reno, here comes Carl--honking and waving as he speeds on by. Twenty

minutes later we passed him, pulled over by one of Nevada State Highway's

finest. When we all gathered at Circus Circus in downtown Reno a few hours later,

Carl was there to meet us, but he never mentioned the incident. I kept quiet

as well, in front of the kids. But later he did take a ribbing. His daughter

has long since graduated, but Carl--who got started as a competitive runner

while Carrie ran for Bonanza--has become an outstanding marathon runner in

the interim and is a fixture at Las Vegas Track Club races. I still count him

as a good friend.

Can parents be a "pain"? Yes, without a doubt. Many runners--especially

young girls--can be ruined by overeager dads (usually it's dads). There are

numerous examples I could cite but I'll just mention just one. Here in Las

Vegas we had a girl, let's call her Bonnie, some years back that was a

freshman phenom. She entered the 9th grade in 1986 as a regional youth

champion at just about every distance from 400 on up. She was winning local

road races all summer and had a 33 minutes and change 8K to her credit. Dad

shopped her around at several schools (not really--parents don't "school

shop"--but you know what I mean) and finally settled on Las Vegas H.S. She

had a great freshman year and only narrowly missed being the individual state

champion, finishing second, behind a senior--and the defending state

champion--from Carson City. Bonnie"s dad continued to train her--over and

above her regular team workouts--and he got away with it for awhile. But by

spring all those extra interval workouts and long runs on Sunday were

starting to take their toll. She started out like the next Mary Decker,

winning all her races on the track from 400 meters up to the 3200. Not only

was Dad having her put in extra workouts, her high school coaches at

overracing her (we make mistakes too). The result was a series of stress

fractures and other assorted overuse injuries. Bonnie was history; she never

even finished the 1987 track season. She became a one-year wonder and never

ran again, at least in high school. Dad"s dream of a full-ride to a major

college had turned into a nightmare.

Is there a lesson there? I hope so. Yes, parents can be great--and usually

are--especially when they come out to the races and cheer on their kids, and

the team. I see parent booster tee shirts at lots of invitationals. That's

terrific! I also applaud those parents that even run with their kids and

encourage them to run in the off season. And, yes, I think parents should be

involved with their child's training. They should know what their kids are

doing for training, and encourage their kids to do those "on-your-own"

workouts. They should be involved with things like proper diet; adequate

rest, and other health issues; the right shoes for training and racing; and

encouragement in maintaining a running log. But please, let us do our job as

coaches. If you have questions, ask them; talk to us. If you have criticisms

regarding the workouts or the races, whatever, share your concerns with us.

We want to win but we also want what's best for your children. We're in this

together.