September 25th marked our fourth meet of the season. We hosted Delmarva Christian School at Lums Pond State Park. The weather was overcast and rainy, and the course was extremely muddy once again, but many of the runners posted solid times despite the "adverse conditions."
The girls' race was won by Hannah Ye ('21) with a time of 24:21. She was followed by Faith Hollister ('22) and Fiona Fawcett ('22), who ran times of 25:07 and 26:13 respectively. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished thirty nine seconds behind her, rounding out the four Red Lion girls participating today. Abi Phillips ('21) was not feeling well enough to run, and Cathy Nicholson ('21) was unable to make it to the race. I am just a week out (I hope!) from being cleared to run again.
On the boys' side, Joshua Deitrich ('19) won the race with a time of 21:47. Spencer Armstrong ('19) followed with a time of 22:33, beating Joshua Desiderio of Delmarva Christian by one second. Dennis Nicholson ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), and Michael Gasorek ('22) swept fourth, fifth, and sixth place respectively. Ryan Cooper ('21) and Richard Turley ('21) finished in eighth and ninth place respectively, and Seyram Gaffrey ('21) finished his debut race of the season, rounding out Red Lion's eight boys. Captain Micah Pope ('19) dropped out of the race due to shin splints, and John Cusatis ('22), Adam Rao ('20), and Marc Sherman ('20) were not able to come due to illness.
While some of our team members were unable to participate in the race, those who could raced well. This was a much smaller meet than the invitational race on Friday, and everything went very smoothly. We have a week to recover before our next meet, which will also be at Lums Pond. Until then, we will continue to put our work in at practice. We are running strong despite the "extra cross-country weather" we have had recently, and we will continue to follow our team motto for the season and "embrace the grind."
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
2018 Middletown Invitational
The Middletown Invitational, held at St. Andrew's School this past Friday, was our third race of the season. The course winds through the fields near the school and ends with a winding, hilly section through the woods. The course combined with the overcast and slightly cooler weather made for pleasant conditions for the runners. Four separate races were held, with two varsity races and two junior varsity races. Red Lion participated in three of them (we did not need to enter the JV girls' race).
The boys' JV race was the second race of the meet, and by far the largest, with over 350 runners. Ryan Cooper ('21) finished first for Red Lion with a time of 25:02, placing 261st overall. Adam Rao ('20) and John Cusatis ('22) followed, earning 277th and 331st place respectively. Adam was only thirty-five seconds behind Ryan, and John ran a time of 28:15 in his debut race.
The varsity girls' race was next. Faith Hollister ('22) finished in 56th place overall and first for Red Lion with a time of 22:49. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished 83rd overall in 24:15, and Abi Phillips ('21) finished just thirteen seconds behind her in 89th place. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 94th place, with Hannah Ye ('21) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) finishing in 99th and 128th places respectively. The girls finished in 14th place overall.
The varsity boys' race was the last of the meet. Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished first for Red Lion and 47th overall, with a time of 18:54. Michael Gasorek ('22) and Andrew Tanyous ('22) finished in 136th and 142nd place respectively. Their respective times were 21:36 and 21:47. They were followed by Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 147th place, Captain Micah Pope ('19) in 150th, Marc Sherman ('20) in 155th, and Richard Turley ('22) in 162nd. The team finished in 23rd place overall.
Here are the links to the full varsity results and full JV results.
We saw some very solid performances at this meet. This was only our third meet and our first larger meet, and we are already looking strong. I am excited to see what we can accomplish as we continue to work hard in practice. Go Lions!
The boys' JV race was the second race of the meet, and by far the largest, with over 350 runners. Ryan Cooper ('21) finished first for Red Lion with a time of 25:02, placing 261st overall. Adam Rao ('20) and John Cusatis ('22) followed, earning 277th and 331st place respectively. Adam was only thirty-five seconds behind Ryan, and John ran a time of 28:15 in his debut race.
The varsity girls' race was next. Faith Hollister ('22) finished in 56th place overall and first for Red Lion with a time of 22:49. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished 83rd overall in 24:15, and Abi Phillips ('21) finished just thirteen seconds behind her in 89th place. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 94th place, with Hannah Ye ('21) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) finishing in 99th and 128th places respectively. The girls finished in 14th place overall.
The varsity boys' race was the last of the meet. Joshua Deitrich ('19) finished first for Red Lion and 47th overall, with a time of 18:54. Michael Gasorek ('22) and Andrew Tanyous ('22) finished in 136th and 142nd place respectively. Their respective times were 21:36 and 21:47. They were followed by Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 147th place, Captain Micah Pope ('19) in 150th, Marc Sherman ('20) in 155th, and Richard Turley ('22) in 162nd. The team finished in 23rd place overall.
Here are the links to the full varsity results and full JV results.
We saw some very solid performances at this meet. This was only our third meet and our first larger meet, and we are already looking strong. I am excited to see what we can accomplish as we continue to work hard in practice. Go Lions!
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
RLCA vs. MOT Charter
Our second meet of the 2018 season was held against MOT Charter at Lums Pond State Park on September 18th. The sky was overcast with a little bit of rain. Despite the muggy weather and the extremely muddy course, many of our runners posted solid times.
Red Lion's Josh Deitrich ('19) led the boys' race once again, finishing with a time of 20:06. Cooper Unruh ('19) of MOT Charter finished in second place overall with a time of 21:36. He was followed by four more runners from MOT. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished in 23:20, was Red Lion's second runner who placed seventh overall. Dennis Nicholson ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Marc Sherman ('20), and Michael Gasorek ('22) all finished within one minute and twenty seconds to round out Red Lion's top seven boys. MOT Charter was the winner of the boys' race.
On the girls' side, Faith Hollister ('22) won the race in 24:00. MOT Charter's Georgia Hitchens ('22) finished twelve seconds behind her in second place. Red Lion's Hannah Ye ('21) and Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished third and fourth overall with times of 24:32 and 24:38 respectively. Katelyn Walker ('19), Abi Phillips ('21), and Cathy Nicholson ('21) finished out Red Lion's six girls in fifth, seventh, and tenth place respectively. The Red Lion girls won the race, which means our record is now 2-0.
Full race results can be found here.
Though this was a very challenging race, we are working hard in practice and we are getting stronger and growing closer together as a team. As this was only the second race of the season, we have many more chances to compete and to see the results of the work we are putting in every day. We continue to "embrace the grind" and I cannot wait to see what will happen as the season progresses. Our next meet will be the Middletown Invitational at the end of this week, where we will have a larger field of competition, so stay tuned for a review coming soon!
Katie
Red Lion's Josh Deitrich ('19) led the boys' race once again, finishing with a time of 20:06. Cooper Unruh ('19) of MOT Charter finished in second place overall with a time of 21:36. He was followed by four more runners from MOT. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished in 23:20, was Red Lion's second runner who placed seventh overall. Dennis Nicholson ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Marc Sherman ('20), and Michael Gasorek ('22) all finished within one minute and twenty seconds to round out Red Lion's top seven boys. MOT Charter was the winner of the boys' race.
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| Joshua Deitrich ('19) won the boys' race (Photo: Katie Rippon) |
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| Marc Sherman ('20) looked strong as he crossed the finish line. He finished sixth for Red Lion and fourteenth overall (Photo: Katie Rippon) |
On the girls' side, Faith Hollister ('22) won the race in 24:00. MOT Charter's Georgia Hitchens ('22) finished twelve seconds behind her in second place. Red Lion's Hannah Ye ('21) and Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished third and fourth overall with times of 24:32 and 24:38 respectively. Katelyn Walker ('19), Abi Phillips ('21), and Cathy Nicholson ('21) finished out Red Lion's six girls in fifth, seventh, and tenth place respectively. The Red Lion girls won the race, which means our record is now 2-0.
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| Faith Hollister ('22) was the winner of the girls's race (Photo: Katie Rippon) |
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| Captain Katelyn Walker finished fourth for the Red Lion girls and fifth overall (Photo: Katie Rippon) |
Full race results can be found here.
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| The course was very muddy, and so were everyone's legs by the end of the race (Photo: Katie Rippon) |
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| Hannah Ye ('22) spotted a double rainbow over the Red Lion Estates after the meet (Photo: Hannah Ye). {Thank you, Hannah, for letting me borrow your phone so I could take pictures!} |
Though this was a very challenging race, we are working hard in practice and we are getting stronger and growing closer together as a team. As this was only the second race of the season, we have many more chances to compete and to see the results of the work we are putting in every day. We continue to "embrace the grind" and I cannot wait to see what will happen as the season progresses. Our next meet will be the Middletown Invitational at the end of this week, where we will have a larger field of competition, so stay tuned for a review coming soon!
Katie
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
RLCA vs. Caravel Academy vs. St. Elizabeth HS
Our first meet of the 2018 season was a tri-meet against Caravel Academy and St. Elizabeth High School and was held yesterday at Lums Pond State Park, our home course. Despite the rainy weather and lots of mud, the flat and winding course and some cooler temperatures outside made for a fine setting for the first race.
Joshua Deitrich ('19) led the Red Lion boys, placing first overall with a time of 20:17, and beating St. Elizabeth's Daniel SteenKramer (second overall) by just over a minute. Marc Sherman ('20) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) followed with times of 23:59 and 24:04 respectively, finishing in 9th and 10th place overall for the boys' race. Michael Gasorek ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), and Ryan Cooper ('21) rounded out the top seven Red Lion boys.
For the girls' team, Caravel's Katy Peyton finished first with a time of 22:39. Red Lion's Faith Hollister ('22) finished first for the Red Lion girls and in third place overall with a time of 24:19. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished behind her in 25:14, and Hannah Ye ('21) followed close behind with a time of 25:26. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19), Abi Phillips ('21), and Cathy Nicholson ('21) rounded out Red Lion's six girls. I will be out for a few more weeks due to a shin injury but I am looking forward to being able to return to running soon so we can have a full girls' team.
Full race results can be found here.
For this first race, we are all still focusing on getting back into shape for the season. This was a challenging race. According to Faith Hollister ('22), the race involved "a lot of elbows," and Hannah Ye ('21) said she was "slipping through the course." Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) summed up the race as "pain, perseverance, and puddles." Despite the challenges, we are already looking strong. Our team posted some solid times for this first meet, and we know we can do even better. We are putting our work in at practice and we have a whole season ahead of us. For now, we are "embracing the grind" (as Coach Shirley keeps reminding us), and I am excited to see what we can accomplish in the meets to come.
Joshua Deitrich ('19) led the Red Lion boys, placing first overall with a time of 20:17, and beating St. Elizabeth's Daniel SteenKramer (second overall) by just over a minute. Marc Sherman ('20) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) followed with times of 23:59 and 24:04 respectively, finishing in 9th and 10th place overall for the boys' race. Michael Gasorek ('22), Captain Micah Pope ('19), Andrew Tanyous ('22), and Ryan Cooper ('21) rounded out the top seven Red Lion boys.
For the girls' team, Caravel's Katy Peyton finished first with a time of 22:39. Red Lion's Faith Hollister ('22) finished first for the Red Lion girls and in third place overall with a time of 24:19. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished behind her in 25:14, and Hannah Ye ('21) followed close behind with a time of 25:26. Captain Katelyn Walker ('19), Abi Phillips ('21), and Cathy Nicholson ('21) rounded out Red Lion's six girls. I will be out for a few more weeks due to a shin injury but I am looking forward to being able to return to running soon so we can have a full girls' team.
Full race results can be found here.
For this first race, we are all still focusing on getting back into shape for the season. This was a challenging race. According to Faith Hollister ('22), the race involved "a lot of elbows," and Hannah Ye ('21) said she was "slipping through the course." Captain Katelyn Walker ('19) summed up the race as "pain, perseverance, and puddles." Despite the challenges, we are already looking strong. Our team posted some solid times for this first meet, and we know we can do even better. We are putting our work in at practice and we have a whole season ahead of us. For now, we are "embracing the grind" (as Coach Shirley keeps reminding us), and I am excited to see what we can accomplish in the meets to come.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Red Lion XC Fundraiser 5K
This coming Saturday, August 18th, we will be holding a community fundraiser 5K race at Lums Pond State Park at 9 am. We will meet at our home cross-country course entrance (same parking lot as Go Ape). The race is open to all ages, and there will be male and female divisions as well as division by age groups. There will be awards for the top runners in each group. Participants should arrive earlier than 9 am to allow time for registration (sign up will be the day of; email Coach Shirley [paul@gccwilm.org] to express your intent to race).The fee will be $20 per person, and all proceeds will support the team and allow us to participate in meets and invitationals which will prepare us for the tougher competition in the post-season races. Please spread the word to friends and family. We hope you can join us!
Welcome to XC 2018!
Hello everyone!
I'm Katie Rippon, a runner on the Red Lion (Reach Christian Schools) varsity cross-country team and rising junior at Tall Oaks Classical School. When Naomi Mengel ('18), former captain of the girls varsity team, suggested that I take over the blog this season, I decided it would be a great opportunity for me. While I am new to blogging, I am passionate about writing and am going to give this a try.
Today was our first practice as a team, at which we had both new and returning runners. Former captains Ben Schneider ('17) and Luke Sherman ('18) came out to run with us this morning and share their words of wisdom with the current team members. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing what God will do with our team in the upcoming season.
Stay tuned for more team updates and race results as the season progresses! Go Lions!
Katie
"But they who wait for the LORD will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
-- Isaiah 40:31
I'm Katie Rippon, a runner on the Red Lion (Reach Christian Schools) varsity cross-country team and rising junior at Tall Oaks Classical School. When Naomi Mengel ('18), former captain of the girls varsity team, suggested that I take over the blog this season, I decided it would be a great opportunity for me. While I am new to blogging, I am passionate about writing and am going to give this a try.
Today was our first practice as a team, at which we had both new and returning runners. Former captains Ben Schneider ('17) and Luke Sherman ('18) came out to run with us this morning and share their words of wisdom with the current team members. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing what God will do with our team in the upcoming season.
Stay tuned for more team updates and race results as the season progresses! Go Lions!
Katie
"But they who wait for the LORD will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
-- Isaiah 40:31
Friday, November 17, 2017
Wow. What a Season!
The cross country banquet on Thursday marked the official end of our 2017 cross country season. Awards were received, pins were handed out, t-shirts were signed, and desserts were eaten (lots of them!). Coach Shirley even gave every runner his or her own golf tee in honor of the golf tee that was awarded to the winners of practice each day back at the beginning of the season (I guess he didn't want to have to carry around a bunch of two-by-fours...).
Joshua Deitrich ('19) and Hannah Ye ('21) were awarded the Top Male Runner and Top Female Runner awards. These were based on points earned towards varsity letters, of which Josh won 80 out of a possible 80! Marc Sherman ('20) and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) received the Most Improved Runner Awards. Spencer Armstrong ('19) and Faith Hollister ('22) were the recipients of the Coaches' Awards, the criteria for which included finishing every race and making a significant contribution to the team in terms of scoring.
As Coach said at the banquet, this was an amazing year for our team. We met our team goals for the season, and I've seen every one of us runners improve so much. In looking ahead, we have a relatively young team, and I can't wait to see how Red Lion Cross Country will grow in the years to come!
On a more personal note, I can't express just how much I've enjoyed cross country these past two years that I've been running. This season especially, I really feel like I started to hit my stride (no pun intended). I've gone from thinking I could barely run a mile without dying to knowing I can push myself beyond my mental limits to finish every race. I've learned valuable lessons from both my coaches and teammates, not only about running, but also about encouragement, teamwork, and life in general.
I guess that's it for this year then! To all our parents, thank you for your support of us runners and cheering for us; to our coaches, for teaching us the value of preparing, continually encouraging us, and pushing us farther than we think we can go; and to my teammates, for being an absolutely amazing group of encouraging, hilarious, supportive, and understanding people. I'll miss you all next year, but I can't wait to see what's in store for this team in the years to come!
Naomi
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
- Hebrews 12:1
P. S. Don't forget about the 500 club! Keep logging those miles and I'll see you on the leaderboard ;)
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| The winner-of-practice block at the end of the season (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel) |
As Coach said at the banquet, this was an amazing year for our team. We met our team goals for the season, and I've seen every one of us runners improve so much. In looking ahead, we have a relatively young team, and I can't wait to see how Red Lion Cross Country will grow in the years to come!
On a more personal note, I can't express just how much I've enjoyed cross country these past two years that I've been running. This season especially, I really feel like I started to hit my stride (no pun intended). I've gone from thinking I could barely run a mile without dying to knowing I can push myself beyond my mental limits to finish every race. I've learned valuable lessons from both my coaches and teammates, not only about running, but also about encouragement, teamwork, and life in general.
I guess that's it for this year then! To all our parents, thank you for your support of us runners and cheering for us; to our coaches, for teaching us the value of preparing, continually encouraging us, and pushing us farther than we think we can go; and to my teammates, for being an absolutely amazing group of encouraging, hilarious, supportive, and understanding people. I'll miss you all next year, but I can't wait to see what's in store for this team in the years to come!
Naomi
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
- Hebrews 12:1
P. S. Don't forget about the 500 club! Keep logging those miles and I'll see you on the leaderboard ;)
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