Pre Race Info
Location: Lehigh University
Date: 10/22/16
Departure: 5:30 AM at the intersection of Center and Poplar Rd.
Women 6000m: 10:00 AM
Men 8000m: 11:00 AM
Awards: Top 10 individuals, top 3 teams
Goal: Set a blistering PR
More info can be found here!
Date: 10/22/16
Departure: 5:30 AM at the intersection of Center and Poplar Rd.
Women 6000m: 10:00 AM
Men 8000m: 11:00 AM
Awards: Top 10 individuals, top 3 teams
Goal: Set a blistering PR
More info can be found here!
Meet Preview
The UMBC Running Club enters the championship portion of the season this Saturday at Lehigh University for the NIRCA Mid-Atlantic Region Meet. After 3 hard weeks of training, all the athletes will be looking to demolish their PR's.
In the women's race, Anna Ciattei (So.) leads the way after an impressive performance at Princeton. Finishing close behind, Julia Ciattei (So.) will be looking to overtake her sister and reclaim her title as the alpha Ciattei. Katelyn Gregory (So.) will take on the 6k for the second time in her career and knows she has more in the tank.
In the men's race, the pack up front will be deadly with top finisher at JMU, Matt Glessner (Sr.) and top finisher at Princeton, Brandon Folio (Jr.) duking it out once again. At Princeton however, Kevin Wegner (Fr.) had a phenomenal last kilometer to finish only 2 seconds behind Folio. He'll certainly be aiming to pull the upset. The battle for 4th was also epic as Tom Kersting (Sr.) out-kicked our one-and-only Dawit Tegnegn over the final meters. Tom's been putting in the miles and will be searching for a breakthrough. On the other hand, Dawit has been missing in action for the past few weeks. Rumor has it he made a quest to Flagstaff, AZ to get in some altitude training with the elites. I've heard he's been finishing all his runs. Expect great things. The battle to get into the top 5 will be fantastic as always with Thomas Ryba (Sr.) and Sam Clemens (Fr.) putting in some serious training. Thomas more than doubled his milage and Sam held a conversation at 6:30 pace during a 10 miler. Alex Hulbert (Fr.) continues with his transformation into a distance runner as he aims for a huge PR this Saturday. Getting over a rough achilles injury, Drew Bowling (Jr.) looks to hold off a stampeding Tanny Ser (Jr.) late in the race. Jason Schuler (So.) has been biding his time, waiting to turn on his Schuler genes, which we will be anticipating to get a glimpse of this weekend. Keith Ferguson (Fr.) and Justin Drew (Fr.) have recently made some serious gains in fitness and will be looking to put that to the test this Saturday. Everybody's favorite Retriever, Rick Linkous (Jr.) will be facing the 8k distance once again and is looking for a PR, as well as getting the best cheering. After getting the most sleep of anyone on the team, Garrett Wong is ready to go and will make his debut at 8k in a UMBC uniform. His legs are fresh and his motivation is high, I hope the anticipation is killing him as much as it's killing me.
The course will be curvy and rolling but is anticipated to be fast. Preliminary weather forecasts predict temperatures in the high 40's to low 50's with some wind and rain; pure cross country at its finest. This will likely be the best chance for all athletes to set their PR this season. This will certainly be the most exciting one yet. Friends and family are encouraged to attend. Make sure to stay tuned for updates, photos, and results after the meet. Let's Go Dawgs!
In the women's race, Anna Ciattei (So.) leads the way after an impressive performance at Princeton. Finishing close behind, Julia Ciattei (So.) will be looking to overtake her sister and reclaim her title as the alpha Ciattei. Katelyn Gregory (So.) will take on the 6k for the second time in her career and knows she has more in the tank.
In the men's race, the pack up front will be deadly with top finisher at JMU, Matt Glessner (Sr.) and top finisher at Princeton, Brandon Folio (Jr.) duking it out once again. At Princeton however, Kevin Wegner (Fr.) had a phenomenal last kilometer to finish only 2 seconds behind Folio. He'll certainly be aiming to pull the upset. The battle for 4th was also epic as Tom Kersting (Sr.) out-kicked our one-and-only Dawit Tegnegn over the final meters. Tom's been putting in the miles and will be searching for a breakthrough. On the other hand, Dawit has been missing in action for the past few weeks. Rumor has it he made a quest to Flagstaff, AZ to get in some altitude training with the elites. I've heard he's been finishing all his runs. Expect great things. The battle to get into the top 5 will be fantastic as always with Thomas Ryba (Sr.) and Sam Clemens (Fr.) putting in some serious training. Thomas more than doubled his milage and Sam held a conversation at 6:30 pace during a 10 miler. Alex Hulbert (Fr.) continues with his transformation into a distance runner as he aims for a huge PR this Saturday. Getting over a rough achilles injury, Drew Bowling (Jr.) looks to hold off a stampeding Tanny Ser (Jr.) late in the race. Jason Schuler (So.) has been biding his time, waiting to turn on his Schuler genes, which we will be anticipating to get a glimpse of this weekend. Keith Ferguson (Fr.) and Justin Drew (Fr.) have recently made some serious gains in fitness and will be looking to put that to the test this Saturday. Everybody's favorite Retriever, Rick Linkous (Jr.) will be facing the 8k distance once again and is looking for a PR, as well as getting the best cheering. After getting the most sleep of anyone on the team, Garrett Wong is ready to go and will make his debut at 8k in a UMBC uniform. His legs are fresh and his motivation is high, I hope the anticipation is killing him as much as it's killing me.
The course will be curvy and rolling but is anticipated to be fast. Preliminary weather forecasts predict temperatures in the high 40's to low 50's with some wind and rain; pure cross country at its finest. This will likely be the best chance for all athletes to set their PR this season. This will certainly be the most exciting one yet. Friends and family are encouraged to attend. Make sure to stay tuned for updates, photos, and results after the meet. Let's Go Dawgs!
The Race
Meet Recap
On a cold windy Saturday, the UMBC Running Club travelled to Lehigh University to compete at the Mid-Atlantic Region Meet with hopes of booking their tickets to Nationals.
Gathering at the intersection of Poplar and Center Rd, the runners were jumping up and down with excitement that regionals had finally arrived, or they were just cold. The eagerness had subsided when it was realized that freshman Sam Clemens had lost the battle with his alarm clock and would reluctantly be left behind. As a last ditch effort, operation "get sam up" was launched into action with veteran club members attempting to seize Chesapeake hall and get Sam to come to consciousness. Unfortunately, the security proved to be overwhelming and the mission was a failure.
After arriving at Lehigh, some of the runners sought refuge from the weather; gathering under the bleachers to stay dry and isolated from their competition. Others found themselves in a cozy mansion aka the "varsity house," drinking warm tea and discussing race tactics with the Lehigh squad, or so we've heard.
Before long, the women's race was under way. Taking it out hard, Anna Ciattei (So.) held on for dear life and was able to come way with a fantastic 45 second PR with a 27:38. Battling a cramp for 5400m of the race, Julia Ciattei (So.) fought hard to place 2nd for the club with a 30:12. But the biggest PR of the race came from Katelyn Gregory (So.) who dropped over 3 minutes from her PR with a 34:19.
While the action was unfolding, the men were warming up and mentally preparing for the race. Planning on winning the entire race, Brandon Folio (Jr.) was the most confident of them all. However, his race strategy was turned upside down after being smacked in the face with a leaf. It was now certain the win was out of reach, but placing first for the team was still possible.
In the men's race, Drew Bowling (Jr.) took it out, trying his hardest to get the highest quality GoPro footage before settling in. Right behind, Brandon Folio (Jr.), Matt Glessner (Sr.), and Kevin Wegner (Fr.) were tightly packed behind the Virginia Tech squad, trying to optimize the amount of drafting from the strong headwind. The pack dissolved around 2 miles with Folio breaking away and Glessner close behind. It was now time for the true test of endurance. Between 6 and 7k, all of the runners were hurting, feeling the wrath of the headwind and gradual uphill. Fortunately we got some great footage of their suffering.
In the end, Folio was able to hold of Glessner and finished in a PR time of 27:35. 9 seconds back, Glessner was closing hard and broke 28 for the first time with a 27:44. Pulling the upset, Tom Kersting (Sr.) ran the race of his life to place 3rd for the team and run a PR time of 28:42. Wegner was able to hold onto 4th (29:47). After running 4 times in 3 weeks, Dawit Tegnegn impressed with his 2nd fastest 8k time of the year and placing 5th for the team with a 30:48. Pushing through a cold, Thomas Ryba (Sr.) placed 6th for the team with a 31:31. Unfortunately footage of the finish was lost due to confusion but supposedly Ryba had the fastest kick of his life. He's a "tell it like it is" kinda guy so we'll take his word for it. Coming out of nowhere, Garrett Wong surprised with a 33:26, and was able to finish as the clubs 7th man. Behind, freshman Alex Hubert's PR streak continued with a 34:18. Behind, Jason Schuler and Drew Bowling ran 35:04 and 35:34 respectively. Finishing off his PR but kicking hard as usual, Tanny Ser (Jr.) finished hard with a 38:01. Close behind, Keith Ferguson (Fr.) and Justin Drew (Fr.) also had fantastic kicks running 38:26 and 39:06 respectively. Last but not least, Rick Linkous (Jr.) closed extremely hard over the final 300m to come away with a 45:13.
After the race, the club celebrated at Vassi's drive in with everybody successfully replenishing their calories. The club will be back at action in 3 weeks for the big one, Nationals.
Gathering at the intersection of Poplar and Center Rd, the runners were jumping up and down with excitement that regionals had finally arrived, or they were just cold. The eagerness had subsided when it was realized that freshman Sam Clemens had lost the battle with his alarm clock and would reluctantly be left behind. As a last ditch effort, operation "get sam up" was launched into action with veteran club members attempting to seize Chesapeake hall and get Sam to come to consciousness. Unfortunately, the security proved to be overwhelming and the mission was a failure.
After arriving at Lehigh, some of the runners sought refuge from the weather; gathering under the bleachers to stay dry and isolated from their competition. Others found themselves in a cozy mansion aka the "varsity house," drinking warm tea and discussing race tactics with the Lehigh squad, or so we've heard.
Before long, the women's race was under way. Taking it out hard, Anna Ciattei (So.) held on for dear life and was able to come way with a fantastic 45 second PR with a 27:38. Battling a cramp for 5400m of the race, Julia Ciattei (So.) fought hard to place 2nd for the club with a 30:12. But the biggest PR of the race came from Katelyn Gregory (So.) who dropped over 3 minutes from her PR with a 34:19.
While the action was unfolding, the men were warming up and mentally preparing for the race. Planning on winning the entire race, Brandon Folio (Jr.) was the most confident of them all. However, his race strategy was turned upside down after being smacked in the face with a leaf. It was now certain the win was out of reach, but placing first for the team was still possible.
In the men's race, Drew Bowling (Jr.) took it out, trying his hardest to get the highest quality GoPro footage before settling in. Right behind, Brandon Folio (Jr.), Matt Glessner (Sr.), and Kevin Wegner (Fr.) were tightly packed behind the Virginia Tech squad, trying to optimize the amount of drafting from the strong headwind. The pack dissolved around 2 miles with Folio breaking away and Glessner close behind. It was now time for the true test of endurance. Between 6 and 7k, all of the runners were hurting, feeling the wrath of the headwind and gradual uphill. Fortunately we got some great footage of their suffering.
In the end, Folio was able to hold of Glessner and finished in a PR time of 27:35. 9 seconds back, Glessner was closing hard and broke 28 for the first time with a 27:44. Pulling the upset, Tom Kersting (Sr.) ran the race of his life to place 3rd for the team and run a PR time of 28:42. Wegner was able to hold onto 4th (29:47). After running 4 times in 3 weeks, Dawit Tegnegn impressed with his 2nd fastest 8k time of the year and placing 5th for the team with a 30:48. Pushing through a cold, Thomas Ryba (Sr.) placed 6th for the team with a 31:31. Unfortunately footage of the finish was lost due to confusion but supposedly Ryba had the fastest kick of his life. He's a "tell it like it is" kinda guy so we'll take his word for it. Coming out of nowhere, Garrett Wong surprised with a 33:26, and was able to finish as the clubs 7th man. Behind, freshman Alex Hubert's PR streak continued with a 34:18. Behind, Jason Schuler and Drew Bowling ran 35:04 and 35:34 respectively. Finishing off his PR but kicking hard as usual, Tanny Ser (Jr.) finished hard with a 38:01. Close behind, Keith Ferguson (Fr.) and Justin Drew (Fr.) also had fantastic kicks running 38:26 and 39:06 respectively. Last but not least, Rick Linkous (Jr.) closed extremely hard over the final 300m to come away with a 45:13.
After the race, the club celebrated at Vassi's drive in with everybody successfully replenishing their calories. The club will be back at action in 3 weeks for the big one, Nationals.