2025 Trials of Miles XC Opening Night

Well, Friday was a day. We were initially only about 15 minutes or so later than I wanted us to be when we arrived at the gates to Morven Park, only to be told they'd changed the policy regarding buses dropping off right by the team area this year and we'd have to take a loop around to the other side of the property. That added about 20 or so minutes to our commute.

Because of this, our freshman 2-mile runners barely had enough time to go through their static and dynamic stretching routines, much less get any sort of warmup jog in, before their race. Our JV runners were only slightly less inconvenienced in their warmup process.

About half of our freshmen, those who broke 30 minutes at last week's parkrun, ran a 2-mile loop. The times for our freshman athletes will stand as their cross country 2-mile PRs (a distance they very well might never get a chance to run again on a cross country course).

Everybody else ran the standard 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), and as always I have marked in blue all athletes who set a new PR (personal record) in the cross country 5k at the meet. Additionally, in red, I have noted all athletes who set a new SB (season best), but not PR, in the cross country 5k. Most of our returning athletes ran in this meet last year. For those who did, in silver I have noted all athletes who set a new MB (meet best) for Trials of Miles. Their times officially would not qualify as new personal course bests because they changed the course from last year. Even those who ran this meet two years ago may remember that this year's route was not quite the same as the 2023 version.

Freshman

Here are the results for our freshman athletes (137 total finishers in the race). The number in front of each name signifies their overall place in the freshman race. In brackets are their first mile and second mile splits. Additionally, using a conversion equation I've trusted and used in the past, I've provided each athlete's converted time (CT) for the 5k:

52 Satchell Drabinski - 13:51.05 [(1) 6:40, (2) 7:11] CT - 22:05 Virtual PR by 59 seconds
67 Fareed Rahi - 14:20.47 [(1) 7:12, (2) 7:08] CT - 22:52
73 Ian Andrews - 14:29.60 [(1) 7:11, (2) 7:18] CT - 23:07 Virtual PR by 1 minutes 28 seconds
76 Nathaniel Garvin Jr. - 14:33.04 [(1) 7:13, (2) 7:20] CT - 23:12 Virtual PR by 1 minutes 2 seconds
93 Oluwatoni "Toni" Adefiyiju - 15:28.02 [(1) 7:38, (2) 7:50] CT - 24:40 Virtual PR by 3 minutes 5 seconds
96 Stephen Lawrence Jr. - 16:01.02 [(1) 7:37, (2) 8:24] CT - 25:33

To give a sense of just how much more competitive this meet has gotten since it's first year in 2023, Satchell was only about 3 seconds slower than Andrew Stinson was last year, but Andrew finished in 5th place out of around 75 finishers. Even taking into consideration the larger field this year, that would have kept Andrew likely in the Top 10 if 137 had run last season.

Now, the course was slightly altered from last year, but they still ran the same two loops so there shouldn't be a significant time difference built in to our expectations here. This was a really solid run by Satchel.

Fareed, Ian, and Nate also ran pretty solid races today. From what I've seen of Fareed in practice, he probably could have run faster. Certainly his converted time suggests the same. I'm not sure if he held back a little more than he needed to in the first mile or if this was just the abbreviated warmup influencing his performance.

All three of them ran pretty even splits, though, and I'm very happy when our athletes are able to find a consistent pace, especially so early in their freshman year. I'm looking forward to seeing how Ian and Nate respond to some adjusted practice pace recommendations after this race.

Toni was really impressive today. Like his three teammates who finished about a minute ahead of him, he ran pretty even splits, losing less than 15 seconds between his first and second miles, and absolutely crushed his performance from last week's parkrun based on his converted 5k time.

While neither Fareed nor Stephen set new virtual PRs today, they were both off by less than 15 seconds. In no way would I categorize either of theirs as bad races today, but I'm anxious to see how they race next weekend under, hopefully, more conducive circumstances.

Team Results

1. Gonzaga 43 points
2. McLean 118 points
3. Tuscarora 128 points
4. Broad Run 142 points
5. Freedom 190 points
...
11. Paul VI 229 points
12. DeMatha 253 points
...
14. Stone Bridge 306 points

Junior Varsity

Here are the results for our junior varsity athletes (302 total finishers in the race). The number in front of each name signifies their overall place in the junior varsity race. In brackets are their first mile, second mile, and last 1.1 mile splits:

48 Andrew Stinson (So.) - 19:40.35 [(1) 6:00, (2) 6:20, (3.1) 7:20] SB by 1 minute 6 seconds
71 Jeremy Juste (Sr.) - 20:08.62 [(1) 6:26, (2) 6:29, (3.1) 7:14] PR by 15 seconds
88 Darrius Jones-Humphrey II (Sr.) - 20:38.67 [(1) 6:02, (2) 6:20, (3.1) 8:16]
89 William Herman (Sr.) - 20:40.96 [(1) 6:42, (2) 6:45, (3.1) 7:14] MB by 3 minutes 11 seconds
90 Don DeRocha Jr. (Sr.) - 20:42.83 [(1) 6:22, (2) 6:46, (3.1) 7:35] MB by 10 seconds
103 Cameron Lamb (Sr.) - 21:10.12 [(1) 6:35, (2) 6:55, (3.1) 7:40] MB by 1 minute 39 seconds
118 Nicholas Berry (Sr.) - 21:28.78 [(1) 6:38, (2) 7:01, (3.1) 7:50] SB by 47 seconds
121 Ryan Jones (So.) - 21:31.78 [(1) 6:24, (2) 7:04, (3.1) 8:04]
144 Joseph LeGloahec (Sr.) - 22:02.67 [(1) 6:47, (2) 7:17, (3.1) 7:59] MB by 2 minutes 21 seconds
154 Renaud Williams (Jr.) - 22:21.14 [(1) 7:13, (2) 7:13, (3.1) 7:55] MB by 41 seconds
155 Ryan Pickett (Sr.) - 22:21.16 [(1) 6:41, (2) 7:21, (3.1) 8:19] SB by 1 minute 21 seconds MB by 1 minute 57 seconds
167 Alexander Soto (So.) - 22:35.93 [(1) 7:03, (2) 7:36, (3.1) 7:57]
178 Xavier Raymond (Sr.) - 22:50.32 [(1) 6:36, (2) 7:35, (3.1) 8:39] SB by 1 minute 11 seconds MB by 2 minutes 8 seconds
183 Tyson Woods (Sr.) - 22:55.98 [(1) 7:04, (2) 7:25, (3.1) 8:27] SB by 31 seconds MB by 8 seconds
219 Dane Kuzner (So.) - 24:04.87 [(1) 7:36, (2) 7:55, (3.1) 8:34] PR by 2 minutes 40 seconds
250 Ryan Hickey (Fr.) - 25:00.97 [(1) 7:40, (2) 8:10, (3.1) 9:11]
268 Terence Rascher (So.) - 26:14.85 [(1) 8:08, (2) 8:36, (3.1) 9:31] PR by 35 seconds
285 Stavros Rodousakis (So.) - 27:38.54 [(1) 8:45, (2) 9:13, (3.1) 9:41]
287 Chase Osby (Jr.) - 27:43.48 [(1) 8:09, (2) 9:20, (3.1) 10:14] PR by 41 seconds
294 Jaidon Contreras (So.) - 28:43.38 [(1) 8:08, (2) 9:29, (3.1) 11:06] SB by 1 minute 26 seconds
298 Emilio Chicas (So.) - 29:18.80 [(1) 8:47, (2) 9:54, (3.1) 10:38] SB by 2 minutes 19 seconds
302 Kasapo Mwanza (Sr.) - 36:39.74 [(1) 10:31, (2) 13:01, (3.1) 13:08]
Sebastian Righi (Fr.) - DNF [(1) 9:29, (2) 11:08]
Luke Anthony Quach (Fr.) - DNF [(1) 9:23, (2) 11:20]
Oladimeji "Akin" Alade (Fr.) - DNF [(1) 9:23, (2) 11:35]

The one downside to having so many athletes on the team is that I really don't have time or space in these recaps to address almost everybody's race like I used to. I have to touch on the performances that stood out the most to me.

For his first 5k, Darrius ran well. Today's experience is definitely going to set him up well for a strong performance next week, I believe. He went out a little too hard in the beginning, and though he managed to maintain his pace through much of the second mile he paid for it on the hills in the final loop of the course. Still, for an athlete with no experience to draw on for this particular distance, I think he should be pretty happy with the way he ran.

I was really happy to be able to watch Will Herman race again today. It's been a very long process for him trying to return from the worst case of shin splints I've ever encountered. They prevented him from even training through his entire junior season, but he was such a help to the team as he stepped into the role of manager for the season. Seeing him race today, and actually race quite well, made me really happy. His last split was a 6:34/mile pace, and he finished within 30 seconds of his PR, so I'm excited to see how just how fast he can go this year as he re-familiarizes himself with the 5k distance.

Renaud ran some remarkably even splits. Not only did he hit 7:13 almost right on the dot in each of his first two miles, his pace for the final 1.1 miles was just under 7:12/mile! He also got bragging rights on Ryan Pickett this week after the closest finish between a pair of DeMatha runners I've seen in my tenure as head coach.

We had a lot of PRs and Season Bests at this race; more than I was expecting considering how hectic our arrival was and the meet's decision to revert to a more challenging version of the course. In particular, I was really happy with the way Chase, Jaidon, and Emilio ran. I'd love to see them balance out their paces a bit more, but Chase set a new PR by a solid margin, Jaidon made up for barely missing the 30-minute mark at last week's parkrun, and Emilio jumped back well under the 30-minute mark and now is set up nicely to chase down his PR in the low 27s from last year.

Sebastian, Luke Anthony, and Akin were all pretty near each other through much of the first two miles. Akin has been dealing with a back injury to start the season. Sebastian was dealing with some pain in his feet; he may not be ready for the lack of cushion and stability wearing spikes during his race. And Luke Anthony had some concerns about his knees. With the hilly nature of the last mile, I decided to have all three step off at the 2-mile mark to avoid making anything worse.

Team Results

1. Calvert Hall 23 points
2. Hempfield Area 07 93 points
3. Langley 110 points
4. Gonzaga 138 points
5. Heritage 190 points
...
8. Bishop McNamara 232 points
...
12. DeMatha 332 points
...
16. Bishop O'Connell 440 points
...
22. Paul VI 646 points
...
24. Seton School 747 points

Despite a more competitive field this year, we moved up from 15th to 12th this year and scored 70 fewer points along the way. That's what happens when we put five athletes in the Top 100 instead of just two like we did last year. Nicely done, gentlemen!

Varsity

Here are the results for our varsity athletes (236 total finishers in the race). The number in front of each name signifies their overall place in the varsity race. In brackets are their first mile, second mile, and last 1.1 mile splits:

46 Arvin Mirchandani (Jr.) - 17:19.00 [(1) 5:14, (2) 5:39, (3.1) 6:26] PR by 29 seconds MB by 1 minute 19 seconds
58 Phillip Marshall II (Jr.) - 17:32.50 [(1) 5:37, (2) 5:46, (3.1) 6:10] PR by 29 seconds MB by 1 minute 5 seconds
114 Roman Zentek (Sr.) - 18:31.70 [(1) 5:43, (2) 5:59, (3.1) 6:50] MB by 18 seconds
124 Lucas Moisiuk (So.) - 18:37.70 [(1) 5:53, (2) 5:58, (3.1) 6:47] PR by 21 seconds
136 Dominic Hilton (So.) - 18:48.90 [(1) 5:50, (2) 6:03, (3.1) 6:56] PR by 57 seconds
138 Jesse Holland III (Sr.) - 18:49.60 [(1) 5:54, (2) 6:10, (3.1) 6:46] MB by 48 seconds
207 Elijah Hawkins (Jr.) - 21:03.30 [(1) 5:56, (2) 7:18, (3.1) 7:49] MB by 1 minute 30 seconds

Lucas ran the freshman 2-mile last year and this is Dominic's first time running cross country, so that explains them being the only two varsity runners without a 'meet best' notation on their result.

I was very impressed with these performances. We still have a lot of work to do en route to where we'd like to be by championships, but this was a terrific start to that process.

Arvin and Phillip both took really strong leaps this week. The 30-second PRs are impressive in themselves, but I'm more impressed with their improvements by over a minute on a course that appeared marginally more challenging than last year's version.

Arvin moved up from #28 to #16 on DeMatha's 5k leaderboard dating back to 2000 and Phillip moved from outside the Top 35 (currently the 18-minute 5k cutoff) all the way to #21. Those rankings take into account every athlete's fastest time dating back to 2000. In terms of overall 5k time, Arvin's 17:19 ranks 76th while Phillip's time ranks 100th. Only 17 junior races in that time span have broken 17 minutes, so Arvin is pretty close to some rare company.

I think Luke's performance was one of the strongest of any of our athletes on Friday. He's been looking strong in practice and after a freshman cross country season where his PR at championships was only 3 seconds faster than his first parkrun of the season, I'm glad to see his hard work paying off in a tangible way.

Team Results

1. Hempfield Area 07 44 points
2. Calvert Hall 111 points
3. Heritage 158 points
4. Gonzaga 161 points
5. Loudoun County 176 points
6. Westfield 249 points
7. Langley 253 points
8. Freedom 255 points
9. Jefferson 263 points
10. Chantilly 270 points
...
14. Bishop O'Connell 392 points
...
16. DeMatha 446 points
...
24. Paul VI 640 points
...
27. Seton School 791 points

Ironically, we finished in exactly the same place with the exact same number of points this year, despite all five of our scorers finishing with faster times than our five scorers did last year. The race was much more competitive in the middle of the field. Phillip finished one spot better than our top finisher last year, but there was so much pack running by all the teams in the 18-minute range our other three runners were displaced significantly.

Final Thoughts

Given the circumstances of sitting in class all morning, a longer-than-expected ride on a cramped bus, and the lack of a course walk and shortened warmup, I have to say I am quite happy with the team's performance yesterday; at least when it comes to their running. More improvements will be made throughout the season, especially when we run on faster courses, but this was a good season opener.

Behaviourally, our athletes on the bus heard what I had to say but it bears repeating. There are a lot of moving parts on race days. We also don't want to make our days longer than they need to be. Getting our team area cleared quickly when a meet is over allows us to beat some of the traffic leaving the venue, but this can only happen if the coaches know where our athletes are. Friday's meet atmosphere was fun and there were some games over near the food trucks that I know some of our athletes wanted to participate in. But when coaches don't know that's where athletes have gone, we're left scrambling to figure out if someone went home with a parent despite not turning in a form and checking in with us first. It also meant we were stuck behind a line of buses that delayed our departure.

Fortunately in this situation, we still returned to school just ahead of the time I projected early in the week. But these are things our athletes need to be mindful of. I am very appreciative of our seniors for their efforts in making sure our team area was clear of trash by the time we left. And I'd like to single out Don for going to check the food truck area to find and bring back the athletes who were unaccounted for as we were breaking down camp.

Course etiquette is also something I noticed many of our new athletes need to be more aware of. Looking both ways when crossing the course, getting across course areas quickly, and not creating 'close calls' with racing athletes must be a priority at cross country meets.

Going forward, there should be no more confusion about these expectations at our meets. Athletes who disappear without letting a coach know where they'll be, or who create potentially hazardous situations for racers by being unaware of their surroundings along the course, may be left out of the next meet or removed from the team altogether if violations continue.

This week's schedule and workouts are available for everybody. I will send those links out Sunday morning but you can find those details on the site now. Athletes will receive their recommended training paces, ice/water assignments, and weight room group assignments in their email by Monday morning.