Slide Show

It was good to see everybody at the pizza party. Here is the link to the slide show:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/XC%202011.pptx

End of the Season Pizza Party

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Although the cross country season finished up a few weeks ago, we have one more get together for the year.

On Thursday, December 8, we are having our annual Cross Country End of the Season Pizza Party.  It will be held in the PHS cafeteria at 6:30.  I will bring the pizza.  I only ask that:

• Seniors bring dessert
• Juniors bring salad
• Sophomores bring drinks
• Freshmen bring bread

Please RSVP so I know how many pizzas to order.

Also, I am making my annual appeal for cross country pictures for the end of the season slide show.  You can send pictures through e-mail (mattloi@yahoo.com), CDs, web-links, or other methods.  I do need the pictures by Sunday, December 4.  Thank you for helping me with this slide show.

I look forward to seeing all of you on the 8th.

Coach Loiseau

State Open Info Part II

As you have heard by now, there is no school for the rest of the week.  Monday we'll resume classes.  Hopefully you have also heard that State Opens have been moved to Tuesday, November 8 at Hammonasset State Park.  The girls have made it to the Opens, but the boys have not.

Girls, we'll have practice on Friday.  I would like to hold it at 9AM on the track.  We will be done by 10:30.  If this is a problem, please let me know and if enough people have a problem, then we can adjust the time.  For the rest of the week, Thursday should be a 40 minute run while Saturday should be a five mile run.  Sunday should be around three to four miles.  

Information on the meet can be found at http://www.casciac.org/bcc.shtml

All I know about the course is that it is flat.  Check out results from the SCC championship meet at http://mysportsresults.com/Results/Results/SCC%20XC%20Girls%20Championship-20111020.htm.  Remember, this was after a heavy rain storm.

Enjoy your day.  Good luck getting power and I'll see you on Friday at 9AM.

Coach Loiseau

State Open Update Part II

They have updated information on the State Opens. It is now being held on Tuesday, November 8 at Hammonasset State Park. I'll come up with a training schedule soon. Information is found at http://www.casciac.org/bcc.shtml

State Open Update

I hope that everybody is doing okay.  I am without power and just got onto the internet at my parents house.  We ran well on Saturday, with Brittany winning the Class L championship, the girls finishing second and the boys finishing third.  While the girls and Brittany have moved onto the State Opens, it looks like the boys didn't. 

State Opens is scheduled for Friday, but they didn't finish racing all of Saturday's races yet.  The state is supposed to make a decision today, but I haven't heard anything yet.  Information can be found at http://www.casciac.org/bcc.shtml  This will also have the results from Saturday.

I hope that everybody is doing well.  Girls, you should keep on training.  We are going to train as though Opens is on Friday.  We won't practice until school is open.  Make today a five mile run, Wednesday should be four, and Thursday should be 2.  I'll keep you as up to date as I can about Opens.

Good luck with your power and I'll see you soon.

Coach Loiseau

Class L Meet

The Class L Championship meet is still on.  The bus is at 9:00.  The boys race at 9:10 and the girls race at 9:40.

Class L Championship Race

As of this afternoon, the championship meet tomorrow is still on. The races have been moved up to 11:10 and 11:40, but the bus is still at 9:00. We are leaving as soon as we can, so aim to be there before 9:00. Bring warm clothes.

 If anything changes, I'll let you know.

SWC Results

Congratulations on a very good day at the SWC championships at Bethel High School.  Both the boys and girls finished 3rd in the meet with very strong showings.

Brittany Mendelson lead the way with her second consecutive SWC championship.  Brittany became the 7th girl in conference history to win two titles.  Brittany was followed in her race by Erin Gibbons (16th), Sara Greco (20th), Gabby Holguin (26th), Sarah Qadir (35th), Alicia Cascella (44th), and Marina Alfonso (60th).

Troy Volanth lead the boys with a 10th place finish.  Troy was followed by Jason Oemcke (11th), Evan Oemcke (15th), Jackson Burzynski (29th), Jon Novitski (30th), Sam DePalma (33rd), and Adam Castles (52nd)

Kelly Gaffney won the Girls JV race.  Congratulations on your first win.

Tom DePalma lead the boys with a 13th place finish.

Here are the results:
Boys' Varisty
Girls' Varsity
Boys' JV
Girls' JV

Bus Times for SWC championships

Unfortunately, we only have one bus for the SWC championships.  The bus will pick up the girls and boys varsity first, drop them off at Bethel, and then come back to pick up boys JV.

The entire girls team and the boys varsity team is being dismissed at 1:30 from class.  Your bus is at 1:45.

The boys JV is being picked up at 3:00.  Be ready at 2:50 in front of the big gym.

SWC Championship Postponned until Friday

Due to the condition of the course, the SWC championships have been moved to Friday, October 21.  The times are still the same:

• Girls' JV - 3:30
• Boys' Varsity - 4:00
• Girls' Varsity - 4:30
• Boys' JV - 5:00

Nonnewaug Invitational Results

Congratulations on a good day at the Nonnewaug Invitational. Both the boys and girls finished second (with the boys losing on a tie breaker). Alicia Cascella lead it off by winning the girl's JV race. Steve Davis was 2nd in the boy's JV race. Brittany Mendelson was 4th in the girl's varsity race and Troy Volanth was fifth in the boy's varsity race. Congratulations!

Here is a link to the results:  http://www.fasttrackcoaching.net/timing/Results/2011-NONNEWAUG-INVITATIONAL-RESULTS.txt

Nonnewaug Invitational Information

The Nonnewaug Invitational is on Saturday, October 15.  Here is the itenerary:

• 1:00 - bus leaves from PHS
• 2:30 - Girls' JV race
• 3:00 - Boys' JV race
• 3:45 - Girls' Varsity race
• 4:15 - Boys' Varsity race

2nd Home Meet Results

Today the Pomperaug Cross Country team finished its dual meet season with losses to Newtown and wins against Notre Dame and Lauralton Hall.  The boys finished their season with a record of 12-2 while the girls finished with a record of 11-4.  Congratulations on good dual meet records.

The boys were lead by Jason Oemke's 3rd place finish of 17:18.  This was only five seconds off the sophomore course record set by Colin McCrory in 2008.  Jason was followed by Jackson Burzynski (8th), Troy Volanth (9th), Jon Novitski (13th), Adam Castles (14th), Evan Oemcke (15th), and Sam DePalma (21st).

The girls were lead by Brittany Mendelson's 2nd place finish of 20:01.  Brittany was followed by Erin Gibbons (4th), Sara Greco (9th), Gabby Holguin (10th), Sarah Ollayos (12th), Sarah Qadir (14th), and Marina Alfonso (15th).

Good luck on Saturday at the Nonnewaug Invitational.

Results can be found here:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Results%202011.xls

1st Home Meet Results

Congratulations to everybody on a good day at the races today. Both the boys and girls won their races. Nice job. Troy won his first high school race ever while Brittany won her second race in a row. Congratulations. Here are the race results. I'll post the traditional format later on.


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/10-4%20results.xls

New Fairfield Meet Results

Congratulations on another good day. Both the boys and girls went undefeated today. The boys were lead by Troy Volanth's fifth place finish. He was followed by Evan Oemcke (7th), Jon Novitski (8th), Jackson Burzynski (9th), Adam Castles (13th), Sam DePalma (22nd), and Tom DePalma (26th).

The girls were lead by Brittany Mendelson's first victory of the year. She was followed by Erin Gibbons (4th), Marina Alfonso (6th), Gabby Holguin (7th), Sarah Ollayos (9th), Sarah Qadir (11th), and Ashley Ferreri (15th). Congratulations.

Here is the link to the results: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Results%202011.xls

Bethel Invitational Results

Congratulations on today's races.  The boys finished 3rd and the girls finished 5th.

 Here are the results of the races today:

Girls JV: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Bethel%20Inv/JV%20Girls.htm
Girls Var: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Bethel%20Inv/Girls%20Varsity.htm
Boys JV: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Bethel%20Inv/JV%20Boys.htm
Boys Var: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Bethel%20Inv/Boy%27s%20Varsity.htm

Change to Bethel Invitational Time

The start time to the Bethel Invitational has been pushed back 2 hours.  Here is the new schedule.

• 10:00 bus
• 12:00 Girls JV
• 12:30 Boys JV
• 1:00 Varsity girls
• 1:30 varsity boys

Estimated time home is 3:00.

Bethel Invitational Information

On Saturday, we are running in the Bethel Invitational at Bethel High School. 

• 8:30 - bus leaves PHS
• 10:00 - Girls JV
• 10:30 - Boys JV
• 11:00 - Girls varsity
• 11:30 - Boys varsity

Due to the forcast of rain, if anybody has a canopy tent that we could borrow for the day, we would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Coach Loiseau

Immaculate Results

Congratulations on another strong performance today at Tarrywile Park in Danbury.  The boys swept their meet, beating Weston (24-33), Immaculate (18-42), and Masuk (18-43).  Troy Volanth lead the way with a 2nd place finish.  Behind Troy was Jason Oemcke (3rd), Jackson Burzynski (6th), Jon Novitski (9th), Adam Castles (10th), Evan Oemcke (13th), and Sam DePalma (17th).

The girls finished the day 2-1, losing to Immaculate (23-32) and beating Masuk (15-47) and Weston (15-49).  Brittany Mendelson lead the way with a 3rd place finish.  She was followed by Erin Gibbons (5th), Gabby Holguin (7th), Marina Alfonso (8th), Sara Ollayos (9th), Sara Qadir (12th), and Alicia Cascella (14th).

Results can be found on the right under 2011 results.

Windham Invitational Results

Today was a good day.  We had strong performances by both the boys and girls.  The varsity girls finished 2nd in their race while the varsity boys finished 8th in their race.  I don't official results for you yet, but you can check www.mysportsresults.com for results, once their posted.

Coach Loiseau

Windham Invitational Information

The Cross Country team is participating in the 33rd Haddad Windham Invitational on Saturday.  The entire team is running.  Here is the schedule for the day.

• 7:00 AM Bus leaves PHS
• 9:30 Boys JV race (anybody who isn't varsity or a freshmen)
• 10:05 Boys varsity race (top seven boys)
• 10:35 Girls varsity race (top seven girls)
• 11:10 Boys freshmen
• 11:35 Girls freshmen
• 12:15 Girls JV (anybody who isn't varsity or a freshmen)
• sometime around 3:30 PM we should arrive home

Directions:  
Take I-84 east through Hartford to Route 384 (Exit 59). Pick up route 6 in Bolton. At intersection of Route 6 and 66 in Columbia, continue (left) on Route 6 toward Willimantic. Take second exit marked for Eastern Connecticut State University/Route 195. At end of ramp, turn right onto High Street. As you crest the hill, Windham High School will be on your left.

New Milford Meet

Congratulations on a solid start to the season.  The boys finished the day 2 and 1, losing to New Milford but beating Oxford and Kolbe Cathedral.  The girls finished the day 1 and 2, losing to New Milford and Oxford but beating Kolbe Cathedral.

The boys were lead by Troy Volanth's 5th place finish.  Troy was followed by Jason Oemcke (10th), Evan Oemcke (11th), Jon Novitski (12th), Jackson Burzynski (13th), Adam Castle (14th), and Sam DePalma (19th).

The girls were lead by Erin Gibbon's 3rd place finish.  Erin was followed by Gabby Holguin (10th), Marina Alfonso (11th), Sarah Ollayos (13th), Sarah Qadir (19th), Keely Riel (22nd), and Ashley Ferreri (24th).

Results can be found here or follow the link to the right.  We are also on Facebook.  (Search for Pomperaug Cross Country.)

Pot Luck Dinner

The cross country team is holding its annual pot luck dinner on Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 in the PHS cafeteria.  We are asking members of each class to bring something different:

• Seniors: Salad or Bread
• Juniors: Main course
  
• Sophomores: Dessert
• Freshmen: Drinks

Each runner and their families are invited.  We should be done by 8:30.  I look forward to seeing all of you.

Coach Loiseau

New Milford Meet

The boys and girls are racing on Tuesday at New Milford High School.  The boys are racing first and the girls are racing second.  The boys race should begin around 4:30 while the girls will start at the conclusion of the boy's race. (Probably around 5:15).  New Milford High School is on route 7 in New Milford; after the highway ends.

Time Trial

On Friday, we ran our annual time trial.  The results of the meet can be found here.  Have a good weekend.

Timed Mile Results

Here is a link to the results of the timed mile and tempo run on Friday.  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7970671/Cross%20Country/Results%202011.xlsx

2nd Week of Practice

Good morning,

  I hope that all of you have survived your post-Irene week.  Hopefully we will be back on a normal schedule next week.  Thank you to everybody for their help on the trail.  It looks good.  I want to remind everybody that we will have practice after school from 2:30 to 4:30 everyday.  Also:

• We are hoping to be allowed back on the roads Tuesday.  If you have a reflective vest, please bring it.  If you don't, either you can buy one for $10 from the school or you will have to run on campus.
• I am attempting to schedule our annual beginning of the season pot-luck dinner for all families.  I plan on it being Thursday, September 8 at 6:30 in the PHS cafeteria.  I am waiting to hear back from the secretary that schedules rooms.  I'll let you know by the end of Tuesday when the dinner is.
• If you have any paperwork for the athletic departments, bring it on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend.

Coach Loiseau

Wednesday Pactice

We are practicing today (Wednesday) at 2:30 behind the cafeteria.  If you have your reflective vest, please bring it.  Spread the word.

Tuesday Practice

We will be having a voluntary practice today at 2:30 behind the cafeteria.  Spread the word.

Changing my mind

  Due to the possible hurricane, I am changing my mind on our course cleanup. 

• We will not have our course cleanup on Saturday.  We are postponing the cleanup until the following Saturday.
• If you want to run this Saturday, we will meet at 9AM at the bridal trail in Southford.
  
• Dr. Sippy has already canceled the teacher work day on Monday.  Therefore, we won't have practice.  Our first practice will be on Tuesday after school.
• Because we are missing practice on Monday, we will hold a practice Saturday morning at 8AM.  After our run we will have our course clean up and clear up any damage from the storm.
• Remember, you must have all forms and your physical up to date in order to practice on Tuesday.

I will see you later.

Coach Loiseau

Course Cleanup and other Reminders

Good evening,

  It is only a few days until we begin our cross country season.  Just a few quick reminders:

• Our course cleanup is on Saturday at 9AM, behind the PHS cafeteria.  Bring rakes, clippers, and saws to remove overgrown plants from the course.  Also tools for moving rocks by the river (shovels primarily).  We won't be moving any gravel, so we don't need any wheelbarrows.  We should be finished by 11.  We'll see how much damage is caused by the possible hurricane on our first day of practice.
• If you want to run before the cleanup, Coach Irvine will be at the bridal trail at 8AM, rather than the normal 9AM for an early run.
• Our first practice is scheduled for Monday at 2:30PM behind the cafeteria.  As with all practices, we will finish up at 4:30.  Be prepared to run.
• On the off chance that the potential hurricane cancels the teacher workday on Monday, we will not have practice.  If we don't have practice, I will notify you through e-mail, facebook, and through pompxc.blogspot.com.  Just so you know, you are scheduled for your first day of school on Tuesday, no matter what.

I think that this is it.  See you soon.

Coach Loiseau

Course Cleanup

It is hard to believe that the cross country season is about to begin.  Hopefully everybody is ready for that.  Unfortunately, our course isn't ready.  Therefore, we will have our annual Cross Country Course Cleanup on Saturday, August 27 at 9AM.  We will meet in the parking lot behind the cafeteria and we'll be finished before noon.  If you can, please bring equipment to help clean up the course. We could always use:

• rakes
• clippers
• saws for small saplings
• shovels
• wheelbarrows
• buckets

There shouldn't be any major construction on the course, unlike the last two years.  This should be about course maintenance. 

I look forward to seeing everybody,
Coach Loiseau

Summer Runs 2011

It is hard to believe that it is already July.  Now is a good time to begin training for cross country.  The more running you do in the summer, the better you will be in the fall.


If you are interested, we will be meeting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to run. These runs are informal; you can find groups of people that are at a similar point and run with them. Each run is over within an hour and fifteen minutes. The length will vary depending on your ability.

• Tuesday: 6PM at the Bent of the River Audubon Park, 185 East Flat Hill Road, Southbury, CT. We meet in the parking lot. There are many shaded trails to run on.
• Thursday: 6PM at the Middlebury Greenway. We'll meet at the Chase Road parking lot. This is almost across the street from Ledgewood Park in Middlebury. We will run either to Memorial Middle School or Meadoview Park, do some conditioning exercises, and then run back.
• Saturday: 9AM at the Bridal Trail in Southbury. There is a small parking lot near the Southford Firehouse, next to a large garage structure for the Bridal Trail (approximately 86 Strongtown Rd, Southbury). You need to park on the left hand side of the garage. You cannot park in front of the garage or in their driveway. This is a private business and they don't appreciate us parking in front of their garage. This is a long, flat, shaded trail that allows us to run for a while.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I look forward to seeing you.

Coach Loiseau

Cross Country has a Facebook page.  Just search for Pomperaug Cross Country

Preseason Training Plan

It is never too early to think about running for cross country.  The work that you put in over the summer will pay off in the fall with faster times and stronger performances.  Attached is the 2011 Summer Running Guide.  In the top left corner of the spreadsheet, place the number of miles you would like to be at by the end of the summer and this will guide you to that goal.

Good luck with the rest of the school year and I hope to see you out running this summer.