Banquet Reminder

A reminder that tomorrow, Monday, Nov. 7, is out banquet at the High School Cafeteria.  Start time is 6:00pm, and you will need to enter the school through Door 16 in the back of the school.  Also, please look at the post from two weeks ago in regards to the banquet as well as look through these notes:

7 Seniors: Desserts

8 Juniors: Beverages

14 Sophomores: Salads

15 Freshmen & Under:  Entrees

Please note that there are 44 members of the team, plus four coaches, as well as family members of these athletes that will be attending, so please bring accordingly.  All plates, silverware, napkins, and cups will be supplied.

Also, please note that there are a few individuals that have nut allergies. If you do make anything with nuts in it, please make sure to mark it as so.

Any questions, please let me know,
Denny

State

Congrats to Peyton on competing today at the Minnesota State Meet!! It was the coldest meet that we were apart of this season and it was fun to see Peyton compete against the best runners in the State! Great season Peyton!

Thanks to all of the runners and parents that went to St Olaf to support Peyton! 

Thanks

Denny

State

The day is finally here, tomorrow is STATE!! Good Luck to Peyton as he finishes off the season for the Cardinals as well as run his last high school cross country race!!  

For those that would like to follow along, you can find results here: https://results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/18769, including live results, or if you would want to watch bits and pieces of it online, you can watch here (note that there is usually a cost for this service): https://nspn.tv/MSHSL

For those that are going with us to watch, please remember that the bus is leaving at 8:00.  Also note that the weather is going to feel like the high 20's or low 30's, with a possibility of light rain, so dress warm!!

Thanks

Denny

Uniform Turn In/State

We are going to do Uniform/Warm Ups/Bags/Lock Turn In on Wednesday of this week, November 2nd, after school.  Please make sure that everything is cleaned before turning in.  All of the Boys locks will need to be turned in and those Girls that are not joining Nordic Skiing will have to turn theirs in as well.

Also, on Saturday morning for the State Meet, we are going to have a bus to go to the meet.  Last week I asked the runners if there were any that would want to go down to support Peyton and there were 15-20 that raised their hands.  So, I was able to get a bus that will take Peyton and those that are wishing to go down to St Olaf, leaving at 8:00 am.  For those that are wanting to go down on the bus, I would like to know on Wednesday.  As for the race, Peyton will be racing in the AAA race at 10:30 and we will leave to head home around 11:30.

If there are any questions, please let me know,
Thanks,
Denny

Section 7AAA Results

Congratulations to Peyton on qualifying for the Minnesota State Meet that will be next Saturday at St. Olaf College! Peyton finished in a solid 8th place overall and added his name to the Coon Rapids Sub-17:00 Club, moving into 42nd All-Time! Peyton also helped lead the Boys to a solid 5th place finish, moving up from 8th place last year!

The Girls were led by Ruby who finished in 16th place overall, just a few places out of qualifying for State herself, becoming just the fourth Cardinal to break 20 minutes in a 5K and is now 3rd overall in Cardinal History.  (3200m and 4K's were the Girls distance prior to 2015).  The Girls team finished in 8th place, but ran a 17 second faster average than last year.

On the JV side, Justin and Tythe finished 1 second apart to help lead the Boys to an 11th place finish out of the 13 teams there and Hannah finished in 25th to lead the Girls to an 8th place finish.

All of our individual times are now posted, along with links to the Overall Results as well as an updated Season Bests list.  On the day, 31 All Time Personal Records with an additional 4 Season Bests were set out of the 41 Cardinal Runners that raced today!

Great work to everyone today! It was a huge positive to see everyone competing at their bests and to see the improvements as a team, even if some times individual or team placings don't always show it.  We have opportunities to grow, and it is something that we will continue to do what we can to improve everyone!  

We will be meeting after school tomorrow, Friday, to do team voting and discuss a few items.

Thanks to all of those that were able to come out and watch and support the runners today!!
Denny

Section 7AAA Meet Thursday

Here are a couple of items for the Section Meets on Thursday, Oct 27 for the Varsity and JV.  A list of who will be running Varsity is also below.  Those not listed will be running in the JV races.

This will be the last meet of the season for most of the team, but also the opportunity to qualify for the State Meet at St. Olaf on Saturday, Nov. 5th.  Please note that the Varsity will be in the late morning/early afternoon and that the JV runners will be late in the afternoon.  We will actually have two bus times and the Varsity will come back after the awards.

Those that qualify for the State Meet will be the 1st and 2nd place teams, as well as the 6 fastest runners that are not on those two teams.  The weather is looking like temp wise will be perfect for fast times, hard to say at this time if there will be any rain or not.

Also, please remember that there are no dogs allowed.  We don't want a dog getting lose during the race and interfering with a runner.

Varsity Runners:
Boys
Peyton, Aaron, Kjell, Lachlan, Nehemiah, Albi, Owen

Girls
Ruby, Stella, Ella, Kaylee, Lily, Kendall, Sophia

Varsity times:
Bus Leaves at 9:45
Boys - 11:30
Girls - 12:10

JV times:
Bus Leaves at 3:00
Boys - 4:20
Girls - 4:50

Any questions, please let me know,
Thanks,
Denny

ABC 3K Schedule

Here are the start times for Wednesday's ABC 3K at Greenhaven Golf Course in Anoka off of Hwy 10:
Boys - 4:00

Girls - 4:30

Thanks,

Denny

End of Season Banquet Information

2022 Cross Country Running Banquet 

The season is coming to an end it is time to look back on the accomplishments of the 2022 edition of the Coon Rapids Boys and Girls Cross Country teams.

This year, our banquet will be on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 starting at 6:00 at the CRHS Cafeteria.  This will be a Pot Luck affair with each grade of athletes bringing the following: 

7 Seniors: Desserts

8 Juniors: Beverages

14 Sophomores: Salads

15 Freshmen & Under:  Entrees

Please note that there are 44 members of the team, plus four coaches, as well as family members of these athletes that will be attending, so please bring accordingly.  All plates, silverware, napkins, and cups will be supplied.

Also, please note that there are a few individuals that have nut allergies. If you do make anything with nuts in it, please make sure to mark it as so.

This will be a night in which we will be handing out all team awards and such, so we do appreciate you being a part of this event to celebrate the accomplishments of the athletes and the team. 

We are also wanting this to be a more formal affair for the athletes.
If there are any questions, please let me know.  Thanks, Denny

NWSC Meet

Congratulations to Peyton (10th) and Aaron (22nd) of the Boys, and Ruby (16th) and Stella (19th) with the Girls, for earning All-Conference honors today at the Northwest Suburban Conference Meet!! Also congrats to Kjell for earning All-Conference Honorable Mention with a 41st place.  On the team side of things, both Varsity teams moved up from our placings last year, with the Boys finishing in 9th and the Girls 10th out of the 14 teams!  

The JV teams also saw a lot of improvements, with the Girls finishing a solid 5th place led by the 14th place finish of Hannah, and 3 others finishing in the top 25!!  On the Boys side, in a very competitive JV race, the Boys finished in 11th led by the 23rd place finish of Justin out of 249 total runners!

Despite the fluctuating weather conditions and the somewhat soft course in places, not to mention the weather delay for the JV races, we have 20 Season or All Time PR's on the day!! These are all positives that we like to see and will build off of, and we know we could have had a better day, which we will use to help us as we get ready for the Section Meet in two weeks.

One thing of note for next week, the ABC 3K at Greenhaven has been changed to Wednesday the 19th.  We will also be doing the JK5K on Thursday morning, but please note this is just a workout that we do to get everyone on the course one more time. 

Thanks for all of the parents and fans that came out and supported the runners, and especially those that had members of the team in your vehicles during the lightening delay!!
Denny

NWSC Meet

Below is the information as well as time schedule and line up for Wednesday's Northwest Suburban Conference Meet at the Elk River Country Club.  Just a forewarning for Parking at the Conference Meet, most people will be able to park on the driving range that is north of the main lots, but some may have to park on the street that will be a little bit of a walk.  This is a busy road, so if you do end up parking on a neighborhood street, beware trying to cross to get to the course.  Also, if it does rain, which is a possibility, it is possible that the golf course says "No" to anyone parking on the driving range.  If there is any change in that, I will let you know.

Also note that we are aware that there is PSAT testing that day as well and will work with any of the runners that are planning to take the test and may miss the bus.  However, these runners need to let me know on Monday so we know whether to expect someone on the bus or if they will be meeting us there.

Elk River (Conference Championships): 20015 Elk Lake Rd.  Highway 10 west to Proctor Ave. in Elk River, go north (right).  Go 2 miles to the Elk River Country Club, which will be on the right.  Additional parking will be available at Woodland Trails, just north of the Country Club.

Bus Leaves at 1:00

NWSC Meet @ Elk River Country Club, October 12 2022
Girls	Boys
Varsity	Varsity
Ruby Demmer	Peyton Martinek
Stella Bone	Aaron Casey
Ella LaGree	Kjell Norquist
Kaylee Buerman	Lachlan Demmer
Lily McKenzie	Nehemiah Kue
Kendall Martinek	Albi Ludwig
Sophia Greiner	Owen James
Casey Amelsberg	Cole Burnett
Grace Berndt ?	Vlad Vorobyev
Megan Fuller ?	Tythe Kue
JV	JV
Hannah Berndt	Justin Bauer
Emmy Fuller	Marco Velasquez
Addie Erickson	Joshua Hyatt
Faith Kue	Nate Bornes
Nyah Fruth	Gilbert Kostuck
Jessika Larson	Orion Carter
Emily Bornes	Kevin Cheaye
Ash Cocchiarella ?	Joshua Holder
Anna Winter ?	Truman Smith
	Nico Cocchiarella
	Michael Kane
	Jacob Thoen
	Landon Egerstrom
	Nolan Rife

2022 Conference Meet

Site:     Elk River Golf Club 

Date:   Wednesday, October 12

Make-up date options: 

• If the course is too wet we will use Prairie Park in Otsego or the ERX Motor Park in Elk River.
• If we get intermittent lightning we will run Varsity only on Wednesday, October 12 and JV on Monday, October 17

Time and Order of Races:      

            2:45                 National Anthem

            3:15                 Boys Varsity Race

            3:55                 Girls Varsity Race

            4:35                 Boys JV Race

            5:15                 Girls JV race

            6:00                Awards Presentation

Team Champions, All Conference, and JV places will be announced after the meet.

A postponed meet will be rescheduled.  Every attempt will be made to make a decision to postpone by noon and have that decision communicated to each school by 12:30 p.m.

 Total All Conference awards to be equal to two times the number of schools participating:  Year 2021:  The top 28 finishers in the girl’s varsity race and the top 28 finishers in the boys’ varsity race will be awarded all conference medals.
Honorable mention All Conference honors will go to the  29^st through 42^th place finishers in the boys and girls varsity races

No awards will be provided for the JV races.

Week Ahead

Thanks for all that came out last night to watch and support the runners!  Times were faster and it appeared the runners had some fun as well. The Boys top 5 average ended up being 30 seconds faster than lasted year and the Girls top 5 average was 19 seconds faster than a year ago, but times for a lot of individuals was much faster than those averages.

As for the rest of the week, we are going to be doing weight training after school today, Tuesday, and then practice will be optional. Practice will be as usual the rest of the week, plus we will have practice on Saturday morning at 8:00am at the track. The NWSC meet is next Wednesday, so we are going to be getting a good track workout in to prepare ourselves.

Thanks

Denny

Cardinal Cup/Hoka One One 2 Mile Time Trial Line Ups

Below are the teams for Monday Nights Cardinal Cup/Hoka One One 2 Mile Time Trial.  The Girls will be going at 7:00pm and the Boys at about 7:30pm.  We are wanting everyone on the team to be there by 6:00pm.  Every one is welcome to come and watch, enjoy the music and the runners and have some fun!!

Thanks

Denny

HOKA 2 MIle Time Trial @ CR Stadium, October 3 2022
Girls
Team:	Team:
Ruby Demmer	Stella Bone
Kaylee Buerman	Ella LaGree
Lily McKenzie	Kendall Martinek
Emmy Fuller	Hannah Berndt
Megan Fuller	Sophia Greiner
Casey Amelsberg	Addie Erickson
Faith Kue	Nyah Fruth
Ash Cocchiarella	Jessika Larson
Emily Bornes	Anna Winter
Boys
Black	Red	White
Peyton Martinek	Aaron Casey	Kjell Norquist
Albi Ludwig	Nehemiah Kue	Lachlan Demmer
Owen James	Cole Burnett	Vlad Vorobyev
Marco Velasquez	Justin Bauer	Tythe Kue
Joshua Hyatt	Nate Bornes	Gilbert Kostuck
Joshua Holder	Kevin Cheaye	Orion Carter
Truman Smith	Nico Cocchiarella	Michael Kane
Landon Egerstrom	Tristan Golen	Jacob Thoen
Nolan Rife

Osseo Results

A really nice night out lead to a another positive step forward for both the Boys and the Girls teams today at Elm Creek!  24 Season Bests or All Time PR's came from the runners that raced and it showed in the team results as well, with both the Boys and Girls Varsity teams and the Boys JV team all gaining top 10 finishes out of the 20+ teams that were competing!  

Peyton lead the way for our individual finishers with a Top 10 finish himself, earning 9th place overall in the Boys Varsity race.  On the Girls Varsity, Ruby was the first to finish for the Cardinals with a solid 13th place finish overall.  Not to be out done by the Varsity, Hannah was 3rd and Emmy was 7th in the Middle School Girls race!

It was a lot of fun to see the compete level continue to grow with these two teams and to know that we were a little shorthanded and possibly could have been higher up in the standings.  We continue to move in the right direction and will continue to make adjustments and try to bring everyone to their bests at the right time.

Next up is the Cardinal Cup 2 Mile Time Trial on Monday evening at Cardinal Stadium, with the first race going at 7:00 and the second to follow shortly after the first finishes.  This will be a great opportunity for the runners to push a little faster than they usually do, but also be able to do so under the lights.

Lastly, on Saturday we do have a scheduled practice at 9:00am.  We understand that there are some family and other priorities that will prevent everyone from being there, but we still would like as many as possible to make the workout.  From start to finish, we should be about an hour long. Also, we are going to meet at a different park than we have in the past, to mix it up and give the runners a different place to put in some work.  We are going to meet at Pine Hills North Park in Andover, about 7 miles from the High School.  The address is 3535 161st Ave NW, Andover.  To get there, take Round Lake Blvd North to 161st Ave, take a left, go about 1/4 mile, and the park entrance be on the right.

Thanks for all of those that were able to make the races today!
Denny

Conference T Shirt Sales

Sorry for short notice on this, but I got this email this morning:

 
 "2022 Conference Championship" t-shirts. T-shirts will only be available for pre-order via the link provided: Northwest Suburban Conference T-Shirt Order Form

T-shirts will not be sold on site. Runners will be able to pick-up the shirts at the Conference Meet on October 12th. All orders must be submitted by this Thursday, September 29th at midnight

Thanks

Denny

Osseo Invite

Below is the time schedule and location for this Thursday's meet at Elm Creek.  Please note that there will be 25 schools participating, so parking may get a little tight, so plan accordingly.

Elm Creek Park Reserve (near picnic and beach area)

12400 James Deane Parkway
Maple Grove, MN 55369

Take Hwy 10 to Hwy 610 and continue to Elm Creek Parkway in Maple Grove and follow into the park. The main parking lot and location of the meet will be about a mile and half into the park on the left.

Schedule

3:20PM: National Anthem at starting line

3:30PM: Boys C Race 5000 M

4:00PM: Girls JV 5000M

4:35PM: Boys JV 5000M

5:05PM: Girls Varsity 5000M

5:35PM: Boys Varsity 5000M

6:00PM: Co-Ed Middle School 2500M (6th thru 8th grade only)

6:30PM: Awards Ceremony by Osseo Tent

Course:  2 loop course (5K) for JV/ Varsity/C and one loop for middle school race 2.5K on the trails of the park

Meet Information and Course Map

Team Pictures

This Wednesday, Sep 28th, will be our team pictures.  We will be doing them at a different location than in the past, and we will be at Thorpe Park.  Please follow along with these directions:

How To View and Purchase Photos Text the access code PGTR96588 to 90738 or visit: https://galleries.photoday.io/ 

Thanks and any questions, please let me know,
Denny

Griak/Mustang Results

Results for both the Roy Griak Invite and the Mustang Invite are now posted on the right side of the blog, with a link to the Overall Results in there as well.

Two days, two meets, and a number of races, but the same feeling for all of them, positive!  It is something that I don't like to do, comparing a race from one year to the next, but it is hard not to notice the improvements of everyone from where they were a year ago, and how much stronger they are looking from week to week!  More steps were taken, much improvement was had by all, and it still was not a perfect day/weekend.  

The Boys Varsity led the way on the weekend with an 18th team placing out of 55 teams, led by Peyton finishing in 23rd overall in the Maroon Division at Griak!!  The Girls Varsity was led by Ruby's 80th overall position to finish a solid 28th out of 55 teams!  On the JV side of things, there were many PR's across the races.  When I was putting there were still some troubles with the overall results, some duplicate places and struggles pulling up team results, but some of the top finishers were Hannah and Emmy in the Girls JH/MS race; Justin and Josh in the Boys JH/MS race; and Vlad in the Boys Green 5K race!

Thanks to all of the parents and fans that came out to watch this weekend!  Sorry for not mentioning anything about where the 3200m finish was going to be today, I didn't find out myself until it was mentioned to us when we got there this morning!  A little goofy, but those that had to finish there handled it very well!

Next up is the Osseo Invite at Elm Creek on Thursday.  I will put out information on that meet on Monday.

Thanks,

Denny

Mustang Change

There was a change to the schedule for tomorrows, Saturday, Mustang Invite at Anoka that I just found out about.  They added two races, thus pushing our JV runners races back. Those race times are now 11:20 for the Girls and 12:00 for the Boys. The JH/MS races are still at 9:30 for the Girls and 9:55 for the Boys.

Sorry for any issues,

Denny

Last Minute Griak Items

Here a couple of last minute items for the Varsity runners at the Roy Griak Invite tomorrow, Friday.  First, both the Boys and the Girls will be wearing white tops to help possibly be spotted easier with around 500 runners competing in each race.

Also, the weather is going to feel much cooler, with temps in the 50’s, stronger winds, and a chance of rain throughout the day. Hope to see as many of you at the races!!

Denny

Roy Griak Invite/Mustang Invite

Below is the information for both Friday's Roy Griak Invite at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in St Paul, and Saturday's Mustang Invite at Anoka High School.  For Friday, we are in the Maroon Division for both the boys and the girls races.  Start times are 4:30 for boys and 5:15 for girls.  For Saturday, we are only doing the first four races, so our first race is at 9:30 am and last at 10:55 am.  Please note that at both races, pets are Not allowed.

Lastly, for those that will be running on Saturday, they are all more than welcome to come watch, though we would still like for them to do their workout.   For any of the JV that do not come along, you will still have practice and a workout to do.  Also, for Saturday's races, those that raced on Friday are welcome to come with for support.

Any questions, please let me know,

Thanks
Denny

Roy Griak Invitational (Les Bolstad Golf Cours):  Bus leaves at 3:00

U of M Golf Course. Take 35W South to Cleveland Avenue South to West Larpenteur. Turn right and follow for a ½ mile on Larpenteur and you will see the Driving Range and Golf Course on the right. For parking use S101 (on the corner of Cleveland and Commonwealth) and the Gortner Ave Ramp. Shuttles will transport to the golf course. Park at your own risk on city streets. 

The University will be charging $10 entry fee for adults and $8 for students/youth/seniors (62 & above). Kids age 2 & under are free. Tickets are available for purchase online.

Please click on this link for more spectator information: Griak Spectator Information

Mustang Invite Roster:

Boys
Green Race	JH/Middle School
Vlad Vorobyev	Justin Bauer
Marco Velasquez	Joshua Hyatt
Gilbert Kostuck	Truman Smith
Nico Cocchiarella	Jacob Thoen
Orion Carter	Landon Egerstrom
Kevin Cheaye
Michael Kane
Tristan Golen
Nolan Rife
Josh Holder
Girls
Green Race	JH/Middle School
Ash Cocciarella	Hannah Berndt
Anna Winter	Emmy Fuller
	Addie Erickson
	Faith Kue
	Emily Bornes
	Jessika Larson
	Nyah Fruth

Race Schedule and Times:

a.       9:00am    Coaches Meeting at Finish Line area

b.       9:30am     JH/MS Grade Race-Girls         Team and Open Girl’s Race   3,200 meters  (Unlimited entries)

c.       9:55am    JH/MS Grade Race-Boys          Team and Open Boy’s Race   3,200 meters  (Unlimited entries)

d.       10:20am    Green Race-Girls              Open Junior Varsity Girl’s Race    5,000 meters     (Unlimited entries)

e.       10:55am    Green Race-Boys              Open Junior Varsity Boy’s Race   5,000 meters      (Unlimited entries)

f.        11:25am    Gold Race- Girls            Girl’s Team Race 5,000 meters     ( NOTE: change: 10 entries; runners 11-20)

g.       11:55am    Gold Race- Boys            Boy’s Team Race 5,000 meters     ( NOTE: change: 10 entries; runners 11-20)

h.       12:20pm    Varsity Race- Girls            Girl’s Team Race 5,000 meters      (team’s top 10 entries)

i.         12:50pm    Varsity Race- Boys            Boy’s Team Race 5,000 meters      (team’s top 10 entries)

j.          1:20pm    Awards Program

Last Day of Fundraiser Campaign

Today, Tuesday, is our last day for our fundraising. We have more than exceed our goals and we are so grateful for what the runners have been able to raise so far!! There is still one aspect that hasn’t been decided, though, and that is the competition between the Boys team and the Girls team and which one will raise the most. The Girls had the lead for most of the campaign, but last night the Boys finally got up and actually passed the Girls, and now have a narrow lead of just over $400, which is actually pretty close and cool that they are that close. The team that will have raised the most by the end of tonight will be the winners, so help out your favorite side!

Thanks again!

Denny

Lakeville Recap

34 of the 41 Cardinal Runners that competed on Friday at the Lakeville North AppleJack Invite ran a Season Best or an All-Time best (PR) on a day that showed dramatic improvements across the board for the team and is a huge step forward from a year ago, with everyone that competed in last years race, running faster this year!! 

All of these times are now posted on the right side of the blog.  I am working on putting together the Season Best list as well and will have that posted soon as well.

Congrats to Hannah and Emmy for finishing in 5th and 6th respectively in the Girls C Race and leading the Girls C racers to a 3rd place team finish!! Justin barely missed the top 10 in the Boys C Race and helped the Boys C racers to an 8th place finish. On the Varsity side, the Boys moved up and finished in 11th out of 23 teams competing and the Girls finished solidly in 12th place as a team out of 23 teams!  The Boys JV also moved up in the rankings to finish in 12th out of 20 teams.  

Was it a prefect day, no, and it is something that we know that we can perform better, but we also know that we are still a few weeks away from wanting to be even close to having a perfect day.  We know that we have some tough practices ahead and that we still have goals that we want to reach.  We will continue to take the steps we need and would like to take and continue to help everyone find the runners within themselves.

Below is a list of who will be competing on Friday evening at the U of Minnesota Roy Griak Invite.  For all of those that are not on this list, they will be competing on Saturday morning at the Mustang Invite at Anoka High School.  I will be sending out information on both of these races later in the week.

Thanks for all that made the journey to Lakeville on Friday and for all of your support and for those that take pictures.
Denny

Roy Griak Invite, Sep. 23, 2022 @ U of M
Boys		Girls
Peyton Martinek		Ruby Demmer
Aaron Casey		Stella Bone
Lachlan Demmer		Ella LaGree
Kjell Norquist		Kaylee Buerman
Nehemiah Kue		Lily McKenzie
Albi Ludwig		Kendall Martinek
Owen James		Megan Fuller
Cole Burnett		Grace Berndt
Tythe Kue		Casey Amelsberg
Nate Bornes		Sophia Greiner