West Bloomfield Invitational

West Bloomfield Invitational

("Brother Rice")

Kensington Metropark

September 8, 2007

Kensington Course Map

Varsity highlights

For the third year in a row the Pioneer varsity started their season taking first place at the West Bloomfield Invitational (formerly known as the Brother Rice Invitational). Pioneer outdistanced second place Lake Orion by 53 points, making this a commanding win at what is known to be a very difficult course. Not only did Pioneer take the team championship, they took the individual championship as well.

Two years ago, Peter Christmas took first at this meet, making him the “first Pioneer in recent history to bring home an individual championship at this very competitive invitational.” Junior Dan Culbertson, who took second at this meet last year, knew this was his year to bring home that first place trophy. After running in the top group of three for awhile, he pulled away from the rest of the pack and left them in the dust. As Dan sprinted down the final stretch towards the finish line, the second-place runner was not even in sight! His excellent time of 16:24.5 minutes even topped that of Peter Christmas in 2005. Congrats to Dan on a great start to the season!

Not only did Dan have a great race, the whole varsity team excelled, with three runners coming in under 17 minutes. Sophomore Nick Kern stayed right up there with the top group, placing 5^th in an outstanding time of 16:49.5. This was a new PR for Nick by 23 seconds. What a way to start the year! Senior Charlie Cavell seems strong and poised for a great season, placing 12^th in a time of 16:56.9. Charlie has always been a crowd favorite and we are all glad to see him in top shape this year.

Sophomore Adam Kern also set a new PR by 26 seconds, coming in 18^th place with an excellent time of 17:12.3. Senior co-captain David Cogswell had a good race, finishing 34^th, in a time of 17:34.1. Senior Jonathan Henrichs ran for the first time on the varsity “A” team, setting a new PR by 14 seconds. His 37^th place time was 17:36.1. Sophomore Nate Karr also set a PR, finishing 46^th in 17:44.2. Nate had a nice “kick” and passed several competitors during the home stretch – despite an old injury flaring up during the race.

Yes, you read it right. Pioneer had three sophomores running varsity this meet. What a talented group they are, with tremendous potential, boding well for the future of Pioneer cross country.

Congratulations to the team for this impressive victory and great way to start the season!

Varsity Team Results

Place

Team

Points

1st
Ann Arbor Pioneer
70

2nd
Lake Orion
123

3rd
Detroit Catholic Central
129

4th
Warren DeLaSalle
167

5th
Grand Ledge
167

6th
University of Detroit Jesuit
185

7th
Rochester Adams
233

8th
Lakeland
237

9th
Traverse City Central
271

10th
Livonia Churchill
272



Pioneer Varsity Runners

Place

Name

Time

1

Dan

Culbertson

16:24.5

5

Nick

Kern

16:49.5

PR!   -23 seconds

12

Charlie

Cavell

16:56.9

18

Adam

Kern

17:12.4

  PR!   -26 seconds

34

David

Cogswell

17:34.1

37

Jonathan

Henrichs

17:36.1

PR!   -14 seconds

46

Nate

Karr

17:44.3

PR!     -1 second

Junior varsity highlights

Our 25 Pioneer JV competed in the largest race of the entire meet, with over 300 runners. The starting line was very crowded, and when the gun sounded it resembled a stampede more closely than a typical cross country race. The pack didn’t begin to thin out until the first long hill. Yet even in this large crowd, plenty of purple and white was seen at the front of the pack.

Senior co-captain Taylor DeLuca ran a very strong race all the way and claimed 2^nd place for the Pioneers with a time of 17:55, a strong start after being plagued by injuries last season. Junior David Wallington finished in 18:08, slashing 17 seconds from his PR to finish in 4^th place. Outstanding!

Not far behind, Sophomore Andy Sanz-Guerrero (18:34) and Junior Neil Keicher (18:46) both delivered strong performances for Pioneer. Senior Kinshuk Rajan dropped 36 seconds from his 2006 Kensington time to finish in 19:11. Junior Julius Theophilus took just 19:20 to finish his first cross country race for Pioneer – a great first-meet time (he’s already a proven asset on the track). Returning sophomore Aaron Trierweiller wasn’t far behind, finishing in 19:26 (2:21 faster than his 2006 Kensington time). Niko Rombes, also running his first race for Pioneer, finished in 19:47. Senior (and Pioneer track standout) Chris Fortson dropped 26 seconds from his 2006 PR with a 19:53 finish. Kevin Chaperon (19:56) also stayed under the 20-minute mark. All of these runners have very strong potential for our Pioneers.

Senior Sean Beck (20:05), Sophomore Mike Sullivant (20:08, PR -1), Sophomore Joe Frakes, running his first race for Pioneer (20:10), and Senior Dylan North (20:39) also gave very solid performances. Among returning runners, Sophomore Ben Aukerman dropped 2:15 from his time at last year’s race with a 21:35 and Senior co-captain Jacob Whiten finished a few steps behind with a time of 21:37. Good work on a challenging course!

In addition to Theophilus, Rombes and Frakes, also running in their first cross country meet for Pioneer were John Fonte, David Torres, Lucas Aria, Gabe Crisman, RJ Marable, Noah Kaczor, Manuel Akard, Zack Keller and Eric Seitz. They’ve gained some valuable experience, we should see their times improve in the coming meets.

The JV race was not officially scored at this meet, but JV times were recorded by Pioneers who did not run in this race.

Pioneer JV Runners

Name

Time

Taylor DeLuca
17:55

David Wallington
18:08
PR! -17 secs

Andy Sanz-Guerrero
18:34

Neil Keicher
18:46

Kinshuk Rajan
19:11

Julius Theophilus
19:20

Aaron Trierweiller
19:26

Niko Rombes
19:47

Chris Fortson
19:53
PR! -26 secs

Kevin Chaperon
19:56

Sean Beck
20:05

Mike Sullivant
20:08
PR! -1 sec

Joe Frakes
20:10

Dylan North
20:39

John Fonte
21:04

David Torres
21:20

Lucas Arias
21:21

Ben Aukerman
21:35

Jacob Whiten
21:37

Gabe Crisman
22:00

RJ Marable
23:45

Noah Kaczor
23:48

Manuel Akard
24:11

Zack Keller
28:11

Eric Seitz
28:48

Updated Sept 15, 2007