D2 Cross Site

Thought it would be good to post  this site that covers D2 Cross exclusively.

http://d2cross.blogspot.com/

Let me know what you think of their coverage.

Conference Champions!

Bemidji

On  Saturday morning the weather was a comfortable 49 degrees. Even as I ran around catching pictures and video of every one I decided I didn't need my light jacket. In both the men's and women's races we had athletes go out in a controlled group near the front. As the race progressed the group began to string out a little bit but both men and women maintained contact as a group. Interestingly enough each group had a freshman move up throughout the entire race. For the women it was Anne Pfeifle and for the men it was Ryan Evans.

Women’s Team Scores
1. Augustana - 38
2. Minnesota Duluth - 57
3. U-Mary - 81
4. Minnesota State - 141
5. Winona State - 147
6. Wayne State - 160
7. St. Cloud State - 180
8. Northern State - 191
9. MSU Moorhead - 192
10. Bemidji State – 328
11. Concordia St. Paul – 335

Men’s Team Scores
1. Augustana - 36
2. Minnesota State - 68
3. MSU Moorhead - 86
4. St. Cloud State - 118
5. Minnesota Duluth - 125
6. Northern State - 145
7. U-Mary - 207
8. Wayne State - 212
9. Winona State - 243
10. Concordia-St. Paul - 252 

Women's Results

Men's Results

Double Sweep

This is the first time in program history that both the Men and Women have taken home the conference crown at the same meet. In the previous two years, winning in 2007 and in 2008.  The men had only won the conference title one time prior, having taken the title in 1991. Both teams move on now to the regional in Wayne, NE on November 7th.

Here is a video of the men warming up. I'm going to try to compile all of each race into one video to avoid uploading 50 video's from this weekend. That should be up on either Monday or  Tuesday. No guarantees!


Conference - Men Pre Race - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.


Conference - Women Pre Race - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Testing in the Weight Room

Getting Stronger

We always have the goal of getting stronger. Since we are running so much and pushing ourselves on the track its difficult sometimes to understand the role that maximal strength has. It does however help us to maintain form, push out of the blocks and prevent injuries. After these first few weeks where we have lifted on average 4 days a week we tested our strength. We did this for a few different reasons.

1. It gives me some empirical data that I can compare results with the next time we test.
2. It shows me potential areas that need to be addressed, for example if an athlete is relatively fast but weak.
3. It's fun to bring to the team together to compete a little bit at this point of the season.

Here are the results.

Testing October 21, 2009
Girls
Name	Bench x3	Squat x3	Hang Clean x1
Carissa Hotovy	80	120	85
Karissa Pepin	75	205	90
Emily Halverson	75	195	90
Chanesse Schaefer	95	145	95
Hollie Bloom	115	175	95
Meagen Gramdgett	130	220	125
Claire Severson	115	215	120
Bobbi Jo Buyck	130	240	125
Guys
Name	Bench x3	Squat x3	Hang Clean x1
Sam	215	230	215
Henrik	195	230	185
Paul	185		145
Adam	165	275	165
Cory	170	215	185
Aduo Omet	215	275	wrist
Jacob Pohlmann	190	245	185
Blake Ridgway	165	375	225

Conference Preview on Flotrack

Bemidji, MN

Its the time of year when every cross country program in the US get's geared up to win their conference meet. It's no accident that one of the major web sites concerning collegiate track in the states chose to come out with a preview of each conference in Division II. While the coverage is short, it's coverage non-the-less.

Northern Sun Conference- Last year, the Minnesota State men’s team placed five individuals in the top ten finishers to claim to the 2008 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship with 22 points.  Augustana College was second with 74 points and Wayne State College was third with 108 points. Look for MSU’s James Krajsa to be in front along with Augustana’s Tom Karbo and Matt Braithwaite and NSU’s John Rawerts.

Augustana women's cross country team placed five runners in the top ten to win the conference title with 32 points.  They were followed by University of Minnesota-Duluth (56) and Minnesota State University (105). Look for UMD’s Morgan Place, MSUM’s Anna VanWechel, and Augustana’s Leah Hansen to be challenging for the individual title.

After seeing the teams compete so far this year I'd be really surprised to see Mankato replicate what happened last year. I think that on the men's side Augustana has made some good steps forward. Mankato on the other hand has taken a few steps backward. After a few stellar years, Denise seems to be struggling. I couldn't tell you why. At Griak he finished a long way back from where Krajsa finished. I think he'll be ready for conference but I'm not sure he'll be in the top ten. Looking at the rest of the conference it looks as though it should be a two team race for first on the men's side. The women are in for a challenge from Duluth in what looks to be another two team race. It depends again on how much Mankato has improved from last year. By 1pm Saturday we'll know which team showed up with the bigger heart ready to race. Go Vikings!

Want to check out the whole article? Click here!

Track Testing 2

Today we ran a 600m test to see where we were. Here are the video's of the men and the women.

Men


Men 600m Testing from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Women

Women 600m Testing from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Track Testing

30m 3pt Test

Below are a number of videos of our athletes completing a 30m test from the 3pt position. We are testing their ability to accelerate. In practice we work on acceleration patterns, do squats and cleans and continually hammer on sprint mechanics. I shot video of the kids in an attempt to give them visual feedback where they can identify for themselves and internalize errors in their sprint mechanics that they can personally work on in this next micro-cycle.

Today we also tested a 150m dash and standing long jump. I'm including a table of results so that all of my athletes can take a look at the numbers that they put up. At the end of our cycles we like to test our athletes in an effort to get a certain type of feedback. Our tests differ depending on the changing emphasis in each cycle.

During this cycle we attempted to develop speed endurance (600m run test, 150m), strength (30m 3pt, Standing Long Jump, Squat, Clean, Bench Max), power (Standing Long Jump,Squat, Clean, Bench Max), coordination/skill (Standing Triple Jump) and max speed (30m fly in test.) That seems like a lot of things to think about at first glance, but consider this. We also try to keep in mind each of the five categories of athletic development. During each phase we have one that we feel is important at the moment and focus on it while not forgetting the others involved.

• Suppleness - or flexibility; is the range of moement at a joint
• Strength: is the ability of a muscle to exert force against a resistance
• Speed: is running at 95-100% maximum up to 60m or 6 sec (anerobic alactic).
• Skill: motor skill  acquisition, i.e. sprint mechanics, throwing or jumping technique.
• Stamina or Endurance: is divided into anaerobic and aerobic components.

Now on to some videos!

Results


Testing 10/19/09 30m 3pt 1 2 3 150m Standing LJ 1 2 3
Paul Mallory 4.08 4.06 4.03 18.02 2.40 2.60 2.56
Sam  Quaintence 4.24 4.02 18.86 2.40 2.28 2.25
Adam Sturm 4.06 3.92 3.94 18.44 2.26 2.42 2.43
Adu 4.18 4.12 4.09 18.22 2.40 2.40
Cory  Sugden 4.49 4.48 4.40 20.88 2.46 2.44 2.40
Jacob Pullman 4.22 4.21 4.29 19.48 2.39 2.32 2.36
Blake Ridgeway 4.03 3.83 3.82 18.37 2.73 2.77 2.79
Zak Morris 4.11 4.03 4.04 18.16 x 2.40 2.30

Girls
Carissa 4.73 4.61 4.61 22.40 1.83 2.03 1.93
Megan 4.50 4.41 4.27 20.80 1.94 1.93 1.93
Holly 4.76 4.61 4.57 24.00 1.84 1.84 1.65
KP 4.68 4.61 4.56 23.10 1.87 2.01 1.89
Chanese 4.42 4.39 4.52 21.60 1.72 1.94 1.89
Bobbi 4.35 4.26 4.26 19.76 2.30 2.32 2.21
Sarah 4.91 4.91 4.94 22.07 1.74 1.80 1.90
Clare 4.96 4.73 4.94 21.86 2.00 2.03 2.09




Zak






Zak Morris 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Zak Morris 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Sam

Sam 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Sam 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Paul

Paul Mallory 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Jacob

Jacob Pullman 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Corey

Corey Sudgen 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Blake

Blake Ridgeway 30m 3pt - .998 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Blake Ridgeway 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Adam

Adam Sturm 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Untitled from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Adam Sturm 30m 3pt - 3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Meagen

Meagen 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Meagen 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Meagen 30m 3pt - 3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



KP

KP 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




KP 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




KP 30m 3pt - 3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Holly

Holly 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Holly 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Chanese

Chanese 30m 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Chanese 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Chanese 30m 3pt - 3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.



Carissa

Carissa 30 3pt - 1 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Carissa 30m 3pt - 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Carissa 30m 3pt - 3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pre Region Video

Pre Regional Women's Start from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.




Pre Regionals Women's Race Part 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pre Regions Women's Race pt3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pre Regions Women's Race pt4 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Men's Race

Pre Regions Men's Start from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pre Region Men's Race pt2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pre Regionals Men Race pt3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pre Regionals Mens Race pt4 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Viking Men Post Race Huddle from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Video Hubnut Test

This is a test to make viewing our posted video's easier. Thanks for bearing with us as we try to get this up and working!

Go Vikings!

Pre Region Results

Wayne America

The weather turned out to be almost perfect on Friday afternoon. The temperature was in the high forties and the limited wind remained relatively calm. Both the men and women had good races and placed 2nd. Tom Karbo won the men's race. It was the first time that Tom has crossed the line first this season. He looked relaxed during the entire race and powered down the home stretch to the line to take the win. On the women's side freshman Annie Pfeifle of Rapid City finished first placing third in a time of 22:48 over the 6k course.

Next up for the men and women will be the NSIC championships in Bemidji, MN in two weeks.

Men

1 211 - Tom Karbo JR - Augustana College 33:21

3 92 - Travis Beniak SO - Augustana College 33:38

9 94 - Matt Braithwaite JR - Augustana College 34:06

14 209 - Ryan Evans FR - Augustana College 34:39

18 210 - Matt Heesch SR - Augustana College 35:05

23 212 - Jordan Slusser FR - Augustana College 35:57

29 91 - Aaron Bauer FR - Augustana College 38:04

Women

3 219 - Annie Pfeifle FR Augustana 22:48

10 220 - Caitlin Polgreen SR Augustana 23:24

15 221 - Courtney Rasmussen SO Augustana 23:44

16 100 - Laura Johnson JR Augustana 23:45

21 99 - Melissa Jackson SR Augustana 24:27

23 217 - Molly Kokesh FR Augustana 24:33

26 98 - Katie Hjerpe FR Augustana 24:49

29 218 - Kelly Kougl SO Augustana 25:21

30 93 - Rachel Biederman FR Augustana 25:42

Pre Regionals

UPDATE


Instead of Saturday the pre-regional race will occur at 12:30 and 1 on Friday afternoon. Cold weather is a factor in moving the meet.


Wayne America

For me the weekend will be highlighted by our trip two hours south to Wayne America. If you've ever been to this town in Nebraska you know exactly what I'm talking about. Of course after googling Wayne America I had to spend about two minutes wading through pictures of Little Wayne and The Duke (John Wayne.) I love the pride in America that Wayne displays on their water tower. Any way this weekend is the pre regional. Which means we get to run on the regional course at the full 10k length for me and 6k for women. We will get a chance to run against most of our regional competition and get a great look at the course. It's been a few years since we had a regional meet at Wayne but its great to have the regional competition so close to home. I called and checked with Wayne State head Coach Marlin Brink and as soon as they have the regional web site up and running I'll post the information. The forecast for this weekend looks like a chilly 35 degrees for the high and is also calling for some AM snow showers. Should make for an interesting race. 

Regional and National Polls

I hopped on the ustfccca.com web site last night to check on the latest national polls for both the men and the women. A quick look on the mens side shows a small shuffle at the top as Chico moved up from 4th to the 3rd spot. Both Adams and Western continue to hold the top spot. The most anticipated race to come in the next few weeks is going to be the RMAC championships. A thread over on Letsrun.com discusses the national poll and the upcoming RMAC race. Below is one posters analysis of the pre-season polls.

1. Adams State --Enough said. 2. Western State --With the arrival of new Foreigners and their solid returners they are going to be tough. 3. Chico State --They lose their front runner but always have a strong pack. 4. Colorado Mines --After a dismal performance last season they return their top 4, with the growing age of Mclain it could get interesting. 5. Grand Valley --Again they always field outstanding teams with outstanding Coaching 6. Alaska Ancourage --With the rumors of arriving foreigners and their leader Cheseto they will be a strong team this year. 7. Harding --Kirwa is their lead man and I predict him for the individual title, not too familiar with rest of team. 8. Queens --Crouch is an amazing front runner and will pull this team to a top ten finish. 9. Abilene Christian --This is the kicker. With their program in shambles from violations and the recent departure of Charles White they have 4 great runners, but it takes 5 to win. I predict them at 9 but they could be anywhere up to third. 10. Drury --Expect some surprises from this team. Zapatero was All American last season and their young team is maturing. 11. Edinboro --This team is always in the hunt but I don't think they will crack the top 10 this year. 12. U Mass Lowell --If I remember right they lose Sanca to graduation so they may be lacking a front runner. 13. Metro State --Since Julian has jumped ship and their loss of Tolentino, there have been rumors of many of the team members transferring to be with Julian. With the team splitting, its tough to see them doing much better than this, despite their excellent track season.

My biggest question is what is going on up in Mankato. At Griak Denise didn't look too great and other than Krasja the group as a whole looked very beatable. This past weekend they were beaten by Region #5 Nebraska Kearney at the SDSU classic. The Viking men were off this weekend but have the pre-regional this weekend and then the conference meet in Bemidji, MN two weeks after that. We'll know soon enough!


Women

After a great race out in Oregon the women moved back up the national polls. After the same race Chico State jumped clear into the first position. The Viking women ran in front of Chico for almost the entire race and just had a pack slip through our 2-6 runners right at the end which pushed us quite a way back in the scoring. In a larger much deeper field the results should be different. The question is where each team will be come nationals. All in all  there are five teams from the Central region in the top 14. The region looks very deep as both Western and Duluth, who are currently ranked lower in the national poll, should show up at the regional with very good teams.

All in a Days Work

Being a Viking

Being a member of the Augustana Track and Field program is wonderful thing. Today was looking through some of the pictures that we have taken as a group and just since late August we've already done so many things. There was the trip to the Black Hills to train. The Black Hills are in and of themselves beautiful but I think spending time running in different environments truly allows us to enjoy the change in scenery. Below is a shot of the guys on top of Harney Peak, the highest point in  South Dakota at just over 7,000 feet. It's also the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain. Either way you can see forever from up there.

Of course each time that you visit the black hills you have to make a stop at Mt. Rushmore. Not only is it on every license plate in the state it's also about the only thing I can get people from other parts of the United State to associate with our area.

The trip to the black hills was a treat for the kids from Norway. To top it off they managed to find a bit of home while they were on the road as well.

Of course we also spend time doing things for the community. We hosted the first water stop at the Sioux Falls half marathon/5k. For each of the past three years we have won best water stop. I think our enthusiasm and cheering really add to the atmosphere. This year we went with a western theme. The kids have fun with it and it's a great way to help the running community.

As a coaching staff we enjoy the new gear as much as the kids.

At the end of the day its great being a Viking. You can see it on every one's face. We work hard as a group and enjoy the success as a group.

Charles Bowles Invite in Oregon

Women Place 2nd in Strong Field

This past weekend the women hopped on a plane and headed out to the west coast for some non regional competition. The main competition for the lady Vikings was Chico State. Both teams have been ranked as high as third in the national polls and it showed in the race results. The women wore their white tops for this road trip so look for the white in the race videos!

Viking Finishers
7. Kyle Blakeslee – 17:54.73
9. Molly Clark – 18:02.55
32. Miriam Hovda – 18:26.89
35. Leah Hansen – 18:29.53
37. Jillian Tholen – 18:31.05
39. Alyssa Anderson – 18:32.05
41. Linn Nilsson – 18:32.43

You can see from the video of the start just how big the field was.

Women's Start at Charles Bowles Invite from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.
If you watch closely you can see just how close the girls are in the early part of the race. Freshman Leah Hansen was the Viking leading the group at this point of the race.

Women's Race pt 2 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.


Women's Race pt 3 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.


Women's Race pt 4 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.


Women's Race pt 5 from Jim Vahrenkamp on Vimeo.

Pictures

Of course before and after the race the girls found time to look around and have some fun. Which included mandatory time at the beach which included an attempt to get every one in the air at the same time. This also included posing on a track that ran in and out of the woods. And pointing out that maybe Coach Hellman needs to be a bit more careful when he parks the vans!