Team Effort Propels Raiders

Coaches Corner

Raider(s) Of The Meet

The Raider(s) Of The Meet award will be given to those athletes that through their performances, caught the attention of the Coaches.  This week, the Coaches have selected The Glenbard South Girls’ Track Team as our Raiders Of The Meet.  Congratulations!

St. Charles North Invitational

I prefer being the underdog.  No one expects anything from us.  No one but us!  On Saturday, we took our AAA mentality and took it to the AAA schools.  We need to think and perform like the big schools if we want to play with the "Big Girls."  Not knowing what to expect coming off of spring break, this was the first time this season I felt we really put it together.  Some of us had off-days, and that happens.  What was great is we picked each other up and made sacrifices for the team.  Thank you!  Samantha Howard came up huge for us crushing the competition in the Discus, shattering her own school record. Awesome! I want to acknowledge Taylor Ray for her big day. Taylor ran 6 races, made the finals in 2 Varsity open events, and helped out our JV Relays.  Great effort Taylor.  Let's also give props to Becca Sippel who has decided to run fast BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR!  I'm thinking there are big things ahead for you.  A shout out goes out to Erin Marcuccilli and Dana Scholtens who decided to step up and fill some 400 Dash spots.  Thanks for gutting those out.  Sarah Johnson, Monica Byrne, Bailey Reese, Katelyn Hill, Kasia Gniatczyk, Erica Mote, Elizabeth Niedert, and Tierra Wilson all pitched in with significant performances.  What a day!

The Webb Wire- Competing well in adverse conditions takes a certain mentality. If you are like the majority of kids and get discouraged by cold temperatures and high winds, then you may have already lost to the kid who says: "Everybody else hates this weather. I love it. Advantage: ME!" I challenge you, Lady Raiders, to be the team who loves competing in crappy weather. I guarantee you will love the results that follow. Bad weather cannot be an excuse for a poor performance. It might account for a slower time, but it should never affect your ability to compete. Having said that, I thought we, as a team, had a really nice day at St. Charles North. From the distance group, some performances that stood out included Erica Mote running 12:48 in the JV 3200, Monica Byrne coming back in the open 400 to place 5th and running 1:06 after she faded in the Varsity 3200. Diane Lipa, after looking uninspired in the 4x800, came back to take 3rd in the Varsity 1600 and running 5:40.  Caroline Arlasky and Katie Obendorf both raced well in the JV 4x800 and 1600. While they might think they ran "slow", they both competed and scored in both races. Elizabeth Niedert led off with a strong 2:36 in the 4x800, but suffered from having to lead the first two laps of the Varsity 1600 and couldn't hold on. And Becca Sippel was extremely impressive in her first 3200 race ever, running 12:13 to place 3rd. She then filled in on the JV 4x400 relay and ran her best 400 split ever, anchoring the squad to victory in 1:07. Looking forward to two meets this upcoming week.

Tacchi Talk - Flashing back to the beginning of the week, I thought that there would be no way we would be ready for Saturday!  After a tough week of practice we put it all together at our first outdoor meet of the year.  I'm convinced that Kasia Gniatczyk was asleep for her previous 3 years but she woke up just in time to help our relays.  Jasmine Curry had a career day in her legs of the 4 X 200 and 4 X 400.  I'm not sure what else I can say about (Bailey "The Beast" Reese) Bailey Reese or (Katelyn "Grandmama" Hill) Katelyn Hill, but these 2 girls came to play.  Throw in the names of Taylor Blohm Bivins, Ivana Markovic, Rachel Woods, Reganne Schihl, Becca Everhart, Taylor Ray, Sarah Johnson, and Cydney Tovian who had highlights of their own and watch out world.  Adey Ali, Khalia Miles made the trip and got their first taste of big meet experience.  Once again Nicole Jordan stepped in on a relay but not until after she placed in the High Jump for us.  Theresa Scheet returned to form vaulting 9' after being sick most of the week and Kate Rumel could be scarry good as she learns to pole vault.  Overall, a fantastic team effort.

The Crissey Chronicles - I don’t know about you but I’m so pumped that outdoor season is finally underway.  It’s unbelievable that in just over a month we will be defending our sectional crown, and then on our way to Charleston for the state meet.  If Saturday’s meet is of any indication to what we can expect from the throwers, then I am really excited.  Samantha Howard had a strong showing in shot put by finishing third.  Her mark in shot was 35-8.  In the discus, Samantha set the tone early by tossing the disc 136-2.  With that mark she broke the school record again and set a new PR.  Lastly, that mark should catapult her to nearly the top of any leaderboard.  Tierra Wilson’s first attempt in the discus was 114-feet.  That is just few feet from her PR.  Last season at this meet, Tierra had only thrown 98-feet.  Great start, ladies.  Congratulations to Poli Kresto, Shaziah Bullock, Teya Boykin, and Lauren Taylor on winning this week’s throw-off and competing in their first outdoor invitational meet of the season. 

Points To Ponder   -   "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."   - JFK

This Weeks Focus - is on our Seniors.  When you get a chance this week, thank our Seniors for their service, committment, and leadership.

Team Building - It's Senior night on Friday!  Don't put off any studying or projects to the last moment. We want perfect attendance for Friday Night!