2001 Results and Summary

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Excellent

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Aaron Zielinski
Spiritual Guru

"Team SeanConnery is a concept, not a team!" -The Guru 9/24/01

• Plainfield Quad: We ran a good opening meet. We did not pack it up as well as we should have due to some competition, but overall, everyone ran well for the first race of the year.
• Hinsdale Invite: Exceptional performances were put in by Jack Susin (MMT Award winner) and Sean Hardy (PP Award winner). Everyone else put in a solid run and we scored 48 points.
• Glenbard E. and W. Aurora (Home): The new home course did not hamper our racing, and we had a solid pack for most of the race. Unfortunately, we raced each other at the end (hindered Team SeanConnery) and did not finish together
• Peoria Woodruff Invite: We lost our focus in this race. Finishing third, this meet reminded us that we can and will lose if we do not mentally prepare and believe in ourselves! Despite our poor performance, Fenton and Lockport did not beat us by many points. Kirk DeBuck put in a solid performance, running a sub 16-minute time and earning the MMT Award. For finishing 2nd in the Open race, Eric Bernardi won the PP award.
• WWS Dual: This meet was canceled for respect of the World Trade Center disaster. May God Bless America and all those who lost their lives.
• Glenbard North/Home: This race went well. For at least 2.5 miles we had a solid pack of runners together. Unfortunately, the spirit of competition kicked in when a Glenbard runner passed our pack. We broke up, and Jack Susin WON the race, out-kicking Kirk DeBuck in a fantastic finish.
• DuPage County: In our best invite of the year to date, we won the meet with 53 points. Glenbard South was not running at full strength, missing their #1 and #5 runners, which slightly lessened our victory. Sean Hardy ran excellently, winning the MMT award. Brendan Lutz won the PP award for his brilliant performance.
• Naperville N./Wheaton N.: In our last Tuesday meet of the year, we finally ran it how we wanted to. Keeping a solid pack throughout the race, we swept the first six places with the same time.
• Crete-Monee Pow-Wow: The 33th Pow-Wow went very well. As a team, we placed second to a strong Crystal Lake Central Team, 14-26. Individual Flight winners were Erik Lentzkow in the seventh flight and Jack "the snake" Susin in the third flight. Second places were earned by Alan Bernardi in the sixth flight and Andy Gush in the fifth flight. Our score of 26 points is the second best that Coach Cyr has ever had at the Powwow The MMT award goes to Erik Lentzkow for winning his flight. There was no PP award winner at this meet, because everyone ran in their own race.
• West Aurora Stampede: Another solid performance by the team at all levels. Both the JV and the Varsity Team won, although both teams were hampered by Jack's absence, caused by a hamstring injury. Everyone stepped it up a notch, and Eric Bernardi made his debut on the Varsity Team. The PP award goes to Will Gommel for breaking through and asserting himself as the team's tenth man. The MMT award was given to Sean Hardy for once again proving that he can run with the best in the state. A special mention must be given to The Official Spiritual Guru, Aaron Zielinksi. Despite being forced to stop due to a reoccurring hip injury, Aaron finished the race, bringing freshman Greg Josken along with him. Greg's time improved dramatically, and Aaron reasserted himself as the team's true Spiritual Guru.
• DVC: We placed 2nd at the DVC Championships, losing the title to Naperville North for a second year in a row. No one ran exceptionally, and Kirk DeBuck did not finish. Hopefully next week we can show what we are truly capable of. No MMT or PP awards were given at this meet because we forgot to award them. Maybe this was part of the problem.
• Hinsdale South Regional: Another disastrous meet. Revisiting the course for the first invite of the year, everyone turned in slower times and we finished 4th, behind Lockport, Naperville North, and Neuqua Valley. Jack Susin pulled out of the race after the mile with an injured calf muscle. Sean Hardy got tripped after the mile, Dan Rickert was still recovering from anemia, and Kirk DeBuck and Andy Gush were both "down with the sickness." Once again, the MMT and the PP awards were forgotten.
• Rich East Sectional: Finally a good race after two weeks of bad luck. We placed 3rd, behind Carl Sandburg and Naperville North. Jack did not run again, letting his calf muscle recover. Mad props go out to Dan Rickert and Sean Hardy for finishing in the top ten in the brutally muddy race. Also, congratulations to the girls team for earning a trip down State. In "Xtreme XC" conditions, quite a few awards were given. Erik Lentzkow earned the PP award for falling and getting back up to finish the race strongly. Dan Rickert earned the MMT award for showing his true runnning "mad flava" with a top ten finish. Andy Gush was given the BSYT (Braveheart Slit Your Throat) award, inspired by the viewing of Braveheart the previous night, for having the muddiest racing top.

The MMT Award: The MMT award is officially the "Mo' Money Thug Award." The first time this award was ever given was at the 2001 Hornet Invite. This prestigious award is only given at invites for an exceptional improvement in time. It is granted to someone who decides to be a thug when they wake up the day of the meet, and then carries through on that decision by improving dramatically.

The PP Award: Officially the "Po' Pimpin' Award," this is granted to someone who disrupts the team pecking order. PP award winners keep everyone on their toes, because the team structure is not set in stone. Runners with desire and/or hard work can move up the team ladder, especially in a team as deep as our 2001 team. The award can also be given for other notable achievements.