On November 22, six IJ athletes traveled to Augusta, Maine for the Junior Olympic XC Regionals. All had a good time and a rewarding experience. Then they topped it off with great performances. All executed their race plans well and had good times relative to the difficulty of the course, which was hilly and muddy.

     9 year old Caroline Fiordalisi started the day with a great performance. Caroline attacked the hilly course and despite having a fall, bounced back up, had a new best time by 12 seconds, and finished 26th in a field of 76. The top 20 qualify for Nationals and Caroline has one more year in this age group. She was 6th among the 9 year olds. You can bet on her goals for next year.

     7 year old Kelby Bishop-Scioli also did a great job. The hills are even more difficult for younger athletes and Kelby was within a few seconds of his best time. With this experience under his belt, and three more years in this age group, his future looks bright.

     In the 13-14 boys division, which this coach believes is the most difficult in USATF, Vinny Cicale, Matt Pozmanter, and Lloyd Webb all did a great job. Vinny improved his time by 40 seconds, and Matt by 46! Lloyd, while nursing a sore hamstring, was still close to his best.

     The best performance of the day came from James Burke who qualified for Nationals by finishing 2nd in the 11-12 division. James is growing so fast that his competition shoes were simply too tight and he had to run in trainers. He feels that was the difference between first and second, and he is looking for revenge at the Nationals in Reno, Nevada on December 12.

     Congratulations to all our IJ runners on an excellent Cross Country season.