Flo50 Girls Team Rankings Countdown

8. 

Experience and veteran leadership may lead to great opportunity for Mountain Vista (Colorado) High in 2017. The program finished 13th at NXN last year after finishing first at the NXN Southwest Region and they return five of six runners from 2016. With many of Jonathan Dalby's athletes having quality track seasons,  he expects the team to run well in the fall. Not one to make much of expectations, he still knows there's much promise with this team and it could challenge for yet another bid to NXN in December -- if not a major improvement on their team finish from a year ago. 

Probable Top Seven
  • Sarah O'Sullivan, sophomore: Finished second at league, fourth at region 5A and 11th at state before posting a season PB of 18:17.00 at the 5K at NXNR Southwest, where she finished 15th. She was 95th at NXN. 
  • Jenna Fitzsimmons, sophomore:  She finished fourth at league, second at region 5A and was fifth at state. She finished 20th at regions, posting a season PB of 18:22.00, and was 68th at NXN. She also ran 16:56.70 for 3-miles at Woodbridge. 
  • Caroline Eck, junior: She was fifth at league, first at region 5A and eight at state, posting a time of 19:10.08. She ran a season PB of 18:36.00 at NXNR Southwest, finishing 23rd, and was 116th at NXN. 
  • Julia Chambers, junior: She was second at league, 10th at region 5A in a season PB of 19:11.13 and 31st at state. 
  • Zoe Simmons, junior: She ran a season PB of 19:13.00 at NXN Southwest.
  • Allie Chipman, senior: She ran a season PB of 19:18.00 at NXNR Southwest. 
  • Rebecca Walton, senior: She ran a career PB of 19:23.00 at NXNR Southwest. 
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Mountain Vista (Colorado) head coach Jonathan Dalby answered a few questions about his upcoming season. See his answers below. 

How long have you coached at your school? 
Coach Eric Selle and I have been co-head coaches together for the past 11 seasons at Mountain Vista High School in Colorado. 

What is your meet schedule this fall?
  • Aug. 25: Vista Nation XC 2-Mile Invitational
  • Sept. 1: Arapahoe Warrior Invitational
  • Sept. 8: Liberty Bell Invitational
  • Sept. 16: Rock Canyon XC Invitational
  • Dave Sanders Invitational
  • Sept. 23: Pat Patten Invitational
  • Oct. 5: Doherty Spartan Cross Country Invitational
  • Oct. 11: Continental League Championships
  • Oct. 19: 5A Region 5 Championships
  • Oct. 28: Colorado State XC Championships
  • Oct. 16: NXR Southwest 
Our younger kids that need race experience will run most of the regular season meets. Our more experienced athletes will race closer to six or seven times from August through November.

How has your summer training gone for your team? What do you focus on during the summer months?
We mostly tailor our plan on building an aerobic base of miles (daily runs, long runs, tempos), while trying to develop our turnover (strides and short hill sprints). The kids have been very consistent, motivated and coachable this summer. 

Our main focus this year has been taking things a day at a time and following the (our) process to accomplish our team goals. This includes our daily runs and taking care of the little things, such as sleep, nutrition and hydration.

Which athletes do you see as the probable top five this season?
It's tough to say. Our depth is one of our greatest strengths and the end of the season is a long ways out. Every year there are always athletes that put in the work during track and over the summer sometimes that surprises us and them once we start racing. 

Who are your team captains or leaders and what stands out about them as examples for the rest of their teammates?
We expect every student-athlete on the team be a leader in some capacity, regardless of their age and athletic ability. Our seniors are the corps of our leadership each year, and they are the ones that set the tone for practice every day. Seniors like Becca Walton and Michael Shockley have done an excellent job keeping our upperclassmen on track. They also help teach our younger runners what it looks like to be successful. 

Who are some new faces who will make an impact on your team this year? (i.e. freshmen, transfers, runners who have improved a lot)
We have a great group of hardworking freshmen this season. MaKenna Anderson and Ethan Rouse both stand out as athletes that have made big improvements this summer -- through hard work and dedication to the team. 

Picking up coach Angie Lowell as a teacher and coach from Bear Creek High School has made an immediate impact for us already as well. She is really great with our kids, an awesome teacher and has a unique enthusiasm for the sport. 

What are some staple workouts your team does during the season?
We don't do anything too fancy. We look at tempo efforts between 15 to 25 mins, long runs and 5K race efforts, such as 6x800, 4x1200, 3x1600. 

One of our favorite workouts is our end of the summer annual run to Denver. It is a 10 to 11 mile run along the Mary Carter Greenway trail from Littleton to Denver. Afterward, we go eat breakfast burritos together as a team and then take the Light Rail back home. 
What will be the biggest reason why your team is successful this season?
If the team carries the momentum they have generated over the summer months into the season, they will be successful. It's a lot of fun to go to practice everyday and watch the kids run for something bigger than themselves. If they keep that attitude all season, they will see a lot of success in the fall. 

What will be the biggest obstacle or challenge facing your team this season?
Colorado has some really great teams that always bring out the best in us. On the girls side, I would expect to see my good friend Greg Weich's team at Broomfield to have another outstanding season. Keep an eye out for Rob Parish's team at Battle Mountain, too, and Kim McConnell's crew at Peak-to-Peak as well. 

How would you describe your team's culture?
Our team culture has always been our greatest asset. We emphasize that everyone plays an important part in our success, from the 15-min 5K runner to the 35-min 5K runner. 

Our parents have been an outstanding support system for us as well. They consistently go above and beyond to help our athletes achieve their team goals. Our parents are always help out at our meets and sport their bright green Vista Nation XC shirts, cheering loudly as part of the team. It makes for a really great atmosphere at races!

What are your top three goals for the team this fall?
Our goals tend to be more process focussed and doing the necessary day-to-day things are what we focus on as we try to be our best throughout the entire season. If the kids continue to remain consistent, and run for each other then they will have a great opportunity to be successful at our League meet, state, NXR Southwest, and hopefully NXN. 

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Top Returning 5K Times From The 2016 XC Season

AVERAGEMountain Vista High School (CO)
18:17.00
18:22.00
3) Caroline Eck18:36.00
19:11.13
19:13.00
Average Time: 18:43.83 Total Time: 1:33:39.13 1-5 Split: 56.00
19:18.00
19:23.00

Top Returning 1600m Times From The 2017 Outdoor Track Season

AVERAGEMountain Vista High School (CO)
1) Caroline Eck5:07.15
5:07.71
5:07.92
5:24.96
5:27.41
Average Time: 5:15.03 Total Time: 26:15.15 1-5 Split: 20.26
5:28.26
5:32.28

Top Returning 3200m Times From The 2017 Outdoor Track Season

5Mountain Vista High School (CO)
10:54.97
2) Caroline Eck11:06.42
11:10.01
11:25.55
11:27.62
Average Time: 11:12.91 Total Time: 56:04.57 1-5 Split: 32.65
11:40.35
11:58.60
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Flo50 Rankings Timetable
Aug. 19

25 -- Pine Crest, FL

Aug. 22

10 -- Centerville, OH

Aug. 19

24 -- Riverside, SC

Aug. 23

9 -- Great Oak, CA

Aug. 19

23 -- Palos Verdes, CA

Aug. 24

8 --  Mountain Vista, CO

Aug. 19

22 -- Bozeman, MT

Aug. 25

7 -- Jesuit, OR

Aug. 19

21 -- Billings, MT

Aug. 26

6 -- Davis, CA

Aug. 20

20 -- North Rockland, NY

Aug. 27

5 -- Buchanan, CA

Aug. 20

19 -- Saratoga Springs, NY

Aug. 284
Aug. 20

18 -- Fort Wayne Carroll, IN

Aug. 293
Aug. 20

17 -- Mountain View, ID

Aug. 302
Aug. 20

16 -- Naperville North, IL

Aug. 311
Aug. 21

15 -- Blacksburg, VA

Sept. 1Final Rankings
Aug. 21

14 -- Cardinal Gibbons, NC

Aug. 21

13 -- Johnston, IA

Aug. 21

12 -- Edina, MN

Aug. 21

11 -- Carmel, IN