FORMER COACH PHIL CROSBY RETURNS TO LINCOLN FIELD FOR ANNUAL ALUMNI RACE
Meet Information
12th Annual Post-Thanksgiving 5K "Alumni Race"
November 29, 2019
Lincoln Field - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - In the words of Brigitte Steines, mother of one of the Lexington Girls Cross Country's finest, LHS's annual Alumni Race is “not your average turkey trot.” In addition to the challenging course this year's edition of the Alumni Race featured Phil Crosby, former cross country coach of 37 years, serving as the honorary starter. Prior to the race Crosby addressed the field of runners, both expressing gratitude for being invited back to Lincoln Field, while also reflecting on how times have changed since he took the job in 1970. At that time there was no girls XC in Lexington, but Crosby said he would only take the job if girls would be allowed to compete on his team. Crosby stated that looking back on his time at LHS, his insistence on having a girls team and seeing it develop into the powerhouse it is today was the accomplishment of which he was most proud.
"Runner on the Course" - Izzy Jakimczyk
The race began promptly at 9:00am Eastern Standard Time. After being declined access to a firearm, which is the Lexington way, Coach Crosby sent off the runners with a ceremonial whistle. Tweet! The runners were off and fighting for good position right off the line, but, about ten seconds after the whistle blew Rishi Gollerkeri (19') finished his registration and joined the race; putting on his number while attempting to catch up. Not to worry, Rishi gained ground quite quickly and made it seem as though he had purposefully given others a head start.
As the runners headed up Loring, a few asked if there had been a ski lift installed yet before proceeding to chug up the mountain. The pack had already separated a bit and there were some clear front runners. On the first go round, Thomas Lingard (18') was just sitting and kicking in an attempt to keep all the spectators on their toes. Lance Clafflin (10') was hot on his heels, with Eli Gappleberg (19') not far behind. As he ran by I politely suggested that if he took out his earing that he would be more aerodynamic. But, Eli didn’t listen to my very helpful advice and in turn did not take home the gold. In the end Lingard cruised to his second consecutive victory in a time of 17:31. Clafflin was second in 17:41, and given the award for first male alumni finisher. Also defending their Alumni Race title was former Arlington High School coach Linnea Laverty. We expect both to be back next year as they will be eyeing a three-peat. In contrast to the leaders Jack Mitchell (18') and Jeb Jacob (19') came barreling down Baskin at a relaxed clip. While they claimed to be sitting and kicking, they seemed to be doing more sitting than kicking, but that’s up for interpretation I guess.
In the unofficial daddy daughter division of this year's Alumni Race there were two unstoppable pairs competing for the title. The crown ended up going to the Gordon duo of John and Kayla who ran a solid race and proved that kids could run with their parents and actually enjoy it sometimes. But, that’s not to say that the Siu-Zmuidzinas tandem did not put down a great time. Word on the grapevine is that it was PR season for Peter Zmuidzinas, as Isabel S-Z paced him to a personal best by more than 3 minutes! A pair of LHS alumni, Chase Sortor (19') and Anna "Coleslaw" Kohlasch (18') claimed to have jogged the course but still ran it faster than I think I might have ran all season; they two crossed the line in 24:35 and 24:36 respectively. For Anna, her time was fast enough to claim the the first female alumni finisher prize. In the Mommy division, it was made clear where Lexington’s current runners get their speed from. Although Pauline’s mom made it seem as though she wasn’t thoroughly enjoying herself the entire race, from what I could tell she was on track to beat Pauline’s PR the entire race. On Mrs. Steines heels came none other than Mrs. Benson, mother of another Lexington Legacy. They finished almost right together and really left it all out there on the course. As a spectator of this years Alumni Race, I can really say that it was a joy to watch everyone get out there and burn off some of the Thanksgiving turkey. It was great to see all the alumni get the wheels rolling again and give it another go on our beautiful, wonderful, lovely, amazing course! Happy Holidays and see you all at next years Alumni Race.
12th Annual Post-Thanksgiving 5K "Alumni Race"
November 29, 2019
Lincoln Field - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - In the words of Brigitte Steines, mother of one of the Lexington Girls Cross Country's finest, LHS's annual Alumni Race is “not your average turkey trot.” In addition to the challenging course this year's edition of the Alumni Race featured Phil Crosby, former cross country coach of 37 years, serving as the honorary starter. Prior to the race Crosby addressed the field of runners, both expressing gratitude for being invited back to Lincoln Field, while also reflecting on how times have changed since he took the job in 1970. At that time there was no girls XC in Lexington, but Crosby said he would only take the job if girls would be allowed to compete on his team. Crosby stated that looking back on his time at LHS, his insistence on having a girls team and seeing it develop into the powerhouse it is today was the accomplishment of which he was most proud.
"Runner on the Course" - Izzy Jakimczyk
The race began promptly at 9:00am Eastern Standard Time. After being declined access to a firearm, which is the Lexington way, Coach Crosby sent off the runners with a ceremonial whistle. Tweet! The runners were off and fighting for good position right off the line, but, about ten seconds after the whistle blew Rishi Gollerkeri (19') finished his registration and joined the race; putting on his number while attempting to catch up. Not to worry, Rishi gained ground quite quickly and made it seem as though he had purposefully given others a head start.
As the runners headed up Loring, a few asked if there had been a ski lift installed yet before proceeding to chug up the mountain. The pack had already separated a bit and there were some clear front runners. On the first go round, Thomas Lingard (18') was just sitting and kicking in an attempt to keep all the spectators on their toes. Lance Clafflin (10') was hot on his heels, with Eli Gappleberg (19') not far behind. As he ran by I politely suggested that if he took out his earing that he would be more aerodynamic. But, Eli didn’t listen to my very helpful advice and in turn did not take home the gold. In the end Lingard cruised to his second consecutive victory in a time of 17:31. Clafflin was second in 17:41, and given the award for first male alumni finisher. Also defending their Alumni Race title was former Arlington High School coach Linnea Laverty. We expect both to be back next year as they will be eyeing a three-peat. In contrast to the leaders Jack Mitchell (18') and Jeb Jacob (19') came barreling down Baskin at a relaxed clip. While they claimed to be sitting and kicking, they seemed to be doing more sitting than kicking, but that’s up for interpretation I guess.
In the unofficial daddy daughter division of this year's Alumni Race there were two unstoppable pairs competing for the title. The crown ended up going to the Gordon duo of John and Kayla who ran a solid race and proved that kids could run with their parents and actually enjoy it sometimes. But, that’s not to say that the Siu-Zmuidzinas tandem did not put down a great time. Word on the grapevine is that it was PR season for Peter Zmuidzinas, as Isabel S-Z paced him to a personal best by more than 3 minutes! A pair of LHS alumni, Chase Sortor (19') and Anna "Coleslaw" Kohlasch (18') claimed to have jogged the course but still ran it faster than I think I might have ran all season; they two crossed the line in 24:35 and 24:36 respectively. For Anna, her time was fast enough to claim the the first female alumni finisher prize. In the Mommy division, it was made clear where Lexington’s current runners get their speed from. Although Pauline’s mom made it seem as though she wasn’t thoroughly enjoying herself the entire race, from what I could tell she was on track to beat Pauline’s PR the entire race. On Mrs. Steines heels came none other than Mrs. Benson, mother of another Lexington Legacy. They finished almost right together and really left it all out there on the course. As a spectator of this years Alumni Race, I can really say that it was a joy to watch everyone get out there and burn off some of the Thanksgiving turkey. It was great to see all the alumni get the wheels rolling again and give it another go on our beautiful, wonderful, lovely, amazing course! Happy Holidays and see you all at next years Alumni Race.