By Christopher Hunt
It took a plane trip out to Illinois for Warwick Valley to see where they are as a team. What they discovered is that in a season were they are expecting a state championship, there is still work to be done.
The Wave finished seventh at the Richard Spring Classic in Peoria, Ill. Saturday in a race that included three nationally-ranked Illinois squads. No. 10-ranked Belvidere North (Ill.) won the team title, at Detweiller Park, the site of the Illinois state meet, with 102 points. No. 11 Oak Park River Forest was second with No. 14 York finishing third.
Warwick coach Mike Potter said the dead flat course suckered his team into a sprint at the start, something they would all pay for at the end.
“There was not one hill,” Potter said. “It was a speedway. It was like running at the Armory. Our guys were almost looking for that hill. I think that knowing there was no hill, they went out a little hard and went into oxygen debt early.”
Potter said the lead group, which his ace senior Tim Luthin followed, stormed through the first half mile around 2:08. Three of his top 7 had run personal bests at the 2-mile mark.
“It’s hard to go out that fast,” said Luthin, who finished 11th overall in 14:57 on the 3-mile course. “It’s early in the season. You’re doing 90-minute runs. It’s hard to get your legs to go that fast.”
They called the race a wake-up call. It was the reason that Potter took his team to the Midwest in the first place. Plus, it’s better to take your bruises early.
“I think we’ll rally from the ashes,” Luthin said. “This was a bit of a measuring stick for us. Now we know where we stand. Nothing is going to be handed to us. I think we know that now.”
Warwick posted a 62-second spread through its top 5 with a 15:29 average. Potter estimated that almost all of his men were around 20 seconds off of what he expected, especially Luthin, who said he started feeling sick at the midway point. The senior said the team now feels like there is something to prove Saturday at the team’s home meet, Wave Mania Invitational at Sandfordville Elementary School in Warwick. Most area meets will see some diluted competition because of the Green Mountain Invitational at Pawling, which gives teams an opportunity to preview the state meet course. Warwick’s top competition Saturday will be Don Bosco Prep, which dominated the Regis Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park last week.
“Potter said something to us about a snowball effect,” Luthin said. “I think we’ll get some momentum going and we’ll be fine.”
Road to the state meet: Fayetteville-Manlius and Shaker, other teams in contention for the Class AA state title this season, both sat out last week. North Rockland’s boys handily won their race at their home meet, the Red Raider Run at Anthony Wayne State Park. James Naglieri led the squad finishing first on the 3.1-mile course in 16:06.86. FM’s one dominant performance at the Chittenango Invitational Sept. 11 currently has the team ranked No. 18 nationally, according the Harrier Rankings. The team scored 19 points at that meet with a 63-second 5-man compression, led by Mark McGurrin (15:24.5) and Andrew Roache (15:29.5), who went 1-2.