It has been quite a busy couple of weeks since Halloween. Rubix had another three basketball games, on top of two swim meets and a soccer tournament. I will get into both of those later. Axel had his League Finals on Friday November 7th. Unfortunately, I was driving to Folsom with the R and P for the Folsom Classic Swim meet. Keith made sure to attend Axel's cross country meet.
Here is the start. Axel was able to get into good position right away.
He came up the hill leading the pack with three guys off the front (two from Menlo and one from Crystal).
Here he is cresting the hill.
Axel leading 4th -7th. Menlo is one of the strongest teams in the state with all 5 of their guys running sub 16:30 and their top three runners sub 16 minutes.
Axel raced a good race coming in 6th place at 6:14, 15 seconds off of his PR and a bunch better than his last race after being sick.
Sprint finish just a second off of 4th place.
Another view of the sprint finish.
Axel was pleased with his performance and felt like he would only be better for his next race, Sectionals (CCS), the following week. His team qualified for the 2nd year in a row which is a big step up from Harker not qualifying for CCS when Axel was a freshman. Instead a handful of kids, including Axel, qualified as individuals Axel's freshman year. This year was the first year that both the girls and boys teams qualified for CCS, which is also a big deal for the team and hopefully their future.
Robinson was Axel's co-captain, but spent the first half of the season injured and not running. I was lucky enough to continue to have Axel bug him and help him get back to running. He was way off of his personal best, but helped the team get to CCS. Robinson will be greatly missed next year as he ventures off to college.
I wasn't able to make the first game because I was at Axel's cross country meet and then Phoenix's swim practice, but I was able to make his second game.
Here are a few videos of him from his second game.
They managed to win their first two games (both at home), but lost their second two games (both away games). He doesn't have another game until after Thanksgiving break, so we will see if anything changes with playing time or learning how to rebound and become more of a defender.
I try to get Christmas shopping started in October and sometimes that means I end up giving a Christmas gift early to one of the kids. It was no different this year when I found a really nice tech suit for Rubix on sale and ended up giving it to him for the prelim / final swim meet at Folsom. I had planned to give it to him 10 days early for Age Group Champs, but I am a softy and felt like a new tech suit at this swim meet would help with confidence and results, which it did.
Rubix had a fantastic weekend with several new personal records. I have these on video below. The 100 Fly he went a blazing 106.49 in prelims and then dropped down to 106.35, placing him 11th in the country. The 500 free he dropped more than 12 seconds finishing in 5:45.20 and incredible time for a 9 year old. This puts him at 14th in the country for all 10 and under swimmers. The two other highlights for the weekend were the 200 free where he dropped a total of 5 seconds, finishing in 2:09.30, putting him now at 12th in the country and the 50 free he finished in 28.01, .6 seconds faster than the last time he swam it. Here is the 50 Free.
Phoenix also had a noteworthy weekend. Her 500 free she dropped to a 5:23.15, which is a AAA time for 13/14 girls. Her 100 back she dropped to a 1:02.32 finishing first in her heat and winning the final at night as well. Here is her prelim back stroke prelim race.
Other good drops were in her 200 free where she went 2:02.61. This time ranks her as the fastest 12 year old for Age Group Champs in December. This event being a strong suit is new to her, so we are both excited to see how much more she can improve this difficult event (not quite a sprint, although a sprint for her, and not quite a distance event).
Folsom Classic is extremely fun for the kids because they have the ready tent and the red carpet out for "A" Finalist, which is the top 10 qualifying swimmers. Here is Daddy giving Rubix a high 5 before his first final, the 100 fly.
Rubix's 100 Fly Finals walk out
Rubix enjoyed the hot shower in between races and after his warm up to stay warm before heading to the ready tent. Below you can view his 200 free walk out and final.
Here is a special picture of Daddy/ official helping Phoenix with the backstroke ledge. It is a bit of a rare occurrence to have Keith or myself now, officiating the lane that Phoenix or Rubix are in, but it was extra special for Phoenix to be seeded first in the 100 back and have her dad help her get ready for her race. Truly a moment I will always remember.
I did not include her final race because she PR'd in the morning, although this was, I believe, her first time that she was able to keep her first seed position and win in the final. She happens to be a better morning swimmer, where most girls, from what we have discovered are better "final" swimmers. My friend says it is due to hormones and that most females are faster in the evening because of this. I am hoping this was a big confidence booster for her and that she can become a better "final" swimmer, especially since she is ranked in the top 3 for all of her events for Age Group Champs this December.
The Folsom Classic also has relays. I was able to capture a picture of Rubix's relay. They were very excited because they beat the "B" relay from SCSC who were 11/12 year old boys in the 200 medley relay. They are just a second off of the SCSC record and they hope to break it in the spring before half of the team ages up to 11.
Axel had a last Santa Cruz practice the week before his WBAL final that I forgot to mention. The team drove down in 2 of the Harker vans, ran, ate lunch (and ice cream) and went to Natural Bridges. I think it is great how Coach Jorge is working in some team events to help them grow closer as a team. The unfortunate thing is not all of the varsity runners are able to make it due to other commitments.
This weekend was the Last Chance Meet Friday through Sunday, Axel's Sectional XC Meet and Rubix's soccer tournament. This was after a week of 2 basketball games a soccer practice and of course swim every day! I told Rubix, I don't think it is going to work out in the future to have 3 sports to play, even if it was only for 4 or 5 weeks, it was just too much!
Friday night was a great success for the kids. They came off a hard weekend of racing and then had another big day. Phoenix was testing out doing the 400 IM and the 500 Free in the same night back to back. She went into the 400 IM fresh this weekend and went a blazing 4:46.75, which is a 13/14 AAA time and puts her 15th in the country and just under 7 seconds from sectionals. After this amazing effort she still managed to finish the 500 in 5:25, just a couple of seconds off her PR.
Rubix did the same thing first swimming the 200 IM, dropping down to a 2:27.61, placing him 14th in the country! He then finished the 500 free in 5:51, which is still an excellent time for his age. He was a bit upset for adding 6 seconds from his time last week, but the point was to see if he can mentally and physically handle the big load for Age Group Champs. Both kids are ranked 2nd for these two events and I believe they have both decided to take on this task at Age groups.
The two highlights for Phoenix the rest of the meet were the 50 breast, which she hasn't swam in more than a year and the 200 back, which she has been struggling to get an accurate time. The 50 breast she finished in 34.42, more than 4 seconds faster than the last time she swam this and is a AAA time for 11/12 year old girls, a huge improvement from the BB time she previously had.
Here is Axel pre- race. Apparently, I was caught on camera too, in mid sentence.
The team warming up at the line. You can see Axel and Michael starting a stride.
Team cheer before the race begins.
Axel flexing his muscles before the race start. I love how relaxed he is and how much fun he has racing now.
Phoenix 50 Breast, Last Chance Meet
The 200 back was a bit of a saga again! She had a decent race and finished in 2:13.37. It displayed on the board and then for some reason this time was lost and 2:30 was put into the system. Since they knew she won the heat they put down the hand time, which was slower than her actual time (this rarely happens because the hand timer usually pushes the button later than the light flashes). So she ended up with a 2:14.08, which is not the end of the world. It is still a AAAA time, but not where she wants to be. It also changes her seed from 2nd to 3rd at AGC, but that shouldn't change the outcome.
Phoenix and I ended up leaving after these two events on Saturday to go home and get Axel. We were able to pick up Axel and get him to Hallmark Park at 11:45 am in time for his 1:30pm big race. Axel as ranked 5th in the Division 4 schools which would mean almost a guarantee ticket to the State XC meet.
And there off.......
The start was incredibly fast and Axel did not get a good position. He was 20 guys back from the lead guy.
You can see Axel make a huge effort in this video to bridge to the front of the pack.
Axel comfortably settled into the lead group of 4 up the hill.
The front guy took off again after the hill and now he was with two other guys in small group of 3. He was in the middle.
One guy must have bridged to his group of three because now Axel is 4th in his group trailing behind three runners plummeting down the hill.
Axel remains in 5th position, last in the group of 4 that he is with after Cardiac Hill.
He continues in 5th position until he is out of site after the 1K to go.
Some how, when he is out of site, another couple of kids were able to catch him and Axel had to work exceptionally hard to hold off them for 6th place. He finished in 16:06, just 6.5 seconds off of his personal best. He ran a hard good race. A race that should have guaranteed him a ticket to states, but for the first time in 30 years, according to his coach, all 5 top finishers were individuals and not apart of a qualifying team, which meant that Axel would not be going to the state championship meet. The 7th runner was the first finisher for Mills Academy and the first runner apart of a qualifying team, which meant that all of the medalist except, Axel would be going to States.
This was the first time in Harker history that two Harker kids finished in the top 10 and neither of them were going to States. Michael finished in 16:21, a time faster than the last two boys who went to states from Harker. Both Veyd and Robinson were 16:30 something and 16:41. Everyone was shocked that Axel would not be going.
Axel apparently face planted after the finish line as his left leg buckled when he was decelerating from his sprint.
He was, of course, in good spirits about it. He has a few scrapes and a bruised rib, but luckily, nothing was injured, per se. Phoenix was there right when he finished to congratulate him. I didn't see it until much later because I stayed to cheer on all of his teammates. I assumed when I saw Axel cross the line he was safe, boy was I shocked when I heard and saw what happened to him.
Good news for the girls, they finished 4th, just one spot away from qualifying for states as a team and our freshman Sophie finished 13th and qualified as the last individual girl runner. The Harker girls team also had the highest average GPA of all teams in division 4, hence the picture below of them receiving this award.
Phoenix grabbed Axel's glasses for the award ceremony like he asked for. DJ captured most of these pictures and he happen to catch this moment as well.
I love this photo!
Robinson congratulating Axel with a double high five!
DJ capturing a photo of us! Thanks DJ !
While Phoenix and I were at the swim meet and cheering on Axel at CCS, Keith and Rubix were at a soccer tournament. The Fog, their team were 10-0 for the season and the #1 ranked team going into the tournament. They had a very tough match for their first game and won 1-0. With rain in the forecast they were uncertain if their second game was going to happen, but the rain held off and they won their second game with ease. Keith and the kids were beyond ecstatic.
Here are the boys celebrating with their trophies!
One of Rubix's goals. There are a couple of moms who take videos of most of the game. I am very grateful to see some of the game through these videos.
The trophies that both Keith and Rubix are proud of. After 7 seasons, Keith now feels accomplished having won the soccer tournament after their first undefeated season! Job well done Szolushas and team!
Although it is bitter sweet that Axel doesn't get to go to states, he is excited about trying again next year and going for the school record which would be a 25 second drop from his current PR. We are excited to see family next week and have some down time. I hope to do a blog with our Pre-Thanksgiving get together as well as Thanksgiving time with family. Axel will have his XC banquet Dec. 5th and the kids will have their big swim meet the second weekend of December. I hope to write a blog for sure before Christmas, but I might be able to get in two blogs, one on the rest of November and a second on the beginning of December. Until then.... Happy Thanksgiving! I can't believe we are already in the Holiday Season!
No comments:
Post a Comment