Click here for the photo album of the 09-Dec-2014 WSMS Winter District Championship meet at Harry Myers Park in Rockwall TX. Photos are currently being processed and uploaded.
WSMS XC
Good Morning XC Parents/Athletes,
Well, our season has ended and it's been a great year! Our district meet was Tuesday in Rockwall and our kids were awesome.
- Team District Champs:
- 7th grade boys
- 8th grade boys
- Individual District Champs:
- 7th boys - Grant Gueller
- 7th girls - Reagan Matacale
- 8th boys - Cole Hinton
- 8th girls - Carson Hockersmith
Click here for the results for individual places/times and the team points/places. I am so proud of all the students. They have worked hard all season and we have had a great time.
Thank you to all the parents for your time and energy in supporting our season. Thanks to driving your kids to early morning practices, cheering them on at meets, and being there all season.
Celebration Breakfast:
Thank you to Mrs. Gueller for organizing this event. The kids ate well and enjoyed spending time together. Thanks to all the parents that provided food and paper goods for the breakfast. Thanks to Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Brookhart, Mrs. Rouse, and Mrs. Gueller for serving the students. There was a platter left over (image below). If this is yours, please see Mrs. Vik in the front office.
Upcoming Schedule:
- Thurs, Dec 11th-1st period will workout at 8:55 and 8th period will workout at 8th period.
- Fri, Dec 12th-Transition meeting in the AUX gym. All athletes will report during their athletic period.
-Late winter sports: basketball, wrestling, tennis, swimming, or off season-
- Mon, Dec 15th-1st period will workout at 8:55. 8th period exam 2:10-4:00 Girls-cafe for study hall and boys TBD (please see locker room door for details about location and activity).
- Tues, Dec 16th-1st period exam 8:55-10:45 all 1st period athletes will have study hall in the cafe. 8th period will have study hall in the cafe during 8th period.
- Fri, Dec 19th-1st period 10:38-12:20 girls will meet in the AUX gym and boys in the Main gym.
***Current basketball players will continue to workout. Please refer to the basketball coaches schedule for specific workout days/times.***
Donation Square Envelopes:
Please continue to turn these in to the office. This is a very important fund-raiser for track/xc sweats for our athletes. Thank you to the many of you that have returned your envelopes!
See you for track season!
Coach Jungmann
Click here for the photo album of the 02-Dec-2014 WSMS meet at Celebration Park. All photos have been uploaded.
WSMS XC
Good Afternoon WSMS Parents/Athletes,
Yesterday was our meet at Celebration Park and it was a great day! Our athletes did an wonderful job on the course. For the first time this season, we took 1st in all four individual races:
- 7th boy-Grant Guellar
- 7th girl-Reagan Matacale
- 8th boy-Cole Hinton
- 8th girl-Carson Hockersmith
[results]
Grant knew that Trevor's goal was to stay on his shoulder and try to out run him at the finish, so Grant was focused on staying in the lead the whole race. This is Grant's third win out of three races. Reagan, well, she's Reagan! This is Reagan's second win out of her last two races. Cole is a natural runner and he leads from the start. This is Cole's third win out of three races. Carson finally beat Gretta! That has been her goal from the start of the winter season. There were many others that had great races. The kids train hard, they race hard, they have tons of fun, but I saw something I've never seen in middle school racing and it happened two times ... Ryan Talmage took the last turn to the finish line and I noticed he wasn't wearing his shoes ... then less that 30 seconds later here comes Brennan Dunleavy without his shoes. If you need to kick off your shoes during a race, then Celebration Park is the place to do it!
From Misty Guellar:
The booster club would like to host a breakfast to celebrate our XC season. Our middle school runners have had a long, successful season since August 26th and it's time to party. Parents that are willing to help out have been asked to click on the link below.
Our celebration breakfast for the athletes will be Wednesday, December 10th 7:30-8 in the WS cafeteria. Thanks in advance for supporting this event.
Next Meet-District Meet:
Our final meet is next Tuesday, December 9th in Rockwall at Harry Myers Park. The times have been adjusted because of the sun setting earlier.
- 4:00 7th boys
- 4:15 7th girls
- 4:30 8th boys
- 4:45 8th girls
I'll send out more meet information on Monday.
Thanks for our support!
Coach Jungmann
WSMS XC
Good Morning WS Parents/Athletes,
On Tuesday, we competed in Rockwall and I was so proud of all the athletes. We train them to run, but we also teach them how to warm up, when to warm up, expectations for the meet, and how to compete with character. I feel all athletes met our expectations and they represented Lovejoy well. Many of the athletes were surprised by other athletes pushing them in the forest path of the course. That was a teachable moment for me to explain that great character shines through when no one is looking. Click here for the results from the meet.
Team Results:
- 7th girls-1st place
- 7th boys-1st place
- 8th girls-2nd place
- 8th boys-1st place
Workouts over the Thanksgiving Break:
Please encourage your child to get outside and workout during the week. They have trained for many months and they need to keep progressing.
- Mon-Long run (30-45 mins)
- Tues-Recovery run (25-30 mins)
- Weds-Speed work. 6x200's with a 100 walk.
If a track isn't available: Run hard for 30 seconds and walk 1 minute, repeat 5 more times. - Thurs-Recovery run (25-30 mins)
- Fri-Tempo Run (25-30 mins)
Donation Squares Due:
Our fund-raising donation square envelopes are due tomorrow. Carey Tiff will be here at our 7:30 meeting to collect the envelopes. Please remind your child to raise $75. The money will be used to buy sweats for our track and cross country teams.
Next Meet:
Our next meet is Tuesday, Dec 2nd at Celebration Park.
Have a safe Thanksgiving Week,
Coach Jungmann
WSMS XC
Good Afternoon WSMS Parents/Athletes,
This past Saturday was our 1st time to enter a high school 5k race. Coach C talked to our runners about race strategy before we left for the meet. Adding that extra mile isn't easy, but our runners did a great job of holding on and finishing their race.
Reagan Matacale, 7th grader, finished 2nd in the JV division. She didn't know what to expect, but she gave it her all. Before the race, I told Reagan I wanted to see her in the top 5. She laughed and said, "how about top 20". She's a competitor! Carson Hockersmith has been in volleyball mode this semester and she ran an impressive race. All of our WS runners did a super job of racing their 5k. I'm proud of all of them.
Workouts Now Through October 30th:
We will only meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7:30. This will give our athletes time to sleep in, attend tutoring, or get work done three days a week. Please encourage your son/daughter to run 5 days a week.
1st period athletes-They will continue to meet Coach Kelly for during the period workouts on Monday-Friday. 1st period athletes will still be given time to shower and get ready for their school day.
8th period athletes-They will continue to meet with me for our during the period workouts.
November 3rd: we will begin our 5 days a week running at 7:30. This will continue from November 3rd-December 10th.
Picture Day, Wednesday, October 15th: Tomorrow:
All XC athletes are invited to meet in the cafeteria at 7:30 for our cross country pictures. We will distribute uniforms for the pictures. Order forms are attached if you would like to order pictures. Please bring the order form and your check in the morning.
1st period athletes WILL have during the period workout with Coach Kelly after the pictures.
Basketball Off Season:
Basketball off season began today for athletes interested in trying out for the basketball
team.
- 8th grade girls: will meet 1st period to work on basketball skills with Coach Boxell. Please report to the AUX gym for 1st period.
- 8th grade boys: will meet 8th period to work on basketball skills with Coach Kauffman. Please report to the hallway with XC.
They are still welcome to join us at 7:30 on Tuesday/Thursday for our running workouts.We have been reminding our athletes that they can still participate in basketball and cross country. Please talk with your son/daughter about this transition. I've attached our winter meet schedule below.
Winter Cross Country Schedule:
- 11/11/2014 — Celebration Park (home meet)
- 11/18/2014 — Myers Park-Rockwall
- 12/2/2014 — Celebration Park (home meet)
- 12/9/2014 — Myers Park-Rockwall *District Meet*
XC Website:
Don't forget about our website for pictures, meet information, schedule, directions, interviews, LHS XC rankings, LHS XC district, regional, and state information.
This is from Carey Tiff:
Register you cards Kroger Cards
EVERYONE will need to do this AGAIN each September
It is a very simple process but will add good income to the booster club.
Please take the time to register your card and add our XC code to it.
- Go to: www.krogercommunityrewards.com
- Click on "Create an Account" or “Sign in” if you already have an account and follow the instructions.
- Our NPO number is 94850.
How do I know if my Kroger Plus Card is enrolled? Within 7 to 10 business days of successfully enrolling your Kroger Plus Card, you will see at the bottom of your Kroger receipt: “At your request, Kroger is donating to "LOVEJOY LEOPARDS CROSS COUNTRY?/TRACK BOOSTER CLUB."
Thanks for your support.
Coach Jungmann
WSMS XC
Good Morning WSMS XC Parents/Athletes,
Today was a stormy day at WS, so the athletes ran in the gym for 20 minutes. This past Saturday was our meet at Celina HS. Our WS runners had outstanding performances. The course was flat, which was great for our kids to set PR's.
Race Strategy:
talked to the athletes about their fastest mile time and that Saturday was the day to break that time. I explained that I would be standing at the mile marker and I was going to call out their split. Before the race, we discussed to double that time to get the estimated finish time. If the time was too slow, then the last mile was the chance to pick up the pace. If the time was fast, then stay strong and run strong. The last 400m was on the track and the runners knew to fight for their position and to catch the runner in front of them. I was standing at the 300m mark and the runners knew that meant it was time to sprint and give it their all.
I was so proud of the work that was accomplished on Saturday. Our WS athletes are amazing and they love a challenge!
Team Results.
Individual Results:
- 1st place Reagan Matacale
- 1st place Cole Hinton
- 2nd place Juliette Pages
Next Meet:
Our next meet is this Saturday at Arcadia Park in Keller. It will be a 5K high school race and our runners will run in the JV division. Coach C, Coach Kelly and I will let the runners know in the morning who is eligible to run in this meet. We can't take the whole team, so the top runners in each division (girls 7/8 and boys 7/8) will represent WSMS.
Next Week:
Our early morning training will only be on Tuesday and Thursday until the 1st week of November.
Picture Day:
Cross country pictures will be next Wednesday, October 15th at 7:30 in the cafeteria. Please have your child at school by 7:30 showered and ready for their day. We will distribute uniforms before pictures and collect them after. Click here for the order form.
Thanks to the booster club, Mr. Gueller, and Mrs. Ciletti for the water, Gatorade, and healthy snacks after our Celina meet. We couldn't do what we do without your support.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Coach Jungmann
Photos of Willow Springs Runners from Fall Festival
The photos of the Willow Springs runners from the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival have been published. Click here for the photo album. The marquee photos are below.
WSMS XC
Good Afternoon WSMS XC Parents/Athletes,
This past Saturday was our Lovejoy XC Fall Festival at Myers Park in McKinney. Coach Christensen did an outstanding job of organizing the meet. Our Lovejoy hs and ms xc parents spent many hours volunteering the day before the meet and at the meet. They were awesome! Thank you to all the volunteers for your time in setting up the course, running the meet, working the concession stand, bringing fruit/water/Gatorade, and for your encouraging words to all athletes.
Saturday was a huge success for our ms runners.
- Cole Hinton set a new personal best. Before the race, his goal was to go under 12:20 and he ran an impressive 11:47 for the gold.
- Boys Team = 1st place
- Girls Team = 1st place
The athletes were prepared for the course and they were thankful for their neighborhood hill training to help with the hills at Myers Park. I was proud of our runners and how they handled their race.
We will continue to work on our race strategy and focus on pacing during the entire course.
Race Results:
www.racechiptiming.com/files/lovejoyxc2014.htm
Uniforms:
Please remind your child to return their uniform by tomorrow. I'll wash them at SC.
Next Meet:
Our next meet is this coming Saturday, October 4th at Norbuck Park in Dallas. We will meet at the football stadium at LHS and return there as well. Our varsity team will travel to Arkansas with Coach C and Coach Kelly, so our JV team will travel with us to Norbuck Park. I'll send more details about the meet on Tuesday.
Thanks for your support,
Coach Jungmann
From Misty Gueller:
THANK YOU very much for all of your help with the Lovejoy Fall Festival Meet. Parents that helped provide fruit snacks, water, and Gatorades; thank you tremendously for providing such a refreshing treat for all of the WSMS runners. It was a hot late morning to run on Saturday, so our athletes really appreciated it. A big thank you to the parents that helped us at the Concession Stand. The high school parents really appreciated being able to step away to watch their athletes run. Coach Christensen heard ALL good things about our home meet, so look for next year's meet to be bigger and better! We hope your runners and the spectators at your house enjoyed the Fall Festival as well.
Have a great day!
Misty Gueller
WSMS XC
Good Afternoon XC Parents/Athletes,
This morning the athletes ran a mile time trial. Click here for the times. Please read over them. It's great hearing the athletes discussing their times and to hear them say they set a new PR this morning. They worked hard this week in the neighborhood, on the track for speed/endurance work, and with the time trial today. We see progress each week!
Next Week:
There will not be an AM workout on Friday, Sept 26th. Coach C, Coach Kelly, and I will be at Myers Park getting the course ready for our Lovejoy Fall Festival race the next day. 1st period and 8th period athletic periods-students will meet Mr. Parker in the cafeteria for study hall.
Lovejoy Fall Festival at Myers Park:
Saturday, Sept 27th is our next meet. This meet will be a 2 mile race against other middle schools. All WSMS XC runners are invited to run in this meet. I will be asking the kids to let me know if they can run and I'm hoping to load up 2 buses and have a huge WS showing. Uniforms will be handed out Weds 8th period or Thurs 1st period (during the athletic period).
- Girls race at 10:00
- Boys race at 10:30
I'll send out more meet information on Tuesday.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great weekend,
Coach Jungmann
WSMS XC
Good Morning XC Parents/Athletes,
Our 1st middle school meet was this past Saturday at Myers Park in McKinney. Our kids were outstanding! All athletes represented Lovejoy well, on the course and off. I was so proud of all the athletes from the time we left WSMS to the time we arrived back. They demonstrated what it means to be a Leopard!
The athletes were excited and a bit nervous to run in their first meet of the season. In practice, they learned the "shake out" routine which is the pre-meet warm up. Collin Jones and Trey Reiners led the boys in their pre-meet warm up and they were great leaders. Jessie Maashio and Peyton Martin led the girls and they were awesome leaders as well.
The race strategy for the runners was to not start out too fast. I explained that most runners get super nervous and race out too hard and don't leave anything for the next 1.5 mile. So, a relaxed pace start and settle in to find their speed. Next, maintain their speed, hold their ground, and pick off the runners in front of them. The last half mile (the pond loop at Myer's Park) was the time to pick up the pace. The last 100 yards to the finish was all about the kick. Several WS runners were giving all they had at this point. Best quote of the day ... "Coach, you told me to pass the 2 runners in front of me and I passed 8!" That quote can summarize our 1st meet. The runners ran hard, competed well, and they are fired up about coming back to Myers Park.
I'm looking forward to our season and can't wait to see our runners set personal records and gain race knowledge from every meet.
Teams Results:
- Our girls team placed 4th out of 13 teams
- Our boys team placed 5th out of 12 teams
Top 10:
- 1st place overall boy – Cole Hinson: Cole ran a smart race and left it all on the course for all others to follow.
- 4th place overall girl – Reagan Matacale: Reagan's first experience of a cross country meet was positive and she was impressive.
Click here for all results.
A few of our athletes ran with someone else's bib name/number. So, please notice the name changes below:
- Matthew Poteet ran as Adam Bouafif
- Ryan Talmage ran as Joel Reeves
- Summer George ran as Carson Hockersmith
- Christina Thorpe ran as Kassidy Litchenburg
- Peyton Martin ran as Camille Morgello
Booster Club:
A HUGE thank you goes out to our booster club parents that brought fruit, Gatorade, and water to our meet. Thank you for taking care of our kids after the meet. I was telling Coach C that we had a post race party and we were the last team to leave the park. Thanks for creating a fun, safe environment for our kids to celebrate their successes of the day.
Uniforms:
Uniforms are due back by tomorrow. Please remind your son/daughter to turn in their uniform at our 7:30 team meeting. If clean, great! If not, no problem because I can wash the dirty ones at SC.
Grade:
Grades are due by Wednesday. I have told the kids to either print their grades or show me on their phone. They can do either of these before our 7:30 meeting.
Spirit Wear Gear:
Click here for the order form for Lovejoy XC gear. The deadline has past, but I will accept orders/checks until Wednesday. If you are ordering anything, please have your son/daughter turns these in to me at our 7:30 am meeting.
Next Meet:
Our next meet is Saturday, Sept 27th at Myers Park in McKinney. The Lovejoy HS XC team is the host of this meet and all WSMS XC athletes are invited to run in this meet.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for your support,
Coach Jungmann
Willow Springs MS at the McKinney Boyd Invitational
While the LHS harriers were racing in the Gerald Richey Invitational, the 7th and 8th graders from Willow Springs Middle School ran in the McKinney Boyd Invitational held at Myers Park in McKinney. The Springers had a great first run of the season with the boys finishing 5th out of 12 teams in a combined 7th/8th grade race, while the girls finished 4th out of 13 teams in their race. Two Leopards had especially outstanding performances: Cole Hinson finished 1st overall out of 278 runners in the boys race with a two-mile time of 12:54.59, while Reagan Matacale finished 4th overall out of 311 runners in the girls race with a time of 14:54.59.