St. Joseph's Academy Looks To Continue Success in 2021

* St. Joseph's Academy athletes receiving awards at the Episcopal Round Table Run.

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The Quick Facts:

How long have you coached (overall/at your school)?

What does your team's meet schedule look like this year?

Meets as we were able to split the team and compete in different Meets on the same weekend on two occasions. We hope to do that at least once this season. What will be some of your bigger races?

What was one important moment over the summer with your team and why?

What's the focus on training over the summer for the varsity squad?

Primarily re-acclimatization to the LA heat and humidity, as well as moving from running hard on the track to running hard on grass. The training component just is what it is. Our focus is a healthy balance of a steady increase in volume over intensity.

Which athletes do you see as a probable five/top seven this season?

It's still too early for me to narrow it down. I'm letting the girls battle it out over these next few weeks to see who really wants it. We really have a lot of depth this season. All of our returning seniors have top-7 potential.

Maddie Gardiner is our top returning runner and has run top-7 since her freshman year and placed 3rd at State her sophomore year. She's coming off of a solid indoor/outdoor track season and is raring to go. Ava Lemoine, Elise Jones, and Lilly Leonard all are returning from minor injuries/illnesses and all have State Meet experience.

Plus Amelia Cochran and Alexis Napoli have really turned it up a notch this past summer and are pressing for top-7. That makes for some really deep experience. After our senior group, junior Emma Claire Hendry is solidly in our top-5. She consistently finishes every practice and every race in our top-5. Then we have a group of sophomores with Grace Rennhoff, Hannah Vaughan, and Stella Vincent making a hard run for a top-7 spot.

You have now won five straight state titles, what does it take to have that kind of success year after year?

Belief. Commitment. Discipline. Faith. Passion. Sacrifice. Trust. These are some of our "Words" that define us. Each season I pick a new "Word" that defines the identity of the team. Last season our Word was "Perseverance", which was so perfect for having to deal with a year of Covid. This season our Word is "Promise". As you know, Promise has two meanings depending on how you use it. I really think this Word perfectly defines this team.

What are some of the challenges to getting the next group of girls ready to step up and be leaders on the team?

Actually, over the past 4-years, I can't say it's really been a "challenge". Maybe somewhat early on, but not these past few years as our team culture has really taken root. I may sometimes have doubts that this group or that group of juniors is not yet ready to step up and lead the team.

But each and every year the new group of rising seniors have quickly grown up and embraced their role as leaders of the team and have exceeded my expectations. They understand that their biggest role is that of a mentor to our incoming freshmen and that the future success of this team is their true legacy.

As I mentioned previously, all (7) of our seniors have really stepped up in leadership roles this season. This will be their 4th year on the team, and from day-1 of summer training, throughout the summer, and then at camp, they've really taken the reigns of this team and are pushing their teammates to a higher standard and holding them accountable.

How have they shown it/what will you expect from them in 2021?

They've shown it by leading by example. By being good role models to our underclassmen in everything they do. By being good students in the classroom. By making good choices away from school. And by showing how much they love their team. I'm really blessed having a group of overachievers. I really don't need to tell them what to do. I have confidence that could lead their team in an entire workout from start to finish in my absence. And do it with purpose and intensity. My expectation is the same for them as they have for me. We give each other our all every day.

Our most improved seniors that are making a move are Amelia Cochran and Alexis Napoli. Amelia has already made a case for running top-7 and Alexis is just outside of that group. Among our sophomores, Grace Rennhoff and Hannah Vaughan have already run 3M PR race times and are pretty solid to be in our top-7. Plus Stella Vincent is working hard to move back up into the mix where she was before her injury last season. Our biggest and newest face is freshman Michelle Daigle. She's staking a claim to be our #1 runner and has put Maddie Gardiner on notice that she's going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Four to six weeks before the state championships, what's a staple workout that's readying this team for a potential postseason run?

I guess our "staple" workout is our quarter-mile repeats at VO2Max. We typically do these on Wednesdays, and I'll vary the location on the course over the last 8-weeks of the season.

Success for us is winning all of our major championships, that being Metro, Regionals, and State, and a top-5 finish at NXS. Now, if you ask my seniors, success is defined as being an NXN regional qualifier.

Our biggest challenge will be as I just mentioned, that being meeting our goal for NXS/NXN. Running NXS within 4-days of our State Meet is always a challenge for us.

The Covid protocols and restrictions were not that difficult. We understood the rules and just followed them. The difficult part was when a team member got infected, or exposed, and had to quarantine away from the team. That 15-minute exposure rule was probably the most difficult to deal with. We had more of those than we needed.

Our team mantra is a Vince Lombardi quote which says: "Winning means you are willing to go longer, work harder, and do more than anyone else." That really defines who we are.

1. Repeat as State Champs.

2. Place 5 runners in the top-10 and all 7 in the top-15.

3. Biggest goal of all is making it to NXN.