Congratulations Girls Track and Field

2010

O.K. White Conference Champions

MHSAA Regionals Champions

MHSAA State Finals - 6th Place

7/28
Our final "Mandatory" Conditioning day went very well. We only have 2 weeks until the 1st official day of practice on Wednesday, August 11th. We've had great attendance at our conditioning sessoins and look forward to getting everyone together.

BRICKS - We're putting the final order in for our Honors Garden and Lettermen's Curve bricks by Wednesday, August 4th. Construction will begin on Monday, August 16th and should take about 1 week. We're hoping it will be ready for our 2nd XC/Track Tailgater on Thursday, August 26th. If you're interested in still purchasing a brick please contact Nick Hopkins or Larry Fisher. More information and order forms can be found toward the right area of the website.

7/21
Information has been mailed out regarding the start of our Cross Country season on Wednesday, August 11th at 8:00am. In the mailing is information about our August schedule, XC Camp on the 2nd and 3rd, Parent Meeting, and other very important details. Please don't forget about the $115.00 participation fee and physical that needs to be turned into the Athletic Office before the first day of practice. Any questions email Mr. Hopkins.

7/13
Tomorrow is one of our "Mandatory" Conditioning days this summer. Although not really mandatory we really try to make an effort to get as many people on our team to this conditioning session. If at all possible please make special arrangements necessary and meet us on the track at 8:30am to be with your teammates. The more people we have at these sessions the better the workouts. While everyone can train on their own - our improvement as a team magnifies with greater numbers.

SAVE THE DATE - Any high schooler who plans on joining our team this fall is invited to our Cross Country Camp at the McLain's cottage on August 2nd and 3rd. We will leave at 8:00am on that Monday and return at 5:00pm the next day. This will be a great chance to hang out and get to know your teammates before we officially start the season. And yes - there will be running involved. More details will follow.

7/9
Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July and stayed cool with this warm weather. Just a reminder to save those cans and bottles from the holiday weekend. We have our Can Drive Fundraiser on Friday, August 13th. This would be a great starting point for the next month to help our team raise funds.

Enjoy the weekend. We pick our training back up this Monday, July 12th at 8:30am. For those interested Coach Hopkins and Coach Stuursma are hosting a Speed Camp from 1:00pm - 3:00pm on July 12th - 13th. This camp is geared toward boys and girls in K-8th grade. Interested campers can register at the EGR Recreation Department.

6/29
Hopefully it's been a great start to your summer!! Our cross country team has had some phenomenal attendance for the month of June. We've been easily averaging 20 runners each day for conditioning. It's been awesome to see the leadership we're beginning to establish along with strong representation from the new runners. The middle schoolers have been regularly attending and enjoy hanging with the "big girls." This combination will allow our team to do some special things this season as long as we continue this commitment. The summer months are geared toward building a strong foundation for September and October.

We also had about 15 girls participate this past weekend in the Reeds Lake Run. A road race is a great way to give some variety to your training. The girls shouldn't worry too much about their final time - just get out there and run consistently.

As we close out the month of June and approach July there are a few things to remember. Our mandatory MHSAA Dead Period is scheduled for the week of July 5th. We will not have any conditioning this week and will pick it back up beginning on Monday, July 12th. We'll continue our training every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for all interested runners 7th - 12th grade at 8:30am at the track.

All high school athletes will need a physical on file with the Athletic Office. And don't forget - I highly recommend at this time for ALL FEMALE RUNNERS to get their iron levels checked for any deficiency. Every season we have at least 1 instance where a runner discovers low iron levels. This is a very common issue in female runners. Here is a great article explaining more about iron depletion.

For the new runners your goal is to continue running consistently 4-5 days a week in the month of July. The returning runners should be running 5-6 days a week. Everyone should mix up your runs - short distance/fast pace, longer runs, and steady tempo runs. This will allow your body and mind to stay sharp.

If you have any questions contact Coach Nick Hopkins at nhopkins@egrps.org.

6/9
Found a few pictures on www.runmichigan.com from the State Meet. Page 3 of the site has some good shots of the 3200M Relay. There are a few more of our athletes if you look through the gallery.

6/7
What a great way to finish out our very successful track season. The team finished in 6th place at the State Finals in Zeeland with many outstanding performances. Here are some of the results.

Highlights from the meet include:

Our 3200M Relay are STATE CHAMPIONS with their 1st place finish and school record time of 9:24.1!! The relay of Brianna Clifford, Katie Samuelson, Lauren Grunewald, Jessie Baloga all earned 1st Team All-State honors.

Carley Morris placed 2nd and broke her own school record with a jump of 11' 6". Her jump earned 1st Team All-State honors.

Lily Clifford placed 6th in the 400M Run with a time of 57.9 which earned 2nd team All-State honors.

Lauren Grunewald in the 3200M Run and Jessie Baloga in the 800M Run both placed 7th to earn Honorable Mention All-State.


REMINDERS
Don't forget our banquet is this week June 10th at 6pm at the Community Recreation Center. Please bring a dessert to pass!

All athletes should have their uniform turned in to Mr. Hopkins by this Wednesday, June 9th to Mr. Hopkins.

Cross Country Meeting this Tuesday, June 8th right after school for future and current runners in Mr. Hopkins room.


6/3
If you're interested in seed times from Regionals check this out. Remember - seed times are the performances from Regionals across the state. They just give you an idea of who qualified. Relays and individuals may have run much faster at different meets in the season. In some cases, especially distance events, some teams/runners may not choose to run in all the events they qualified.

We're asking the girls on the State Team to bring some items to make the team comfortable for the State Finals on Saturday. The list is below:

Beverages - Clark, Stubbs, Samuelson
Lunch/Sandwiches - Morris, Grunewald, Uglietta
Coolers/Ice - Cliffords
Snacks - Baloga, Vaughn, Marzette

6/1
It's June - which means it's the most exciting week of the Track and Field season - State Week is here!!! Our team has been working very hard to ensure we finish the season the right way. Here is some information for all parents and athletes regarding the State Finals this Saturday at Zeeland High School. We would love to see all our athletes out there supporting the team on Saturday. We never could have reached all these team accomplishments and goals without every single one of you.

5/28
The pre-season girls Cross Country meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8th at 3:15pm at the high school. All current and future runners should plan on attending this informational meeting in Mr. Hopkins room 127. Incoming freshmen for next year should also plan on attending. This will help explain the training opportunities and team activities throughout the summer.

The Grand Rapids Press rankings and area leaders.

5/24
What a very exciting day for our track and field program. A Regional Championship with some of the best teams in the state is absolutely amazing. The girls competed very hard and it was a balanced effort to bring East our 3rd Regional Championship ever in track and field. Results are now available.

We qualified 10 girls in 10 events - and broke 2 school records on Friday. Carley Morris bettered her record with a jump of 11' 4" while winning the pole vault once again. Then our 400 meter relay shattered the old record of 51.1 by running a 50.1 and placing first. The relay consisted of Carley Morris, Daeja Marzette, Catherine Uglietta, and Lily Clifford.

This next week is very important for our team - and very busy!!! We have Baccalaureate on Tuesday, the LBW Race on Wednesday, and Graduation on Thursday. Therefore our practice schedule may be altered from the traditional time after school. The girls will receive a complete schedule for the week at practice tonight at 7:30pm. We decided to change the time due to the extreme heat.

The LBW Race on Wednesday should be attended by all boys and girls track and field athletes. They should report around 4:30pm at the track for this event with their East Track shirt on. This race has a record number of runners currently at 175 for our 3rd - 5th grade elementary school kids. We will need much help to ensure a smooth running event.

Plans are still being finalized for the week leading up to the State Finals. Stay tuned for details.

5/20
Here is a little more detailed information regarding Regionals tomorrow. Hope to see you all there supporting the team.

Parents please remember to pay for the t-shirts that were distributed to you. We still have some available if anyone is interested - $15.00

A current list of Area Leaders and Rankings from The Grand Rapids Press.

The Track Banquet has been scheduled for Thursday, June 10th at 6:00pm in the Community Center. Everyone should bring a dessert to pass.

5/17
Just to assist with some planning for Friday's Regional Meet here is some basic information. The Regional Team will be excused at noon for our trip to Houseman Field. Field events begin at 1:45pm, Runnig Pre-lims at 2:15pm, 4x800 at 3:10pm, Running Semifinals at 3:30pm, and Running Finals at 5:00pm. Boys go first in all running events. Meet management will run ahead of the time schedule if possible.

An article from the Grand Rapids Press on former runner Raeanne Lohner's performance at the MAC Championships.

5/16
Congrtulations girls track and field!!! OK White Conference Champions! A 5-0 dual meet record combined with a victory at the Conference Meet results in an outright Conference Championship!!

We had some amazing performances that continued on Friday night at Houseman Field. Our team showed it's depth by scoring 180 points in a variety of events. This balance also resulted in 11 All-Conference athletes for our team! A big congratulations to the following girls: Kassidy Clark, Carley Morris, Jessica Homrich, Lauren Grunewald, Jessie Baloga, Brianna Clifford, Katie Samuelson, Catherine Uglietta, Daeja Marzette, Katie Regan, and Kathleen Stubbs.

Results of the OK White Conference Meet can be found here. The Grand Rapids Press also did an article about the meet.

Our Regional Team is now gearing up this week with preparation for our next challenge at Houseman Field on Friday. Field events and pre-lims will start in the early afternoon. More detailed information will be posted shortly. Hope to see you all there in support of this hard-working team!


5/14
What a roller coaster of a day! We go from thunderstorms and questionable weather to a record breaking performance on the first day of the OK White Conference Meet!! Here are some results from Houseman Field.

The goal was to go after the Conference Meet record of 9:43.5 established in 1985 by Wyoming Park in the 3200M Relay. Our best time this season was 9:49. It looks like Lauren Grunewald, Jessie Baloga, Brianna Clifford, and Katie Samuelson apparently had other ideas. The girls shattered the Conference Meet record and established a new school record with a time 9:26.7!! The old record was established in 2007 by Nikki Brown, Randi Brown, Raeanne Lohner, and Brianna Clifford. Congratulations to those 4 girls on a record breaking day!

Carley Morris continues her domination in Pole Vault with a first place jump of 10' 6" which automatically earns All-Conference honors.

We did some damage with Jessica Homrich, Morris, and Catherine Uglietta placing 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the Long Jump.

Ally Bremer stepped up for the team in Shot Put with a throw of 28' 7" and placing 6th.

We've qualified 3 girls for the finals today in the 100M and 200M. We also qualified Homrich and Norah Karnazes in the 100H today.

While we had some exciting performances yesterday we still have much work to do. We're currently in 3rd place with 34.50 points, Lowell is 2nd with 36, and Christian is 1st with 58 points. It will be an exciting finish tonight at Houseman Field.

They will begin awarding medals for anyone that placed in the top 6 on Thursday at 5:15pm. Running finals begin at 6:00pm.

ALUMNI NEWS - Former EGR Cross Country and Track and Field athlete Raeanne Lohner is now a MAC CHAMPION!!! Her time of 35:23 in the 10K was the highlight for the Central Michigan University Chippewas on Thursday night. Congratulations to Raeanne on her performance and outstanding season! We're very proud of you representing our program at the next level. Here is a link with more information. UPDATE - Raeanne added to her impressive few days by winning the 5K race in 16:25 for her 2nd title. Because of her performance over the 3 days Raeanne was named the MAC's Most Outstanding Performer.


5/13 UPDATE
The OK White Conference Meet is on as scheduled for Thursday!!! Look down below for the link of the complete schedule. Bring your waders!!!

5/13
We're going to wait it out today until we get a better indication on the weather. We have a variety of forecasts out there and really would like to have a two day meet which is a great benefit to the athletes. So stay tuned.

Mr. Hopkins is distributing the parent t-shirts to your athletes. Please be sure to send payment if you ordered one. There are extra shirts if anyone is interested.

Here's the latest area leaders and rankings from the Grand Rapids Press.

5/12
The OK White Conference meet is almost here. We're hoping the weather will cooperate on Thursday to ensure a two day meet. If we get washed out on Thursday there is a possibility they will try to conduct the entire meet on Friday with an earlier start time. Stay tuned.

Here is the complete schedule for the two day meet.

It looks like our parent t-shirts will be delivered today. If you emailed me and ordered a shirt please send payment ($15.00) with your daughter. Checks can be paid to EGR Athletics.

An article from the Cadence covering our meet against Creston last week.

5/10
This is our final week as an entire team practicing together as we lead into the OK White Conference Meet this Thursday and Friday at Houseman Field. All team members are expected to be in attendance for both days regardless if they are competing. Below is a schedule for the two-day meet. More information will be provided as we get closer to the date.

Thursday - The team is excused at 2:30pm with the bus leaving at 2:45pm. Field events begin at 3:45pm and pre-lims at 4:45pm. Pre-lims will be needed for the 100H, 100, and 200 dash. The 3200M Relay will be run after pre-lims.

Friday - The team will be taking a bus together - time TBD. Final running events begin at 6:00pm.

5/7
Unfortunately, tomorrow's meet has been canceled due to expected bad weather. We will not be traveling to the East Lansing Invitational tomorrow. Our team will have practice in the morning. Time has yet to be determined.

5/7
The girls team completed a perfect dual meet season with their performances on Thursday night against the Creston Polar Bears. The team combined for a 108 to 23 victory to push their record to 5-0 in the OK White Conference. Results from the Creston meet are here.

A Grand Rapids Press article that mentions our team and a very generous ranking from the panel at www.michigantrackandfield.com.


5/6
Last home meet of the year!!! The season is already winding down and it's difficult to believe. We will honor our seniors tonight right before the 1600M Run for their leadership and support to our program.

Congratulations to a few of our girls on the team who have been recognized by the Grand Rapids Press as one of the area leaders in Track and Field.

5/5
An article from the Cadence covering last weeks meets. We will be hosting Creston High School this Thursday for our final home meet and traveling to the East Lansing Invitational on Saturday. More information will soon follow.


5/1
4-0 in the OK White Conference after our home victory against Lowell on Thursday. Results and highlights are here. Don Gerken stepped up again and recorded our meet. You can view the meet here.

If you're interested in rankings our girls team has been recognized in one of the latest polls. Check it out here.

4/28
Congratulations to the girls team for improving their conference record to 3-0 with a 84 to 52 victory over Greenville. Here are some results to view. The team doesn't have too much time to rest as we host the Lowell Red Arrows tomorrow. Field events begin at 4:15pm and running events 4:45pm.

4/27
Lauren Grunewald is going to be a Wolverine!! A great article on her decision to run for the Blue and Gold!!!

Parents!! There has been some talk of a parent t-shirt!! If you're interested please email Mr. Hopkins by Thursday April 29th with a size. Don't send any money until we see if there's enough orders. It would be similiar to the girls shirt but navy with yellow and white writing on the front. Nothing on the back. Cost $15.00.

4/26
Not the most ideal conditions on Saturday but it definitely could be worse for this time of year. The team placed 3rd at the very competitive Wyoming Park Relays. There were some great performances. Here are a few highlights:

4x1600m Relay placing 1st overall with a time of 21:26!!! For those of you unfamiliar with distance times - that's blazin' fast!!!! Kassidy Clark, Katie Samuelson, Jessie Baloga, and Lauren Grunewald were a part of this event.

Long Jump Relay consisiting of Jessica Homrich and Carley Morris also placed first overall with combined jumps that total 30' 3"!! Very nice jumps for both girls.

5x400 Relay - Yes, 5 not 4 for this relay. Those girls wanted to be a part of Saturday and created a relay team for this event. The placed 2nd overall with a time of 6:03. Congrats to Taylor Gruner, Skye Roberts, Mary Creswell, Hannah Dear, and Mary Kate Davis.

And finally in the Pole Vault "Relay" Carley Morris placed 4th overall with a jump or 10' 6". Imagine if she had another vaulter????

You can see complete results of the Wyoming Park Relays here.

Some of you were asking what the huge camera on the inside of the track was at our home meet against Christian on Thursday. Well, click on this link to find out exactly what Don Gerken was doing that day. Look for the East Grand Rapids vs. GR Christian video and you will see all the running events for that day.

A huge thank you to Mr. Gerken who does this for the athletes and families. We appreciate him volunteering his time to the many sports here at East Grand Rapids.

We'll be traveling to Greenville High School this Tuesday. The kids will be dismissed at 2:30pm and the bus will leave at 2:45pm. On Thursday, we'll host our 2nd track meet of the year against the Lowell Red Arrows. We always need volunteers so if you can fit it in your schedule we would appreciate it very much.


4/23
Another exciting day for our girls track team. We had so many great performances and highlights with our 88 to 49 victory over Grand Rapids Christian. The team is creating some strong depth and balance at this point in the season. Results are here.

We finally had a chance to host a meet after 2 years of construction. Its pretty obvious we have some technical difficulties to work out for the next home meet. We appreciate your patience during this time and hopefully next week will go smoother.

Tomorrow we're heading to the Wyoming Park Relays. The bus will leave at 7:30am outside Jimmy Gerken Plaza. Here is the information sheet.

4/18
We had a great TEAM performance yesterday at the Comstock Park Invitational! Overall we placed 2nd in our first test of what an invitational format will be like later on in the season. Some girls really stepped up to the challenge and had some outstanding performances this early in the season. Complete results can be found here. Here are more comprehensive results from athletic.net that can be a good resource for meet information.

This will be an exciting week for our program!! We finally have the opportunity for a home track meet again! Now that all the renovations are completed we can't wait to host Grand Rapids Christian on Thursday for our 2nd conference meet of the season. We still need volunteers to make this event run smoothly. Just email Mr. Hopkins or Mr. DeWildt. Typically the time commitment is from 4:00pm - 6:30pm for most jobs. Hope to see you there!

4/16
Congratulations to the girls track team on their victory at Northview High School on Thursday. The team won their first conference meet 102 to 34. Results can be found here. If you need the password email Mr. Hopkins.

We will travel to the Comstock Park Invitational tomorrow. The bus will leave at 7:45am for a ONE WAY only trip. There will be only one bus that stays for both the boys and girls team. So there will be transportation for those that need a ride back. Otherwise athletes should arrange a ride home. We estimate finishing up the meet around 3:30pm - 4:00pm.

4/14
The conference part of our season begins tomorrow at Northview High School. We're very excited about the progress we've made as a team and look forward to showing off our hard work. The bus will leave at 3:15pm for all athletes. Field events begin at 4:15pm and running events start at 4:45pm. All athletes are expected to ride the bus there and back.

Saturday we will travel to the Comstock Park Invitational to challenge 7 other teams. The bus will leave at 7:45am outside Jimmy Gerken Plaza. All field events will begin at 9:00am with JV running events starting at 9:30am. There is full slate of events scheduled for the day and we're eager to attend this fun meet. The unique MITCA scoring method emphasizes that every athlete counts toward their team total. For example a first place finish would score 24 points, 2nd place 23 points, 3rd place 22 points. This is a great opportunity for ALL athletes to affect our team score.

Looking ahead: First home meet of the season on Thursday, April 22nd. We still need many, many volunteers to make this meet flow smoothly. We're very excited to show off our new facilities but need your help to make it happen. Please email Coach Hopkins or Coach DeWildt if you can assist.

4/1
The captains have organized the team dinner and goodie bag schedule for the season. Each athlete contributes to a goodie bag and team dinner date.

3/31
We had a great day at the GVSU Invite. Many personal records and a positive way to start the season. Here are some results. If you need the password please email Mr. Hopkins. We hope everyone has a great break filled with solid workouts to ensure a strong start to our conference season when we get back.

3/30
Our first meet of the season is today at the GVSU Invite. This indoor meet is a great opportunity for the athletes to see the beginning stages of their hard work. Athletes are excused at 2:30pm from school and the bus will leave at 2:45 outside Jimmy Gerken Plaza. Here is the information sheet on the GVSU meet.

Spring Break is almost here!! We're excited for the much needed break but it's very important for the girls to continue their training during this time. We have 6 meets in two weeks when we get back and it's essential we take this opportunity to improve our team. Here is our warm-up and workouts for the distance runners and sprinter/thrower/jumpers over Spring Break. We will have our traditional Monday workout on April 12th to truly measure the time the girls put in over break.

3/23
We've had a great start to our track season. The girls are working hard and learning much about our sport. We're very excited where the team is headed and hope to have a season filled with big improvements and team success.

A big congratulations to seniors Brianda Davis, Norah Karnazes, Lauren Grunewald, Brianna Clifford, and Maddie Vaughn who were voted as captains by the team for the 2010 season!

We have our parent meeting tonight at 6:30pm in the high school media center. The meeting should only last about 30 minutes. We will provide families with information about the upcoming season and it's a great opportunity to meet all the coaches.

Our Dessert Card Fundraiser is due this Thursday, March 25th. The card was given to your daughters last week and the cost is $25.00. We're asking each athlete to sell one card to help raise funds for our program.

Our first meet of the season is next Tuesday, March 30th at the GVSU Indoor Invitational. This meet has limited entries therefore not all athletes will be participating. Athletes not participating in the GVSU meet will have practice after school.

3/10
Congratulations to former cross country and track runner Raeanne Lohner (07') who broke the school record in the mile at Central Michigan University! You can watch the record breaking performance at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame this past weekend.

Welcome Mr. Putnam!!!!!! Yup, all you Lakeside Lions and Breton Bulldogs will be seeing a familiar face during our track season this year. We've added Mr. Putnam to our coaching staff to assist with hurdles and sprints this season. Although he's a familiar face on the football sidelines, Mr. Putnam ran track at Greenville High School and Hope College in his younger years! We're very excited to have him work with our program!

Don't forget - track practice begins this Monday, March 15th at 3:15pm. Athletes don't have school this day so be sure you're there on time. We will meet inside Mr. Hopkins room 127. Dress for inside and outside weather - rain or shine!!!

3/4
Any athlete who hasn't picked up their cross country state championship t-shirts should stop by Mr. Hopkins classroom. There are extra t-shirts available for purchase if anybody missed out. They are $25.00 each.

Save the date!!! Our Track and Field Parent Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 23rd at 6:30pm at the high school. Please make an effort to attend to learn more about the upcoming track season.

2/22
We're 3 weeks away from the start of our track season at East Grand Rapids. Official practice begins on Monday, March 15th at 3:15pm. Please meet inside Mr. Hopkins room on this day. All athletes should have proper clothes for inside and outside weather. Please remember to have your physical and participation fee in the Athletic Office BEFORE this date!

We will continue our optional conditioning on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday leading up to the official start of practice. The upperclassmen will be leading the March sessions as we approach the MHSAA mandated "Dead Period" between March 1st - 14th. This Sunday, February 28th we will still be meeting for the hurdlers, pole vaulters, throwers, and high jumpers at noon. We will not be meeting on Sunday during the Dead Period.

Are you a techie??? Would you like to assist our program this spring with our new timing system??? We will have a representative to train any volunteers on either March 9th or 10th - date will be confirmed soon. If you would like to join the coaches during this training we would appreciate any help.

A big congratulations to Greg Gillson who has been name our new middle school track and field coach! Greg brings a wealth of knowledge about the sport and we're excited to have him on staff! We have many home meets this season and Greg will be looking for volunteers to ensure all the kids have a great experience. Please lend a hand and support our program by sending him an email at dynasport1450@aol.com.

The Cross Country state championship apparel should be in this week. We're very sorry for the delay - quantities and sizes were a challenge.

1/19
We had 8 girls participate in the GVSU indoor meet this past Saturday. The girls competed in the DMR and 800M Run for a great workout and chance to compete. Nice job Lauren Grunewald, Brianna Clifford, Susan Hoffman, Jill McLain, Kassidy Clark, Jessie Baloga, Kellee Flemming, and Skye Roberts for a very beneficial day!

There's more opportunities at GVSU on January 23rd and 30th. Get out there and take advantage of this wonderful facility during the cold winter months.

STATE APPAREL
We haven't forgotten about the Cross Country State Championship apparel. Unfortunately, our UnderArmour gear has been back ordered until the end of January. Once we receive this we will get them printed and in your hands as soon as possible. Sorry for the delay!!!!

1/6
A big group of girls from our Track and Cross Country teams have embarked on an hour long fitness challenge called - S.P.E.W. at The Michigan Athletic Club. Apparently this hour long class combines strength training with cardio challenges that really does a great job of cross training. If you're interested it would be a great way to add some fun(???) to your training with your teammates. The class meets on Monday and Wednesday from 5:30pm - 6:30pm and you can call The MAC at 956-0944 to sign up.

1/5
Happy New Year!!!!
Hope the holidays treated all of you well. We're beginning our official pre-season training for track today right after school. All athletes interested in participating in the spring should plan on being there. We want to establish a very strong foundation to ensure a successful spring season.

We'll be meeting every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 3:30pm - 5:00pm at the high school until the beginning of the season. Check the Calender link above for the entire pre-season schedule which includes opportunities for pole vault, high jump, fitness center hours, and indoor meets.

12/9
It's Championship T-Shirt Time!!!!! Use the order form to get your state championship apparel. Deadline is Wednesday, December 16th. Please turn in your orders and payment to Mr. Hopkins by this date.

We had our Track pre-season meeting yesterday with great attendance. Here is an informational sheet explaining all the opportunities for athletes to be fully prepared for the beginning of the season on Monday, March 15th. We officially begin when we get back from holiday break on Tuesday, January 5th. Please check the calendar link above for all the dates and conditioning sessions. We've also included our TENTATIVE track schedule for the 2010 season.

12/4
There will be a girls track and field meeting for all high schoolers interested in our sport. We will discuss indoor meet opportunities and pre-season training. We will meet on Tuesday, December 8th after school in Mr. Hopkins room. The meeting should last about 15 minutes. Remember - we are currently training every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school until Holiday Break.

Order forms for Cross Country State Championship apparel will be passed out at the girls track meeting. Be sure to turn in your form ASAP so we can hopefully receive the gear before Christmas.

All girls on the Cross Country and Track teams should sign up for one session of the Team Boosters Christmas Tree Sale. The sign up sheet is located outside Mr. Hopkins room 127. The dates are Wednesday, December 9th and Monday, December 14th from either 5:00pm - 6:30pm or 6:30pm - 8:00pm.

11/30
We're beginning our light winter conditioning today after school. We will be meeting in Mr. Hopkins room 127 at the high school at 3:25pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday leading up to Holiday Break. Conditioning should be completed between 4:45pm - 5:00pm. Dress warm because we'll be running outside most of the time. Middle school athletes that would like to have someone to run with are more than welcome to join us.

Board of Education Meeting
Our school board will be honoring the girls cross country team for their state championship on Monday, November 23rd at the Woodcliff Administration Building at 7:00pm. All runners on the team should plan on attending for this special honor. It should only last 15 minutes.

Don't Forget!!! Our girls cross country banquet is this Wednesday, November 18th at Kent Country Club at 6pm. Any questions please contact the team captains.


What a wonderful day once again in Brooklyn, Michigan where our girls cross country team brought home the 112th State Championship to East Grand Rapids High School. The girls defending their state title from last year and added the 4th championship to our girls cross country program.

Just like last year we were led by 3 All-State runners - Lauren Grunewald (2nd), Jessie Baloga (9th), and Kassidy Clark (27th). A very difficult task placing in the top 30 each year. Backing the girls up in the race were Kat Stubbs (47), Breezy Clifford (60), Katie Samuelson (117), and Jill McLain (118).

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support the team on this very special day. It truly made it more meaningful having the extended team around us.

Below are a few links about the day. Keep checking because we will add more as it becomes available throughout the week.

TROPHY PRESENTATION
The entire girls team will be presenting the state championship trophy to the community at halftime of this Saturday's 1:00pm football game. The state team should plan on wearing their baby blue zip-ups and the remaining runners should wear their black sweatshirts.

The Grand Rapids Press article along with a photo gallery
The lead story in the 2009 XC State Finals program - Surprise Party!!!
The Dream Team race that combines all divisions in one hypothetical meet
Official results from the MHSAA
Congratulations to Lauren Grunewald for making the 2009 Dream Team!!
Some coverage about the State Finals from DyeStat
An article from legendary coach Duane Raffin
Another article from the Cadence newspaper


Photos at the State Finals from RunMichigan
Some more photos from Rissely Photography




Cross Country
11/3
Some end of the year information about the State Meet, Brann's dinner, XC banquet, individual meetings, Team Boosters christmas tree sales, and winter training opportunites. There will be a brief meeting for ALL girls cross country runners after school on Wednesday in Mr. Hopkins room explaining this information in detail. All runners are expected to attend this 10 minute meeting.

11/2
Here are some results and a link to an article in the Grand Rapids Press from Saturday's Regionals.

This Saturday our State Finals send-off will begin at 8:15am outside Jimmy Gerken Plaza. More details will be provided.

The MHSAA has provided a direct link to order and print your State Finals tickets directly from home. Follow this link if you're interested.

11/1
Congratulations to the girls cross country team on their 2nd place finish at Regionals this past Saturday. The finish ensured the team of their 7th straight qualification to the State Meet this Saturday in Brooklyn, Michigan. All girls on the team are invited to join the team on the bus and celebratory dinner at Brann's later that day. Keep checking the website for more specific details regarding the day.

Any state team members that have a "State Shoe" must get that to the Stubbs family ASAP please. They would like to update them for Saturday.

10/30
Some details regarding the Regional Meet this Saturday at Christian Reformed Recreation Center and Riverside Park.

10/29
Regional Update!!! Here's some new information for parents and families this weekend. As stated earlier the varsity race has changed to 11:00am at Christian Recreation Center. There will now be a reserve race at RIVERSIDE PARK at 4:15pm for any teams interested. We're very familiar with Riverside as we raced their for our last jamboree of the season. There will be one race that combines the boys and girls together. We're very excited for the opportunity that ALL runners will have to race this Saturday.

The bus will leave at 9:00am outside Jimmy Gerken Plaza and ALL team members are welcome to join us this Saturday - not just the State Team!!! The girls will receive more details about both races this Friday at practice.

10/28
We have a change in our schedule for Regionals this Saturday. The varsity race will now be run at 11:00am at Christian Recreation Center. Unfortunately at this time they have canceled the Reserve Race. The coaches are working on another option for our remaining runners. Stay tuned.

10/25
A course map for Christian Recreation Center and Riverside Park where we will be running this Saturday for those interested.

10/22
Our team finished up strong as we get into the very competitive meets in October. We placed 2nd at the first ever Kent County Championship Meet at Gainey field. Here are some results and an article in the Grand Rapids Press.

We also completed a perfect OK White Conference season this past Tuesday at Riverside Park. With their performances this season in the conference meets - Brianna Clifford, Lauren Grunewald, Kathleen Stubbs, Jessie Baloga, and Katie Samuelson all received OK White All-Conference recognition. Pictures for All-Conference are November 11th at 8:00am at Northview High School. Also Jill McLain received OK White Honorable Mention recognition. Here are some more results of the meet and another article from the Grand Rapids Press.

Congratulations to these girls who will represent our team for our final meets of the season on our 2009 State Team - Jessie Baloga, Kassidy Clark, Brianna Clifford, Nicole Dear, Kellee Flemming, Scotland Gourley, Taylor Gruner, Lauren Grunewald, Jill McLain, Katie Samuelson, Kathleen Stubbs, Maddie Vaughn, Anna Jane Ward.

Plan ahead!!! Our Cross Country Banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, November 18th at 6pm at Kent Country Club. More information will follow.

10/14
SCHEDULE CHANGE!!! SCHEDULE CHANGE!!!!
Our last jamboree has been changed to Tuesday, October 20th instead of the original date of October 21st. The meet will still be at Riverside Park and all girls will run at 4:30pm.

This means that Wednesday, October 21st will be the last practice for the entire team. After Wednesday only the State Team will continue practice for the remainder of the season.

10/13
Just an update for the Kent County Meet this Saturday at Gainey Field. The girls varsity will race at 10:00am, junior varsity at 11:30am, and awards at 1:00pm. Here is a really nice link to their course at Gainey Field if you're interested.

10/11
What an exciting day for our Cross Country team at the Portage Invitational this past Saturday!! Our varsity and reserve teams both placed first in this competitive field with 41 teams. Of our 28 runners - 20 girls set their PR's today! And a big congrats to Lauren Grunewald who placed first overall with a time of 18:14 in the varsity race with 277 runners!!

Thank you to all the families who came and supported our team in the biggest invitational we'll see all year. Here are some results with details.

We have a week of training ahead to get prepared for the Kent County Invite at Gainey Field this Saturday. Details will follow once they are available.

10/8
Our 3rd straight conference jamboree victory!! The team did very well at Northview to keep a perfect record in the OK White. Here are some results.

The team will be departing at 9:30am for the Portage Invitational this Saturday. The girls are organizing some dishes to pass and snacks for this exciting day. We would like each runner to contribute an item. We're hoping a parent could take care of transporting the dishes/snacks to the invitational so the girls can focus on their race. If you're willing please email Mr. Hopkins.

10/4
Another great Saturday for our team - 10 PR's and all 30 runners were healthy and running as we placed 1st at the Haslett Invitational. Here are some results.

Looking ahead - Wednesday is our 3rd Jamboree of the season at Northview High School. All the girls will run together in one race at 4:30pm. This Saturday is the exciting and competitive Portage Invitational. The varsity girls will run at 1:00pm and the reserves at 3:00pm. You can check the official website at www.portageinvite.com.

10/2
Hearts of Gold tonight at the football game!!! Support the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and wear your gold tonight at the game. Runners will be arriving at the Jimmy Gerken Plaza around 6:55pm to pass the football to former EGR patients. The kids and runners will walk the ball to mid-field and present it to team captains and officials.

Our goal was $50,000 at the beginning of the project - it's very exciting to say we have exceeded this amount. Stay tuned when the check is presented at the beginning of the game for our total donation from the two communities.

Haslett Invitational tomorrow. The bus leaves at 6:45am. The Reserve Race is at 10:00am the Varsity Race is at 11:00am. We will announce which race the runners will be in at today's practice.

9/28
This past weekend at the Jackson Invitational provided some great performances from the team. Here are some results.

We have a week off from our Jamboree schedule until we head to the Haslett Invitational on Saturday. On Friday night our girls and boys cross country teams will be running the game ball for Friday night's game from the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. Runners will need to be at the intersection of Plymouth and Lake Drive at 6:30pm. More details will follow.

9/24
Another successful day at Lowell High School for our 2nd Jamboree of the season. Here are some results. And a story from the Grand Rapids Press on the meet.

A list of runners for the Jackson Invitational. Remember - everyone is invited to join the team. We'll leave at 7:45am and get back around 2:30pm.

9/21
A busy and successful weekend for our girls team. The girls placed 2nd in the Elite Race at the highly competitive MSU Invitational. This race featured 9 of the top 10 Division 1 teams. Some video of the race.

The remainder of the team raced at the Sparta Invite on Saturday. 13 of the 20 girls had all-time best performances and really stepped up to the challenge. Results from both races can be found under the results link at top.

Looking ahead for the week! The team will travel to Lowell for the 2nd Jamboree of the season. The girls are excused at 2:45pm and all will race at 4:30pm. On Saturday, September 26th we'll be traveling to Ella Sharp Park in Jackson, Michigan for the Jackson Invitational. All girls are welcome to join us for the meet but only 14 will be running. We will split into two teams - a Blue and Gold squad for this race. Girls will know on Thursday if they will be particpating.

9/17
Team information for MSU Invite and Sparta Invite this weekend. Hope to see you all there!!!!!

9/16
It's been confirmed that we've been placed in the Nike Elite Race on Friday at the MSU Invitational. This is a great competitive race that places some of the better teams around the state from all divisions. Race time is scheduled for 3:10pm. Spectators will need to get there early because parking is limited and you will need to take a shuttle to Forest Akers Golf Course. Parking options for spectators are here.

9/15
Congratulations to the team's performance at the TK Invitational! The team placed first scoring 21 points and placing 5 of the top 7. We also had 7 all-time PR's on this warm day. Results are here along with an article from the Grand Rapids Press.

Any parents planning on attending the MSU Invite are advised to LEAVE EARLY. You will need to take a shuttle from the parking lot to the golf course and apparently traffic backs up very quickly.

9/13
It's hard to believe we're entering the middle of September already. This week will be an exciting and busy one for our team. Monday we'll be heading to the Middleville Invitational. Runners will be excused at 2:15pm for the 4:00pm combined girls race. This is a great invitational at the scenic Gun Lake State Park.

We've added another meet to the schedule which will include only 7 varsity runners this Friday, September 18th. We'll be traveling to the MSU Invitational to compete with teams from the other side of the state. This will also allow an additional 7 girls on the team to get experience running varsity at the Sparta Invitational on Saturday. Details for the meet can be found at www.gosparta.com

Also - our conference meet time schedule is finally settled. All girls will be running at 4:30pm for our Wednesday meets. Changes have been made to our calendar.

9/10
A great first conference victory yesterday. I apologize for all the confusion - the conference meet race schedule still hasn't been settled - stay tuned. Here's results from the meet. Looking ahead - all the girls will race at 4:00pm on Monday at the Middleville Invitational at Gun Lake State Park.

9/9
Here we go again! Time changes for TODAY'S meet. I apologize - the schools can't get on the same page. Apparently there is a varsity race at 4:30pm for the girls. The junior varsity race will start around 5:30pm. I hope all confusion will be settled after this first jamboree of the season. Thanks for your patience.

9/8
Tis' the season for team dinners and goodie bags. Here's the schedule.

9/02
Wow those were some fast times today!!! Congratulations girls on your team victory at the OK-White vs. OK-Black Kickoff Run. You led the OK-White Conference to their 2nd straight victory. Here are results from the race.

Also - a big congratulations to Lauren Grunewald who broke a 5 year old record when she ran an 18:07 today at Gracewil Golf Course. Lauren broke the All-Time Senior Record that was previously held by Laura Malnor with a time of 18:15 set in 2004. Amazing race today!!!

TIME CHANGE! TIME CHANGE!! There has been a time change for all conference jamborees this season. All girls will be running at 4:30pm for all four of our conference races this season. There will be no separate JV races as we've had in the past. This means next Wednesday when we race in Greenville all girls on the team will be running at 4:30pm. Please mark your calendars accordingly.

A little article in the Cadence from the Pioneer Classic.

8/30
Thank you to everyone for an absolutely great week. The Pioneer Classic, Alumni Tailgater, and 50/50 raffle couldn't have been better. Here are the results from the Pioneer Classic which we haven't won since 2004. A great way to start the season. All results are password protected - email Mr. Hopkins to get the super secret password or ask your daughter.

We finish our last official week of summer training with a little bit of everything. Check the calendar for specific practice details. Our meet on Wednesday is at Gracewil Golf Course. The races are 9:00am for girls varsity and 10:10am for girls junior varsity. The bus will pick us up at school at 7:00am.

REGIONALS - REGIONALS - REGIONALS
We're giving you plenty of notice!!! On our schedule we have Gainey Athletic Fields as our course for Regionals. We just found out that was incorrect and the actual venue is the very, very, popular Christian Recreation Center off 36th Street. The team is very excited for this opportunity to race at a great course.


8/22
What a great start to the summer phase of our season. The Can Drive was a huge success and more importantly for the team they get t0 order "hoodless" sweatshirts!!!! We're approaching an extremely busy week for our program. Below is a list of the big events for the upcoming week.

Sunday - 6:00pm - 7:00pm - Manhattan course clean-up

Monday - 7:00pm - Pietros Social - families should contact the Stubbs family to reserve their spot.

Wednesday - 3:30pm - 5:00pm - Community Open House for the new athletic facilities.

Thursday
Pioneer Classic - 8:00am JV girls, 8:45am JV boys, 9:30am Varsity Girls, 10:15am Varsity Boys. We still need volunteers for this event - please contact Coach Hopkins.

XC and Track Alumni Tailgater - 5:30pm - 6:30pm in the Track Plaza. This event is hosted by the girls and boys cross country teams. We hope to unveil our new record board at the Field Events Center on this day. Sue McLain is organizing volunteers for this event so please contact her at smclain@egrps.org if you can assist.

50/50 Raffle - The girls cross country team is in charge of the 50/50 raffle for the first home football game of the year against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. All runners are expected to assist with this event.