NCC: Joe runs into sunset for MSOE

5/19 Naperville. Weather was outstanding. About 70 degrees, sunny with light breezes. Joe had a busy day, starting off with 3x LJ (7th 20-7.75), followed by 100m (11.28), then 3x LJ, then 110H (15.80), then 100 finals (11.28), then 110H finals (8th 15.65), then 200 (22.71). Fittingly, his last race was run as the sun set on the track at North Central College -- and he won that section, which was the last in his outstanding MSOE career. He was a 9-time NACC hurdle medalist, holds school records in 55H, 60H, 110H, 400H. He also was a frequent member of our 4x1 and 4x4 relay teams, and he led our group in scoring for 3 of his 4 years.

Joe's start of last hurdle race for MSOE

NCC: Joe, Holly take on high-level competition

5/14 Naperville IL. Joe ran highs in a fine 15.54 and Holly got off to a good start but began turning over a bit too quickly mid-race, which led to some 4-stepping and a 17.29. Conditions were cool with no aiding wind with DI, DII, DIII, NAIA competitors from all over the U.S. Big surprise of day was Joe in LJ, where he spanned 21-0, and he may have had a longer one on another jump when he took off behind the board and sat back on landing somewhat. Rain started after that, which made for an uncomfortable evening for those in later events.

Week 29: 5/11

5/11 MU. Weather was good. Holly and Joe did high hurdle training. Pre-race warm up followed by reps over 4-6-8. 4 was at race height and spacing. Other reps were either down, in or both. Did a few "bonus" reps after those to work on a few things. Holly worked on knee drive and acceleration, particularly into H1 as well as working the lead leg all the way down (and back) off the hurdles. Split times -- although down and in somewhat -- were about a tenth faster per hurdle than typical. Joe worked also worked on getting the lead leg down -- a little earlier and ripping it down and back. He also worked to maintain more forward lean off the hurdle to minimize braking and maximize push into getaway step.

2016 Performance List

55H/60H (*converted)

Joe Buichl 8.44*
Spencer Kamke 9.04* (#5 all time)
Brad Lorr 9.38 (#11 all time)
Chris Kataura 9.66 (#16 all time)
Jessica Bilskie 10.02* (#3 all time)
Kim Schonder 10.37* (#4 all time)
Desarae Echevarria 10.45 (#6 all time)

110H/100H
Joe Buichl 15.13
Jessica Bilskie 15.81 (#3 all time)
Holly Denfeld 16.20 (#4 all time)
Spencer Kamke 16.33 (#6 all time)
Desarae Echevarria 16.67 (#5 all time)
Kim Schonder 16.88 (#6 all time)
Brad Lorr 17.55

400H
Joe Buichl 55.57 (#1 all time)
Logan Bertling 58.55 (#7 all time)
Chris Kataura 60.80
Brian Janus 61.11
Jessica Bilskie 66.52 (#2 all time)
Holly Denfeld 67.92
Brad Lorr 68.73
Desarae Echevarria 71.54 (#4 all time)
Kasey Mylin 74.73 (#6 all time)

HJ
Spencer Kamke 5-10.75
Brad Lorr 5-7.25

Kasey Mylin 4-9.25

High jump / hurdle scoring
116.3  Joe Buichl
  70.7  Jessica Bilskie
  65.1  Spencer Kamke
  35.3  Brad Lorr
  28.5  Kasey Mylin
  25.7  Desarae Echevarria
  23.7  Holly Denfeld
  14     Logan Bertling
  10     Kim Schonder
    9     Chris Kataura
    7     Brian Janus

NACC: Jess and Joe medal; 8 PRs

5/7 Lisle IL. Windy conditions with temps in 60s for finals. Because of some missing sprinters, hurdlers were a big part of 4x1 for men. Chris, Joe, Logan and Conor emerged from a pile up on the third exchange to finish 3rd. Des ran the first leg and Kim was to run the anchor leg but a botched second exchange ended the run before Kim's leg. Not long after, the high hurdle finals began. Joe picked up another bronze medal with his 3rd place finish (15.13). In the women's race, Jess ran strong again, with another sub-16 performance for 4th (15.91) with Holly right behind in 5th with a PR 16.20. Des was 7th (17.10). In 400H, Joe took his third bronze with his 55.77. Logan was 7th with another PR (58.55), and Chris was 9th at 60.97. For the women, Jess charged down the homestretch to take silver in a PR 66.52 (#2 all time). Holly ran a strong race for 4th (67.92), and Des was 9th (73.66), just a few tenths from scoring. In HJ, Kasey cleared 4-7.5, which was good enough to tie for 6th. Spencer worked open HJ into his decathlon competition but only could manage 5-3.75. Spencer was second in decathlon, which included a good hurdle time (=PR16.33). Hurdlers were prominent in men's and women's 4x4s. Joe (52.8), Logan (52.6) and Chris (53.6) teamed with Trey (51.5) to finish 5th, and Jess (62.4), Des (64.1) and Holly (62.8) teamed with Maia (67.1) to finish 6th in a school record 4:16.61. Men's and women's teams both finished 4th in team competition.

Complete results

5/6 Lisle IL. Temperatures in the 80s with sunny skies and mild breezes made for great conditions on day one of NACC Championships at Benedictine U. So many highlights in qualifying. Top of that list was Joe's school record 400H (PR 55.57). Logan also qualified for finals with his PR 59.07, and Chris qualified with a 60.55. Brian was hobbled from his steeplechase earlier in the day and ran 63.69. In women's 400H, Holly qualified with her 69.28 as did Jess with her PR 69.48 (#3 all time) and Des with a 71.69. Kasey ran 76.36. In 110H, Joe qualified with a 15.48. Spencer wedged the prelims into his decathlon competition but only could manage a 17.05. In the women's competition, Jess qualified with her PR 15.81 -- her first sub-16 performance and #3 all time MSOE. Holly also made the final with her 16.36 as did Des with a PR 16.67. Though she didn't make the final, Kim ran a big PR 16.88, which is #6 all time. Spencer had a 5-10.5 in decathlon HJ.

Week 28: 5/4, 5/3, 5/2

5/4 KC. Joe, Des, Kim did pre-race warm up and then a few block starts over 2 with finish and then a couple over 4. Chris and Logan did relative-spacing reps over 2. Kasey did KC recovery circuit.

5/3 KC. Kasey and Spencer did pre-comp warm up, a few run throughs, a few shorts and a few comp-style fulls.

5/2 VF. Chris, Logan, Jess, Spencer did 400H training. General warm up, up/back progression and then 5x2H up/back with one perimeter walk around recovery. Light plyos. Stretching.

Beloit: strong hurdle shuttles, difficult conditions

4/30 Beloit. Weather started out bad and got worse. Had the trifecta of cold, wind and rain. Very unpleasant and not everyone was prepared for ways to stay dry and warm. Still had a few good performances despite the weather. Most notable was Logan in 400H where he was within a few tenths of his season best and good for 3rd. Brian and Chris were 6th and 7th. Holly led the women hurdlers with her 3rd place in 400H. Jess and Des picked up points in that event, too, finishing 6th and 7th, respectively. In high hurdles, Joe was 4th for the men, and Holly and Jess were 4th and 5th for the women. Notably, Jess was able to 3-step the full race again, despite the poor weather. Worst part of the day was losing Brad to a hyperextended knee as he slid off LJ takeoff board. Nothing much happened in HJ, though Spencer was able to get 3rd (5-7) in a small field hampered by conditions. 

4/29 Beloit. Temps in 40s and cold breeze from northeast but sunny. Men claimed first place, meet and school record in 3x110H -- 49.80 (16.7 average). The set up was weird because they didn't use common start/finish lines -- nor was there a 4-foot exchange zone as typically used. Regardless, Brad, Spencer and Joe ran well and held off St. Ambrose for the win. For the women, Des, Jess and Holly ran a close second SA in 3x100H -- 50.36 (16.8 average). That one was set up correctly other than no exchange zone. That race establishes an MSOE record for the event and was the first time Jess 3-stepped an entire rack of hurdles outdoors.

Logan: 60.97 (3rd)
Holly: 73.17 (3rd) 16.88 (4th) 50.36 (2nd)
Spencer: 5-7 (3rd) 17.54 (9th) 49.80 (1st)
Joe: 16.41 (4th) 49.80 (1st)
Jess:16.94 (5th) 77.02 (6th) 50.36 (2nd)
Brian: 63.91 (6th)
Brad: 49.80 (1st)
Chris: 66.80 (6th) 19.90 (11th)
Des: 50.36 (2nd) 79.04 (7th) 18.98 (15th)
Kim: 18.17 (12th) 
Kasey: 4-5 (12th) 

Other events: Brad PV (10-4) LJ (18-7.75) LJ (18-8); Holly TJ (35-0.25); Des 4x1; Kim 200 (30.28) 4x1.

Complete results