Last Saturday, the Spartan cross country teams traveled to Mason after a two year absence following their withdraw from the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. A few modifications to the old course resulted in a more challenging second mile, with several hills and a pass though a creek. Trying not to be daunted, both Turpin teams hoped to increase their competitiveness. While some gains were made in this area, it is apparent that there still is work to be done to become a top contender.

As is the case in many races, the varsity girls set the stage for the day. Senior Kaitlin Price led the team placing sixth in 19:36, behind her nemesis Alanah Sonntag of Sycamore. Not far behind was Megan Plichta finishing eleventh. Lauren Young was the third Turpin scorer finishing about 30 seconds behind Plichta in 20:46. Lauren Keen and Cassie Bacon rounded out the scoring Spartans finishing in 21:30 and 22:12, respectively. Liz Martin placed seventy-sixth with a time of 22:33, while Hannah Plattner and Caroline Muth finished in close succession with respective times of 22:51 and 22:54. As a team, the girl’s finished fifth behind St. Ursula, Mason, Oak Hills, and Sycamore.

Several hours later the boys headed to the start line. In addition to a surprising increase in temperature, the boys were surprised to learn of a series of three hay bales that had been placed on the course to jump over. Junior stud-runner Nicholas El-Khoury ran a very strong race finishing third in 16:29, marking his third top-three finish of the season. Dave Rodriguez, still racing into shape after his injury, finished in 17:11, with Drew DiSabatino not far behind finishing in 17:25. Both Alex Polivka and Joe Murry set PRs finishing in 18:03 and 18:20, respectively, while Jon Risher was not far off his PR finishing in 18:28. Zach Smith had his second consecutive slow race finishing in 19:04 with Jack Reeder also hoping to drop significant time after finishing 19:16. An expanded 10 person roster allowed freshman Paul Rodriguez and Derek Tucker to make their varsity debut, Rodriguez racing in only his second 5k. Overall, Turpin placed fourth, just three points behind third place Celina, and ten points behind second place Sycamore.

The Spartans will next race in Dayton at the Alliance invitational on September 13, 2008.

Photos from the Mason Invitational.
Complete girls and boys results.

As it has been for the last several years, the Turpin cross country teams travelled to Voice of America Park for the Lakota East Fall Classic on August 30, 2008. Looking back on the previous meet in Fairfield, both the guys and the girl's teams shared a goal: improvement. With the temperature steadily rising throughout the meet, and the familiar, although rough, course ahead of them, the Spartan teams were both ready to better themselves in the challenging race.

With new ownership of the race, the format of the meet was changed around a bit. Therefore the day opened up with the female freshmen/sophomore race. Leading the newer part of the team through the race were sophomores Cassie Bacon and Lauren Keene, who finished with respective times of 21:42 and 22:08. Fellow sophomores Maki Fujimoto and Liz Martin closed in behind Keene with close times of 22:15 and 22:16. Freshman Michelle Robinson followed up right behind sophomores Caroline Muth and Hannah Plattner, all with respective times of 22:36, 22:30, and 22:32. All of the high school underclasswomen continued to carry on the Spartan tradition of excellence in the first race of the Classic.

After the female underclassmen race came the male underclassmen race. Sophomore Joe Murray, after having ran his first varsity race the week before with an 18:31, led the younger guys with a 12th place finish and a consistent time of 18:29. Freshman Paul Rodriguez ran his first official cross country 5k in 19:11. Sophomore soccer player Jason Miller ran a good race in 19:33, while sophomores Adam Galloway and Scott Wenderoth finished close together in 20:01 and 20:02, respectively. Many personal bests were set in this race by the sophomores, while the freshmen got their first taste of what high school racing means.

The next race to come was the Female 11th and 12th grade races. Senior Kaitlin Price, following up on a fifth place finish at the very competitive Fairfield meet, clocked in at 19:46 and came in a great 3rd place finish. Junior Megan Plichta set a new personal record, coming in 6th overall and in 20:01. Senior Lauren Young came in next for Turpin with a 20:42 and in 10th place. Junior Alexia Yun continued to improve herself with a solid 23:00, while Junior Lindsey Evans and Senior Gretchen Muth rounded up the Turpin seniority with respective times of 23:31 and 23:35. With the conclusion of the female races, the Turpin ladies had proven that they were a strong force to be reckoned with.

The last race of the Lakota Classic was the 11th and 12th grade guys. Junior Nicholas El-Khoury continued to lead the team, running a strong 16:34 race and placing in 2nd overall. Junior Dave Rodriguez, returning from two injuries and with only two weeks of prior running, ran an impressive 17:17 while Senior Drew DiSabatino followed closely with a great time of 17:19. Junior Alex Polivka returned to run his first offical cross country race in nearly two years, finishing with a 18:07. Newcomer Jon Risher continued to prove himself by running a good time of 18:22 and improving more than a minute from the week before. Senior Zach Smith ran a dissapointing 18:58, while fellow seniors Jack Reeder and Derek Tucker followed with respective times of 19:18 and 19:48. Junior Trace Zemites ran a 20:47 while Senior Cody Vanderpool continued to improve with a 20:58. New junior runner Sam Auvil rounded out the Turpin team with an improving time of 21:51.

The Lakota Fall Classic helped the Spartan runners improve their times and set new goals for themselves, as it does every year. Turpin's cross country teams look forward to travelling to Mason on Saturday, September 6th to race in the Mason Invitational, which always has good competition. Thanks to all the fans who came out to cheer on the Turpin athletes, and congratulations to all the Turpin runners!

In what has become a pattern the last few years, the Spartan Cross Country teams kicked off their season on a new course, the fourth new opening race in as many years. Expectations for the season were high with the boys entering the season ranked fourth in Cincinnati and tenth in Ohio, and the girls ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, in preseason polling. Racing at the hot and fairly hilly Brian Plasma Invitational, both the boys and girls hoped to send a signal that they are still major contenders for another state meet qualification.

With five of the seven girls that competed at the state meet running on Saturday, the girls were in good position to finish well in the standings. Running the first 5k race of the morning, the girls were not quite sure what to expect. Senior Kaitlin Price led the Spartan girls finishing fifth in 19:53, nearly 20 seconds than her first race last season. Lauren Young and Megan Plichta were the next finishers placing fourteenth and fifteenth, respectively. Jillian Jaworek finished twenty-seventh in 21:34 and Lauren Keen rounded out the Turpin scorers finishing thirty-fourth in 22:15. Scoring 95 points, the Turpin girls placed third behind a strong Mason team, and just one point behind Sycamore.

The Turpin boy’s varsity team was marked with inexperience on Saturday. Two runners, Jon Risher and Alex Williams were competing in their first cross country race of their career, while two more, Joe Murray and Jack Reeder were running their first varsity race. Although times averaged 30-40 seconds slow for nearly all Turpin runners, the one exception came from junior standout Nicholas El-Khoury. El-Khoury ran just six seconds off PR time finishing sixth in 16:21. Seniors Drew DiSabatino and Zach Smith were the second and third Spartan finishers running respective times of 17:31 and 18:19. Sophomore Joe Murray and senior Jack Reeder were the final scoring Spartans, finishing in 18:31 and 19:11. With 183 points, the Turpin guys finished in eighth place.

Next Saturday, Turpin will be running at the very familiar Voice of America Park. Rejoining the Turpin boys team will be two of its varsity runners. Dave Rodriguez has been rehabbing from an ankle injury, while Alex Polivka was unable to compete on Saturday.

The 2008 cross country camp out will be held Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, August 5th and 6th. Keeping to tradition, the camp out is at East Fork Lake State Park in loop G. Arrive on your own on Tuesday. Captains will arrive at 1:00p.m.; all others will arive about 2:00p.m. Departure will be Wednesday morning, after a workout and breakfast.

Directions: Take St. Rt. 32 east, toward Batavia, and go past the Ford Plant. Take Half Acre Rd exit and turn right. Go approximately 1 mile and at the stop sign (in Afton) turn left. Go approximately ¼ mile and turn right into the park. Follow the camping sign to the park entrance gate house. Stop and let the park representative know that you are with the Turpin HS cross country team and have camp sites in the G Loop.

Group activities: team training runs; swimming at the beach; coach/athlete meeting over goals for the season; evening trip to the Dairy Queen.

Food: bring your own (healthy) snack foods and drinks if you want something other than the gatorade and ice water that will be provided; eat lunch before you leave home for camp. Provided food will be : Tuesday evening (pasta, salad & bread, dessert); and breakfast bagels, fruit, and juice for Wednesday. There are drinking fountains at the camp sites and rest rooms with shower facilities.

Suggested items to bring:
A note from a parent giving you permission to attend the camp out
Bedding (sleeping bag/blanket, pillow; air mattress??)
Jeans and long sleeved tee shirt
Bug spray
Flashlight
Running gear (for up to 2 runs/workouts)
Swimsuits, beach towel, sunscreen
Personal hygiene items (toothpaste and brush, soap, shampoo, deodorant)
Towel(s)
Entertainment items (frisbees, iPods, footballs, etc.)
Cooler with ice to keep your food and drinks in. A plastic drinking cup.
Plastic bags (to stash wet/dirty clothes) and for putting garbage in.

By attending the 2008 camp out, you agree to the following rules:

Obey all East Fork State Park (EFSP) rules.
Follow the speed limit (20 mph inside the park; 10 mph in the camp loops) at all times.
You must have your coach’s approval to leave the camp.
Sign out when leaving the camp and sign in when returning.
You are to stay in the Loop G area when at the camp.
Ladies should never go the shower/rest room alone; especially at night.
You must be respective (maintain quiet) of other campers in our area; especially after dark.
Ladies and gentlemen must sleep in their respective camps/tents.
Bedtime/lights out will be between 11:00 & 11:30pm.
Captains are responsible for maintaining peace and quiet after 11:30pm.
Morning runs/workouts will be at approximately 8:00 am, and an evening run around 8:30 pm.
No running outside the EFSP property.
Never run alone; you should always run with at least one other person; preferably several.
Keep your food in your cooler or your car; we do not want skunks and raccoons in our tents.
Keep your tents zipped up when you are the last to leave the tent.
Put all trash in the garbage bags (bring one) and these should go into the dumpster before bedtime. Food left on the ground will bring skunks & raccoons.
Keep extra clothes in your car or in a spare tent. The tent you are sleeping in should only have your bedding in it, if possible.
No physical contact (tackle football) activities.
No hazing or harassment of any type will be tolerated.
At swim time everyone will go to the beach, even if you do not plan to swim.
There is to be no swimming outside the buoyed area.

The 2008 meet schedule is now available in Event Schedule.

Click on each individual meet to find a link to Google Maps for persoanlized directions, or to obtain an address for use with a GPS system. Race schedules will be updated when new information is received, so check the schedule prior to the meet.

If there are any questions about meets or the website in general, feel free to contact Zach Smith by clicking on his name at the bottom of every page.