In the much anticipated first meet of the2010 season, the Turpin boys cross country team opened with an array of results at the Brian Plasman Invitational hosted by Fairfield. All 34 boys ran in the open race, which went off at 9:30 am. After a rocky start, resulting from a crowded starting line and a hard left turn 150 meters into the race, many Spartan runners began to make their way to front of the pack.

Junior standout Antony Parnigoni lead,nearly wire to wire, finishing in a time of 17:20.00 for 5k, over 25 seconds in front of the second place finisher. Other top finishers for the Spartans included, Senior Joe Murray with a time of 18:34.00, Junior Sean Kennedy, who ran over a minute faster than his 2009 time on the same course, Freshman Drew Kiracofe and Junior Paul Rodriguez. Turpin FAVC athlete of the week,Freshman Matt Sesler, ran a fantastic race for the Spartans stepping up huge in his high school 5k debut with a 6th place finish on the team in a time of 19:19.00. Rounding out the top 7 was Junior Brandon Bodnar who also demonstrated strong improvement with a 19:22.00 effort.

Senior Captain Scott Wenderoth lead the chase pack, finishing 8th on the team with a time of 19:28.00. Just behind Wenderoth, Senior Ben Liming ran a lifetime best of 19:58.00, good for 9th place on the team. Juniors Patrick Nienhaus and Sam Pitakos, as well as, Sophomore Dallas Parnigoni and Freshman Alex Ambach all impressively improved their previous personal bests by over a minute.

As a team, the Spartans fell short of their pre-meet goal of claiming all ten spots in the open race. Finishing with only Antony Parnigoni and Senior Captain Joe Murray in the top ten, for 1st and 7th places overall, respectively. Although the Open Race was technically unscored, unofficial tallies have the top three teams from the open race as follows: (1) St. Xavier – 45, (2) Turpin – 47 and (3) Mason – 51. The Spartans look to get back on track next week at the Tiger Invitational hosted by conference rival Loveland High School. The team shows promise they will continue to strive towards bringing home their 5th consecutive FAVC title as well as a birth at the OHSAA State Meet. Stay tuned for more action next week, the varsity race will go off at 10:00 am and the open race at 11:00 am at the Tiger Invitational.

The Turpin Spartans started the 2010 cross country season at the Brian Plasman Invitational on August 28th.  Results will be posted shortly, but be sure to watch the athletes throughout the season.  Next week the Spartans will be attending the Loveland Invitational hosted by the Tigers.

Photos from the Brian Plasman Invitational are online so click here to look at them.

On Saturday, November 7th, the 2009 State Cross Country meet wrapped up senior Nicholas El-Khoury's Turpin Cross Country career at the Scioto Downs race course in Columbus.  Looking to end his four years of running with improvement and strength, El-Khoury did not disappoint and represented Turpin well in the Division I race.

First, El-Khoury qualified for State at the Regional meet in Troy the week before.  Running with Sophomore Antony Parnigoni, El-Khoury ran a 16:24 which was good for a 7th place qualifying spot to the State meet.  Parnigoni, running in his first ever Regional race, ran a strong 17:17 which placed him at 41st.  The other Spartan competing, junior Adrienne Grogan, also ran very well for her first ever Regional appearance, and came in 34th with a time of 20:21.  However, since only top 16 qualified, El-Khoury continued on to the State meet as the only remaining Turpin athlete.

At the State meet, conditions were optimal for a good race except for the strong winds blowing around Scioto.  El-Khoury went out with the middle pack, in order to work his way up to the front runners.  He did move up to the top 30 runners and was able to get 32nd place with a wind-affected time of 16:35.  Running a smart, strong race, El-Khoury ended his four years as a Turpin XC athlete with hard work and determination, and, because of that, he was the lone Spartan to make it to the State meet.

Congratulations to Nicholas for his many successes and accomplishments.  As the fastest runner to ever come through Turpin high school, he will serve as inspiration to future Turpin athletes for many years to come.  Look for Nicholas and the rest of the Spartans during the 2010 Track season and thank you for supporting Turpin Cross Country!