10/6-Five top guys review their seasons to date + focus on November

Pennsylvania's senior class is one of the most talented in years, boasting one Foot Locker finalist from 2002, and at least ten more with the potential to crack the top eight at Northeast Foot Lockers on the last Saturday in November. Three of these runners made the late September trip to Cary, North Carolina to test their conditioning and racing acumen against other top runners. They each finished near the top of the two elite races.

Just a week earlier, two of these same athletes competed at the famous Belmont Plateau course in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Both broke the course record that weel which had been held by PA star Chris Dugan. But they lost to another suburban Philadelphia runner.

This past weekend at Steel City, that newly minted Belmont Plateau record holder was beaten by another emerging star from a small high school in Altoona.

And all this is over a period of just three weekends. (If you think I'm trying to get you to States and Northeast Foot Lockers to see some incredible racing by PA's great class of 2004, you're absolutely correct.)

We caught up with these five runners by phone and in person at Steel City to talk about their seasons to date, and their goals for the championship portion of the season and beyond. If you haven't guessed, we're talking about Chris Spooner of Lewisburg, Ian Gottesfeld and Greg Williams of West Chester Henderson, Steve Hallinan of Cardinal O'Hara, and David Mock, of Westmont Hilltop.

Chris Spooner, Lewisburg, 7th at Great American in 15:52 in one of two elite races. Defending AA State Champ.

Spooner at the Northeast Invitational 9/20 at Bloomsburg University

PTXC:I understand you had a rather unpleasant experience at Great American?
Spooner:Yeah, while I was racing, everything I had in my bag was taken. I was left with just the clothes I had in the car. I put my bag near a team tent thinking it would be safe. I jogged to the starting line, raced, went back to the tent 20 minutes later and everything was gone. They had even taken stuff sitting outside the bag and stuffed it in. I lost my wallet, credit card, cell phone, and a jacket I had won at a running camp, plus my school uniform. It kind of ruined my race.

PTXC:How'd you like the course at Cary?
Spooner:The woods were beaten up from the college races the day before. There were lots of holes, hugh footprints. It was tricky. I was really happy to be in the lead where I could see where I was going.

PTXC:You ran well against some pretty strong talent. How'd your race go?
Spooner:We went down Thursday and jogged the course on Friday and watched the college races. For the first mile, I was so in control and felt really good. I wasn't tired at all. I felt great, and I was right on Deak (eventual winner Ryan Deak of Colorado). Between a mile and two we went up the long hill for the first time, and I fell apart mentally. They gapped me. I spent the rest of the race working my way back and passed two at the end.

PTXC:What did you learn?
Spooner:I wasn't ready for that much competition in the lead pack. I fell apart a little bit, but tried to work my hardest. It was a valuable lesson. I know how to race against that kind of competition now. It will be valuable for Foot Lockers. I know I am ready. I just had to get used to it. It's different, but it's a big help with a big group at the front of a race.

Ian Gottesfeld, West Chester Henderson, 6th at Great American in 16:00 one of two elite races. Defending AAA State Champion.

Gottesfeld winning the 2002 PIAA AAA State Championship.

PTXC:You hadn't planned to race at the Briarwood Invitational? Why the change in plans?
Gottesfeld:It was because of the strike in our school so we were afraid we wouldn't be able to get the required number of meets in to qualify for Districts. Technicalities. It was a coaching decision. It was a non-athletic decision. We found out that week, and I didn't find out exactly who was running until race day.

PTXC:Did you and Greg have a plan?
Gottesfeld:Just our usual make-a-move in the later stages of the race. That was our first real race, so we didn't really execute that. But it was a good show of how our fitness, which was good. I heard people say with 1500 to go that we had a gap on him (Hallinan). Then we started on a downhill onto a flat which is good for gaining momentum and catching people. So that's probably how it went down.

PTXC:Were you thinking about the course record at all (15:48.5 by Chris Dugan)?
Gottesfeld:It's our senior year, and we were good last year, so we should probably be breaking course records. But I wasn't thinking about it. I didn't know what it was. I knew it was under 16. And I didn't know it was Chris Dugan, either, who was a star out of high school, so it's kind of cool.

PTXC:Did Hallinan surprise you with his move going by you?
Gottesfeld:No. It's one of those situations where you have the wrong mentality. When he went by, it was over. He passed us with so little to go on a straightaway. He put so much on us in the last tiny bit of the race. It wasn't a physical thing. We were saying "oh no" and he was like 'oh yes." He won going away.

PTXC:How was your race at Great American a week later?
Gottesfeld:It was alright. The whole race I'm thinkng to myself 'I'm supposed to win this,' but I just wasn't in it. It's basically like a team race, and I'm going to finish in the top ten somewhere, and it isn't going to affect the team that much. I wasn't sharp enough for that individual race mentality where you need to outkick people in the last 1000 meters. Which Greg did, and I didn't. No excuse.

PTXC:How's your fitness compared to last year?
Gottesfeld:I definitely think it's better. At our alumni meet and I ran a course PR under the worst conditions possible. It was slop. We had the relays, and I felt great during that. I ran a 4:38-4:42, and that was surprising. And I'm feeling better generally and in training this year over last year.

PTXC:So it's getting the mental aspect back in shape?
Gottesfeld:Yeah, and that's definitely something I had last year. I just kept winning and you gain confidence. It's all about confidence. We were the aggressors last year, the people making moves. It's just about getting the confidence back. It won't be a problem. We're going to get it in Ches-Monts and Districts. If I do well at States, it will set me up well for the other races. We have a very tough state.

PTXC:I guess Greg's pretty fit this year, too? Is that the first time he's been ahead of you in a race?
Gottesfeld:No, he was ahead of me a lot in track last year. I don't know how the world thinks about Greg and I, if they see us as I'm 1 and he's 2. Last year we didn't think that either. That was his first real season of cross country last year, so I just took the win. But the way we see it is 'I don't know if you're better than me.' We just race. And train together. But as far as I'm concerned, we're equal.

PTXC:Does it help to have someone of that ability on the team for training?
Gottesfeld:Yeah, because obviously, when we do pickups and the workouts, no one would be with me if Greg's not there and likewise for him. It helps to push. There are minor disputes, but I think we have a very good relationship for the kind of situation we're in where we have two guys that are basically equal. Everything works out well.

PTXC:So going one and two at States wouldn't be bad?
Gottesfeld:No, and it wouldn't be unrealistic either. I don't think it was unrealistic last year, except we had unpredictable circumstances. (Greg was affected by the heat, and finished 50th crawling across the line to secure the team title for Henderson. He had been with Ian at the lead until the final 400 meters.)

PTXC:How's the college search going?
Gottesfeld:It's going well. I did a lot of unofficial visits in the summer. I went to Princeton, Haverford, Cornell, Dartmouth and Williams. Dartmouth is the only official I have set up at this point.

Greg Williams, West Chester Henderson, 2nd at Great American in 15:50 in one of two elite races.

Williams at the 2002 PIAA AAA State Championships.

PTXC:Talk first about your race at Briarwood, and breaking the course record only to get 3rd.
Williams:It was a good race. We didn't know we were going to run there until Wednesday of that week, but because of the strike situation, coach wanted to make sure we got in enough invitationals. But we ran well. We had Hallinan back about ten meters at one point. We kind of let him hang in there, and didn't really put him away. He took us by surprise at the end and went by us really quickly. We couldn't really respond. He ran great. We ran well. At that point in the season, we hadn't done any hard workouts yet, so we were please. We ran a good time. It was a hot day too, so it was a good performance for us, considering we weren't at a strong point mentally or physically.

PTXC:Did you have any concerns about running a hard race the week before Great American?
Williams:Not really. If anything, it's probably good to find out where you are before you go to Great American and race against some of the best guys in the country. It's early in the season, so it's good to get out there and see where you're at before States and Regionals, the ones that count.

PTXC:Has your conditioning improved this year?
Williams:Well, Ian's improved a lot, and I think I've improved. We've both improved a lot, I think.

PTXC:Did you and Ian have a plan going into Great American?
Williams:We always have a plan to work together. We're both on the same team, and we both run at the front of the race. We help each other out. But the plan was to not go out extremely fast. The start is a long downhill, and you can get carried away. Our plan was to gradually move up on the lead and be near the front at about a mile or a mile-and-a-half. Then, when you get to the big hill you go up twice, our plan was the second time when there were about 800 to 1000 left, to make a big move. The kid from Denver West was out to a pretty huge lead, but there was a chase pack with six or seven guys. I made a big move at 800-1000 left and that broke things up a little bit. I didn't realize I had a chance to win until I got into the stadium and I saw the Denver West guy was struggling, and I turned on a kick there and instead of running for second, I started running to try to win the race. But I came up a little bit short. If the race was a little longer, I might have pulled out a win. We stayed together to about 2-1/2 miles to where we said we wanted to make our move. I just think Ian fell asleep a little bit.

PTXC:Were you happy with your race at Great American?
Williams:Yeah, I was pleased with it. I beat some good guys, and I think I ran pretty solid. I was a little disappointed because I think I could have won. I had a lot left at the end. That was a positive thing though, because that let me know I was in pretty good shape. At Briarwood, I think I had some problems with dehydration. After the race, I had similar symptons like I had at States last year, but not quite as severe. But I felt a lot better during the race at Great American than I did at Briarwood. I think I had some problems with nutrition and hydration, but at Great American I think I got it right.

PTXC:What's the competition like between the two of you?
Williams:I wouldn't say there's any competiton. We always say to each other that we really haven't raced each other. Most of the races, like dual meets, we work together, and it doesn't matter who wins. We're just trying to go one-two and run well for the team. It's not really competitive at all. And it really helps in the workouts. Ian's been a role model for me because he works so hard. He's shown me some of the things it takes to improve as a runner. The only meet I think where we want to beat each other is States. I think all the Invitationals, and Regionals, we don't really care. We're both similar ability-wise. I think States is the race we really want to race each other. And at Regionals, I don't care if he beats me as long as we both qualify.

PTXC:How's the college search?
Williams:I've already been to UVA on an offiicial, and I'm going to Stanford, Georgetown, Princeton, and Dartmouth for my officials. I did UNC unofficially when we went down for Great American.

Dave Mock, Westmont Hilltop, 1st at Spiked Shoe in one of two varsity races, and beat Steve Hallinan at Steel City.

Mock at the finish of the Steel City Invitational.

PTXC:You broke the course record of PA legend Danny Coval, and beat the guy who set a spectacular course record at Belmont Plateau two weeks ago. Tell me about the race and what you were thinking.

Mock:I knew there was going to be a lot of competition here. My gameplan was to run behind the leaders until we got to the hills. And me, being from western Pennsylvania, I like running hills, I run a lot of them. And I wanted to work the hills. As I did, I gained a little bit of a lead, and Steve made it right back up on the downhill. And it was a close race until the end.

PTXC:15:28 is fast on a day like this.
Mock:I didn't think I was going that fast. During the race, the time just flew. If you have someone running beside you, you don't even know how far and how fast you're going. It's just all out. You're just racing that person right next to you. I think the mile was 5-flat. Conservative.

PTXC:What are your plans for the rest of the season?
Mock:I have two dual meets left. No invitationals. And then I'll have conference meet, district meet where I'll have competition, like Jack Strayer from Forest Hills. And then I'll have some time to train.

PTXC:Is this win a confidence booster?
Mock:Very much so. I didn't know how the rest of the season was going to go. I saw everyone else running these great times, and my times, while they were OK, but they weren't that good. But here today, doing as well as I did, it's definitely a confidence booster.

PTXC:Did you like the course?
Mock:I liked it. I liked the hills. It would have been nicer if it had been all grass, without any of the road, because I think you need to be able to wear spikes for the hills, but I still like the course.

Steve Hallinan, Cardinal O'Hara, 1st at Briarwood Invitational in course record time (was held by Chris Dugan), and finished ahead of Ian Gottesfeld and Greg Williams.

Hallinan at the finish of the Steel City Invitational.

PTXC:Congrats on the Belmont record. Tell me about the race at Briarwood.
Hallinan:It was crazy. It went out pretty fast. We were out in 4:46. We pushed the woods real well. Greg came up on Parachute (Hill) and Ian came up on the the back horseshoe, and I just tried to hang on to them. They were pushing real hard in the woods. Then coming out of the woods, I didn't really think I had a shot. I was just of kind of waiting around for 4th place. Then with about 300 meters to go, my coach told me to take a shot at it and with about 200 meters to go, I just turned it on, I just worked past them and just kept going. It was a great day. Conditions weren't favorable, but we worked together. We all three broke the course record, so it wasn't just me. They ran great races. I just came out on top that day.

PTXC:So it was the competition?
Hallinan:Yeah, the competition was great. Tim will be there at PCLs, but I don't think it will be the same at Catholics as it was there, becauuse we had Mainland (NJ). They were moving that first mile. And I was expecting to just take off, but me, and Greg and Ian just showed them how the Pennsylvania kids do it. It was a lot of fun.

PTXC:So who was that kid from Altoona?
Hallinan:I didn't even know who it was. I was running the race, and I didn't know he was going to be here. I've heard his name, so I was trying to look and see what school he was from while we were running, but I couldn't put it together. I got killed on the hill. He opened up a big, big margin on the hill. And we've been talking about running the downhill hard and leaning forward and just letting everything go. I did that real well. I was able to close it real well. I was trying to throw surges at the end, but it just wasn't happening. He was just sticking with me the whole time. And when he went, I just had nothing. But you can't win them all. He ran great. I have to give it to him.

PTXC:Pennsylvania looks real deep this year?
Hallinan:Yeah, we're looking real, real good. We have at least ten who could have a shot at going to nationals. I don't know who is going to pass up that Mid-East meet in Ohio, but if everyone does that, we could have a real good shot at going something there, and then going up to New York, and doing something up there, too.

PTXC:How's the college search going?
Hallinan:It's going pretty well. I'm going up to Yale after Steel City and then I'm going to American this week. Yale is official. I'm going to wait until cross country is over because it's going to get hectic, because we have Delcos and then Eastern States and then a week off until Catholics. And I want to dedicate November to training and get ready for Foot Lockers.

PTXC:Will you miss the opportunity to have the PCL joining PIAA?
Hallinan:It would be a lot of fun if we all got to battle. I guess that's a decision that will come in the future. Hopefully Greg and all the younger guys get a shot to run at States when they're seniors.