Woodbridge Invitational - September 19, 1998

Tillers Blast Through the Woodbridge

September 19, 1998 - Woodbridge, Irvine

The Tustin team competed in the annual Woodbridge Invitational which attracted 130 of the top teams in southern California.   Running early in the morning with an overcast sky, Tustin was able to take advantage of the great running conditions.  Guided by their coaches, Tom Coffey, Pablo Guzman, Jami Bickley, and Steve Waltner, approximately half of the team set new personal records.

Currently rank eighth by the LA Times and ninth by the Orange County Register, the Tustin boys Varsity team showed that they would be a contending force this year with all of its members improving 30 seconds to a minute from last weeks race at the Laguna Hills Invitational.  The Tillers will make a run at defending their Orange County Championship title from two years ago (last year, a brush fire forced the cancellation of the race).  However, they're job seems nearly impossible when league rivals Santa Ana High School set a new course record.  But time and perseverance will tell how this team will do. -Michael

 

Wow, we had an awesome day at the Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine.  The weather was overcast, the course was flat and fast, the course was about 50% road; all perfect conditions for running.  About half of the team had lifetime bests, improving our times by 30 seconds to a full minute from last week at Laguna.  I had a great race as well finishing in 17:24 in 49th place.  I can't wait for next week when we run the Dana Hills Invitational.  That course is notoriously fast because it starts high and finishes low in altitude.  Also, some have reported the course to be 2.9 miles, although Dana Hills claims that it is the full 3.0.  Oh well... that means faster times for me.

-Michael

The first 800 meters on the race was pretty good.  I was just trying to stay up with the front pack. At the mile mark I was at 5:09 and I thought it was too fast so I held back a little bit. Then I started to get a little tired around the second mile and during the race i had a song stuck in my mind. Then around the final 800 of the race I tried to kick it in.

-Alonso

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