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 thepack.       Junior standout Antony Parnigoni lead,nearly wire to wire, finishing in a time of 17:20.00 for 5k, over 25 seconds infront of the second place finisher. Other top finishers for the Spartans included, Senior Joe Murray with atime of 18:34.00, Junior Sean Kennedy, who ran over a minute faster than his 2009time 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 inhis high school 5k debut with a 6th place finish on the team in atime of 19:19.00.  Rounding out thetop 7 was Junior Brandon Bodnar who also demonstrated strong improvement with a19:22.00 effort.     Senior Captain Scott Wenderoth lead thechase 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 theteam.   Juniors Patrick Neinhaus and Sam Pitakos, as well as, Sophomore Dallas Parnigoni and FreshmanAlex Ambach all impressively improved their previous personal bests by over a minute.     As a team, the Spartans fell short oftheir pre-meet goal of claiming all ten spots in the open race.  Finishing with only Antony Parnigoniand Senior Captain Joe Murray in the top ten, for 1st and 7thplaces overall, respectively. Although the Open Race was technically unscored, unofficial tallies havethe 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 willcontinue to strive towards brining 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 willgo 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!

On Saturday October 24, the Turpin Spartans went to the Southwest Ohio District meet at the Voice of America park in West Chester.  Two days of rain had turned the normally flat, fast course into a cold, muddy, and wet challenge and although times would not be fast, both Spartan teams looked to move on as many runners as possible to next Saturday's Regional meet in Troy. 

Going into Districts, the Girls team was ranked 8th after an unpredictable season of injuries and additions to the team.  The girls still looked to do their the best, no matter what the polls showed, and competed very well against tough competition from St. Ursula, Walnut Hills, and Anderson.  Junior stand-out Adrienne Grogan was able to qualify individually, as she came in 9th of the top 16 individual qualification spots with a time of 20:17.  Although there was a gap between Grogan and the rest of the team, junior Cassie Bacon(40th) and seniors Jillian Jaworek(43rd) and Alexia Yun(46th) came in together with respective times of 21:50, 21:52, and 21:56.  Senior Meg Plichta, running only her 4th meet of the season, rounded out the Spartan scorers with a time of 22:14, placing 52nd.  Sophomores Rachel Eckert and Michelle Robinson finished closely behind in 22:19 and 22:21.  The girls took 7th overall, and Grogan qualified to run at Troy next week.

Coming off a strong season of running, the Guys team was ranked 5th in their race, behind the strong teams of Mason, Elder, Colerain, and Oak Hills.  Qualifying to Regionals was in their grasp, but the conditions of VOA would make it a challenge for every team to run well.  Senior Nicholas El-Khoury led his team once more with a strong 3rd place finish, right behind Elder's Josh Makin, with a time of 16:42.  Sophomore Antony Parnigoni, a strong asset to the 2009 team, ran a 17:11, good for a 11th place finish.  Senior Dave Rodriguez was able to pull off an 18:10 in the slippery course, with senior Jon Risher and junior Joe Murray following with times of 18:18 and 18:29.  Senior Alex Polivka and sophomore Paul Rodriguez ran respective times of 18:53 and 19:12.  Although they competed very well in the awful conditions, the Spartans season was brought to a close with their 5th place finish.  El-Khoury and Parnigoni, having placed in the top 16, will be running at the Regional meet next week.

Thank you to all the runners, parents, and supporters for being with the Spartans during their 2009 season.  Congratulations to El-Khoury, Parnigoni, and Grogan, and good luck next week as they represent Turpin's 2009 team!  The Spartan team will be graduating 14 seniors this year, and the rest of the team will be more than able to fill the gap left by the 2010 class.

Click here for the District results at Baums page.