Chittenango and Ithaca

It has been a busy weekend so far here, and it's only half over. We've still got 2 nights of Tel Auc on tap for tonight and tomorrow. Last night (beginning at 4pm) Alex competed in the Chittenango Invitational. Last year it was on a Saturday, we're not sure why they moved it to Friday night. I think after what happened last night, they will be moving it back to Saturday... (more on that in a minute...)

Alex's first race was the 800 meter. He was shooting for under 2:00. He's never run it that fast before and it's been his goal for this year. He needed to break 2:00 to get to go to the Louck's Games in May.

Well, it was a great race. Alex broke that 2:00 mark and he placed 3rd overall. 

And as you can see by the scoreboard, he ran a 1:57. To qualify for states, all he has to do is shave off a second.

So then 4 hours later... when the sun went down, and the full moon was high in the sky, it was time for race #2. The 4x800 meter relay. The temps had dropped to 40 degrees. Nobody was prepared to be there that long. (It was 10:00 by the time he ran.) Liverpool placed 2nd overall in the relay.

And... 2 hours after this race, the meet was finally over. Yes, the meet ended at midnight. It took 8 very long and freezing cold hours. Which is why I think next year, we'll be back to Saturday for this one! We can only hope.

So then bright and early this morning, Alex and I (after about 6 hours of sleep), headed to GORGE-ous Ithaca to visit Ithaca College. It was a beautiful campus over-looking Cayuga Lake. If I had panned to the right a bit, you would have seen Cornell.

Alex really seemed to like the campus. He said he could see himself going there.

I really liked it as well. It's the perfect size (6k undergrads). And it's not too far from home. (65 miles)

There was an open house today in their brand-new athletic facility. We got a complimentary breakfast when we arrived and a very nice lunch after the tour was over. 

But this had to be the highlight. The new athletic facility houses a fabulous indoor track. I think that might have been Alex's favorite part of the campus. And why Ithaca College is now at the top of the list. 

West Genesee Meet

The sun was shining bright yesterday at the West Genesee dual meet. And it was finally warm! I thought this was a fun picture of some of us parents watching the meet. I'm the 2nd from the left, and no, that's not a giant growth coming out of my side, it's just my giant purse.

Alex ran 3 events yesterday, and of course I missed the first 'epic' 4x800 relay. Which they won. I always miss the first event. I even got there earlier, but I still missed it. 

I did get to watch him run the 800 meter. He kicked butt in that race. He was 3rd-4th during the first lap, but with a half lap to go, he blew by everyone.

And he finished in 1st. He also ran the 4x400, but they fell short in that race. Not a bad day over all though. Friday he has a big meet in Chittenango. They only get to qualify for sectionals and state qualifying at the Invitationals, and this is the first big Invitational of the season. So, a lot rides on Friday. But, I think he'll do just fine.

Cupcakes and TelAuc

So this weeks cake decorating class was all about flowers. Sadly however, I missed the class. I was too pooped from TelAuc. I didn't get home until 2 am this morning, and class was at 10am. And after 3 nights in a row of getting home that late, I was just too tired. I think I could fall asleep standing up right now. Thankfully I do have tonight off. Which is nice. I put in 21 hours of (unpaid) overtime last week... it's time for a day off...

I was able to do the flower lesson at home by myself. I think I did ok. I had all the frosting ready, so I might as well have used it! The cupcakes were delicious too. I think I'm almost ready for a real cake!

And so, speaking of TelAuc, this was Friday night. Alex put in a few hours of volunteer time.

Eric was also there... can you find him?? 

In other news... Spring has sprung.

The Quadruple

Alex had another Track Meet today, against Henninger. They're a Syracuse city school. And he did something today he's never done before. Something not many kids have done, mostly because it's insane. But it's also difficult. He ran 4 events. He started with the 4x800 relay. That was the first event, which I missed... They came in 1st. 

Then he ran the 800 meter. Which he won. 

Then he turned around and ran the 3200, about 10 minutes later. That's a grueling 8 lap race. He hung out with the top group of runners most of the race.

Until the last lap. When he poured it on and passed them all with about 100 meters to go.

And he won. 

Then hey, why not run another relay right after that? He was the final leg of the 4x400 relay. (He changed his shirt... .) They also won that event. 4 for 4 today. Not a bad day at the track!

Here are the results at Syracuse.com. (Of course they always spell his name wrong...) 

Steeplechase

Liverpool was invited to a "Steeplechase Invitational" today at Westhill High School. Westhill built a new track and wanted to do something different for their inaugural meet. All the distance runners for Liverpool ran the 3,000 meter Steeplechase. Only one of them had run it before. I positioned myself next to the water hazard, but everybody cleared the jump pretty well (they had to jump it 7 times).. I thought this was a fun one of Alex mid-air. I'm not sure he will ever run the Steeplechase again, but he did manage to qualify for Sectionals in his first try. 

CNS Relays

Alex finally had a meet that wasn't cancelled due to blizzards or thunderstorms. Although, as a spectator who, 3 days later is still thawing out, I kind of wish they had cancelled this meet too! But those tough runners don't seem to mind the frigid temperatures and near-freezing drizzle... 

It was about 42 degrees at the start of the meet. And it had cleared up a little bit. Alex's first race was the 4x1600 relay. This relay is run a little bit differently than the others. All 4 team members run together and they add up their times at the end, the team with the best time overall, wins.

Liverpool had 3 sophomores and 1 junior in the race. They all came in within 6 seconds of each other. Buck, Christensen, Leclair and Muldoon were the Liverpool runners. They all had great times (especially for the crappy conditions!) They came in 3rd overall as a team. It was a very close race. Alex came in 8th overall (out of 80+) runners.

Alex's 2nd race was the final race of the night, the Sprint Medley Relay. He ran the 800 meter leg. It was dark, and rainy and cold(er) than it was 3 hours earlier. I was soaked, miserable and frozen solid.

I'm not sure if this picture didn't turn out well because I was shivering so much or maybe they were just running too fast. I don't know, but it's the best I had. Alex's team came in 4th overall. Then we got to go home and thaw out... I hear temperatures are warming up tomorrow. I hope so!! 

White Powdery Substance

Jenny is now addicted to the white powder... it was so sugary and sweet... 

Yes, cake decorating class is going well. Just a minor accident here and there. But Jenny is right there to help clean up any mistakes... and don't worry, I got the vacuum out and didn't let her have too much. It was just too funny not to get a quick picture. I had to make 2 batches of frosting and a cake for tomorrow morning's class. I haven't had this much homework since college!

Recruiting

Well, this was interesting. Today Alex got a personal letter from the track coach at the University of Pennsylvania. I don't think he was expecting to get 'real' recruitment letters. He was kind of excited about it though! I think it's kind of neat and quite an honor, especially from an Ivy League school. Sure, he's gotten information from them for academics, but not for track! That's big! Well, academics is big too... but that's a given... 

I'm wondering if this changes Alex's outlook on how far he's willing to travel now... maybe Pennsylvania will be the place he ends up. I'd love to go down for a tour at least! Oh, and should I let the coach know there's a typo in the first sentence of his letter?.... it is an Ivy League school and all... 

SUNY Geneseo

Today we took a trip to SUNY Geneseo. It was a MUCH nicer day today than it was on Tuesday when we went to Rochester. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the low 50s.

Geneseo is about 30 minutes south of Rochester, basically in the middle of cow country. It was a lovely little town that reminded me of New England. The campus was very nice. 

This was an interesting tree, there was some story that went along with it, something about an ice storm years ago and a student protest to keep the tree. It's now some sort of symbol of the campus. I thought it was neat.

The campus is sort of on a hill. If Alex goes here, he'll be getting a workout going from the dorms to the classrooms! It's quite a walk up the hill. This was a great view of the countryside beyond the campus. The building to the left is the student union. 

This was the science building, it was newly re-done. The wall has the periodic table on it, which was kind of neat. Alex was fascinated with it. 

This was a shot in student union. The flags have to do with the countries where students come from.

It was interesting going from an expensive private college to a less expensive public college. There are definitely differences. But in the end, you get a diploma from each of them. The question is, where will Alex feel most comfortable and where will he thrive? I asked him on the way home if he had to make a decision right that second, where would he go? He picked Geneseo. 

It'll be fun to see where he ends up, he has several more campuses to visit. One thing he has figured out is that he doesn't want to go any further than 2 hours from home. So that narrows it down quite a bit! Although I did say that we'd be happy to move our home to where ever he'd like to go... like maybe somewhere on Cape Cod??... 

University of Rochester

Alex and I went on our first College visit yesterday. Rochester is a nice city, not too big, not too small. Not too far away...

The campus was beautiful. These photos will not do it justice. They were taken on my phone.. and it was also a very over-cast, on-off-snowy, windy day. But take my word for it, it was lovely. If you'd like to see more, feel free to do an internet search.

George Eastman apparently donated a great deal of money to the Univ. of Rochester. The Quad (the Eastman Quad...) had a big statue of him in it. We learned that George Eastman wanted every building on campus to allow eating and sleeping. We saw several students catching some z's in the library... 

This was our tour group heading over to the freshman dorm. I loved this school, and I think my love for it started when I learned about their curriculum. They don't require students to take all those ridiculous "core" classes like all the other schools. Like basic English, a language or basic math. They also don't want students to declare a major until their 2nd semester, sophomore year. They want the students to take classes that interest them and take time to figure out what suits them best. A lot of students get to have double majors since they don't have to waste credits on basic core classes. It's also apparently also a top Research College and a big engineering school. Who knew! 

Oh and they had a great outdoor track. They also had an indoor track, but we didn't get a chance to see it. Alex liked the school, I think he's going to hold off forming any opinions until after he sees more campuses. Which is probably a good idea. Me on the other hand, am ready to pack my bags and give college life another whirl! What should I be this time??

Snowed Out

This is a photo from today's track meet. Doesn't that look like fun?? These 2 girls were from Liverpool. They came in 1st and 2nd. Shortly after this, the team left. Alex didn't get to run. He was pretty disappointed, he could easily have won his events. It did eventually stop snowing, although the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up. It was not a nice day to be outside. 

I still managed to enjoy my day off, I went shopping and then watched the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the season opener. It was a great afternoon!