Monarchs go 'unconventional' for XC workouts
By CONOR NICHOLL
Head coach Matt Dumler has experimented with different workouts for his 2008 Thomas More Prep-Marian cross country squad.
"We have kind of gone unconventional actually this year," Dumler said. "These guys have responded well."
Dumler, in his third year for TMP-Marian, first started to think about changing the program in the spring after he coached the Monarch track team.
Generally, squads start out with a six-week phase of building miles, a strategy that he used last fall. This year, Dumler changed the routine for his 11-person squad that opens its season Saturday at the Hoisington Invitational. Race time is 9 a.m.
"It really didn't work for us," Dumler said of 2007. "I was convinced that it was going to work from everything that I have read. I read several programs. It really didn't turn out the results that I wanted."
The girls' team still finished fourth at the regional, but Dumler believed it could have been better.
"I think that if we have added some different elements, it could have been higher," he said.
This fall, instead of basing it off miles, Dumler has asked his athletes to run for a certain length of time, usually 40-45 minutes.
"I have kind of taken some things that have worked for cross-country teams in the past," Dumler said.
Dumler has had the team do some interval work and has also introduced a training regimen called fartlick, where athletes alternate running fast and slow for minutes. They'll keep this schedule until the last September, early October.
"Conventional wisdom says not to do yet," Dumler said of fartlick. "It's an experiment, that's all it is, see what happens. These guys have really responded well. You can tell in practice they are really getting faster. We haven't added enough to make them peak to early. I think it's been just enough to start adding a little bit as we go."
The Monarchs have a young squad and likely won't field a team on either side for the Mid-State Activities Association meet. TMP-Marian didn't have a runner qualify for state in 2007 and the last Monarchs to reach state were Molly Schmeidler and Kevin Sander in 2006.
The top runners will be junior Emily Volker and sophomore Hayley Taylor. Volker has experience running the courses, while Taylor is untested in a 2.5 course. Both are expected to switch off as the top two runners.
Taylor, a member of the 3,200-meter relay team that reached state last season, decided to come out for her first year of cross country.
"I am looking for big things from her," Dumler said.
Three of the four boys runners are sophomores, while junior Ajay Pradham is in his first year of running. Sophomore Krayton Werth is considered the top boys' runner and could break 19 minutes this season. Sophomore Caleb Pinney and junior Ajay Pradham have also run well.
"Our first goal with him is to get him under 20 (minutes)," Dumler said of Werth. "I think at Hoisington it is achievable."
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