Scouting report interview with Pine View head cross country coach David Holt. The Pine View boys and girls are going for a sweep of the 4A state titles this fall as they nearly pulled off the feat last year with the girls taking first and boys placing runner-up in the 3A classification. The girls team also placed 8th in the NXN Southwest Regional and look to move closer to top 4 finish and nationals consideration with only one runner graduated from their top 7 one year ago. The boys lost their top 2 runners, but still return a deep lineup ready to be firmly among the state's top 10 programs in 2017.
Top 7 Boys Returnees (Full Team Scores Rankings)
| 7 | Pine View (UT) | 263 | ||
| 1) Carson Horspool | 15:17.00 | 8 | ||
| 2) Julien Canales | 15:52.20 | 34 | ||
| 3) Alex Hill | 16:02.00 | 47 | ||
| 4) Logan Hall | 16:09.00 | 61 | ||
| 5) Spencer Bell | 16:32.00 | 113 | ||
| Average Time: 15:58.44 Total Time: 1:19:52.20 1-5 Split: 1:15.00 | ||||
| 6) Michael Abegglen | 16:45.00 | 137 | ||
| 7) Nathan Beitler | 16:52.90 | 148 | ||
Top 7 Girls Returnees (Full Team Scores Rankings)
| 1 | Pine View (UT) | 130 | ||
| 1) Jessica Hill | 18:00.00 | 7 | ||
| 2) Caroline Clements | 18:10.30 | 14 | ||
| 3) Ellie Bushar | 18:22.80 | 22 | ||
| 4) Rylee Holt | 18:26.50 | 26 | ||
| 5) Jacey Finch | 19:07.40 | 61 | ||
| Average Time: 18:25.40 Total Time: 1:32:07.00 1-5 Split: 1:07.40 | ||||
| 6) Addi Baker | 19:40.00 | 113 | ||
| 7) Sylvia Brown | 19:52.60 | 129 | ||
Q&A Interview with Coach Holt (Pine View)
1. How many years have you been coaching high school cross country (and at your current school)?
They all kind of blend together, but I'm not quite to 15 years of coach XC and all of them have been at Pine View.
They all kind of blend together, but I'm not quite to 15 years of coach XC and all of them have been at Pine View.
2. What do you attribute as the main reasons for the success of your program?
PVXC has grown to a upper level program because we have a lot of hard working kids who trust the program and trust each other.
PVXC has grown to a upper level program because we have a lot of hard working kids who trust the program and trust each other.
3. What would be the best way to describe your style and philosophy of coaching and working with high school runners?
Travis Roberts (my assistant for 10'ish years) and I have really come to believe that the key to success (and the measure of true success) is to work to become your very best self. So we developed a team purpose which states, "The purpose of PVXC is to Live and Run Greatly." We try and incorporate this in everything we do at Pine View.
Travis Roberts (my assistant for 10'ish years) and I have really come to believe that the key to success (and the measure of true success) is to work to become your very best self. So we developed a team purpose which states, "The purpose of PVXC is to Live and Run Greatly." We try and incorporate this in everything we do at Pine View.
4. What are your core beliefs in your training plan and workouts for your cross country squads?
Our coaching beliefs have been modeled after many different coaches. We try and be students of the sport and bring ideas from all over that fit our ideas, goals, and athletes. Must of what we do comes from coaches like Bill Squires, Tom Schwartz, and Arthur Lydiard. We also love to tie in philosophies from other great coaches and thinkers who have developed programs which we would like to emulate.
Our coaching beliefs have been modeled after many different coaches. We try and be students of the sport and bring ideas from all over that fit our ideas, goals, and athletes. Must of what we do comes from coaches like Bill Squires, Tom Schwartz, and Arthur Lydiard. We also love to tie in philosophies from other great coaches and thinkers who have developed programs which we would like to emulate.
5. How many runners do you return from your top 7 from a year ago?
On the girls side, we return all but 1 of our Varsity, and for the guys we lost 2 of our top 7 from State.
On the girls side, we return all but 1 of our Varsity, and for the guys we lost 2 of our top 7 from State.
For both squads it is a bit early to tell... We have really been able to develop a deep JV squad for a mid-sized school, and each year, many of those kids and a few newcomers are able to battle for a top 7 spot.
7. Who are your team captains or leaders and what stands out about them as examples for the rest of their teammates?
We do have team captains, but our program really tries to emphasize the idea that everyone on the team is a leader. So nearly everything we do as a team (our team nights, high-altitude camps, run-a-thon, etc) has different athletes who organize and plan our activities. This allows each athlete to buy into the program more and become a contributor to the team in some way.
We do have team captains, but our program really tries to emphasize the idea that everyone on the team is a leader. So nearly everything we do as a team (our team nights, high-altitude camps, run-a-thon, etc) has different athletes who organize and plan our activities. This allows each athlete to buy into the program more and become a contributor to the team in some way.
8. Who have you been most impressed or surprised with their improvement and/or fitness from their summer training?
Girls: Sophomore Jessica Hill has continue to skyrocket in her development. We didn't expect her to be one of our top 3 girls last year as a Freshman, and she became the top female 9th grade distance runner in the state. In our first race (Cedar All-Comers), she ran a very strong race and won leading from the gun over Utah top 10 girls Bailey Brinkerhoff (DH) and Mic Webster (Cedar). As a team, all the girls continue to grow significantly... Our top 5 time improved by 2 minutes at that meet. Boys: Carson Horspool, Alex Hill, and Logan Hall have all really had a great summer and will form the base of a very strong boys team.
Girls: Sophomore Jessica Hill has continue to skyrocket in her development. We didn't expect her to be one of our top 3 girls last year as a Freshman, and she became the top female 9th grade distance runner in the state. In our first race (Cedar All-Comers), she ran a very strong race and won leading from the gun over Utah top 10 girls Bailey Brinkerhoff (DH) and Mic Webster (Cedar). As a team, all the girls continue to grow significantly... Our top 5 time improved by 2 minutes at that meet. Boys: Carson Horspool, Alex Hill, and Logan Hall have all really had a great summer and will form the base of a very strong boys team.
9. Any impactful freshmen or transfers to join the team this season?
Girls: This is our strongest Freshman class ever for our girls. We have 5-6 girls who could battle to be on most varsity teams in the state. At our team time trial in late July, Sarah Snow was our team #1. Then at Cedar, Alli Baker was our 3rd finisher. It is pretty exciting to see, but also we understand that they are young and have a long way to go in their development, so we don't want to put too much pressure on them, yet.
Girls: This is our strongest Freshman class ever for our girls. We have 5-6 girls who could battle to be on most varsity teams in the state. At our team time trial in late July, Sarah Snow was our team #1. Then at Cedar, Alli Baker was our 3rd finisher. It is pretty exciting to see, but also we understand that they are young and have a long way to go in their development, so we don't want to put too much pressure on them, yet.
10. What are the top invitational meets that your team will be attending this season?
We really like heading up to Murray. For an early season meet, it provides a challenge against some of the best teams in the state. We also look forward to racing at Bob Firman. Although it is a very long trip from St. George to Boise, it helps us prep for the big goals we have for our program. And of course, Region and State are big priorities - Region 9 is an extremely tough region at the top and the new 4A classification will be very good. Finally, we are also setting our sites on Nike in November and December.
We really like heading up to Murray. For an early season meet, it provides a challenge against some of the best teams in the state. We also look forward to racing at Bob Firman. Although it is a very long trip from St. George to Boise, it helps us prep for the big goals we have for our program. And of course, Region and State are big priorities - Region 9 is an extremely tough region at the top and the new 4A classification will be very good. Finally, we are also setting our sites on Nike in November and December.
11. What will be the biggest obstacle or challenge facing your team this season?
Our biggest challenge will be overcoming our own self-doubts about reaching our goals. The team decided to set really high goals and with that comes fear of not reaching them; as coaches, we've worked really hard to help the kids hold each other accountable to overcoming this challenge.
Our biggest challenge will be overcoming our own self-doubts about reaching our goals. The team decided to set really high goals and with that comes fear of not reaching them; as coaches, we've worked really hard to help the kids hold each other accountable to overcoming this challenge.
12. What will be the biggest reason why your team is successful this season?
Everything we achieve this year will be because of the trust and commitment each teammate has for the others.
Everything we achieve this year will be because of the trust and commitment each teammate has for the others.
13. What is a favorite annual or common pre-season workout or run for your team?
Our favorite workouts in the summer are the ones where it isn't 110 degrees! We love to go up into the desert and hit the trails and we enjoy running long, strong tempo runs on the Dirt Mile.
Our favorite workouts in the summer are the ones where it isn't 110 degrees! We love to go up into the desert and hit the trails and we enjoy running long, strong tempo runs on the Dirt Mile.
14. What is a favorite annual or common mid-season workout for your team?
As we get into the mid-season, we do a lot of SWEP and Tinman style workouts - longer intervals at 8K-5K pace on the grass.
As we get into the mid-season, we do a lot of SWEP and Tinman style workouts - longer intervals at 8K-5K pace on the grass.
15. What is a favorite annual or common championship season or end-of-season workout for your team?
At the end of the season we just keep trying to work to developing race pace and some quicker stuff.
At the end of the season we just keep trying to work to developing race pace and some quicker stuff.
16. What are your top 3 goals for this year's squad?
We have set really big goals and we know that they will be very tough to get. One is to win both boys and girls state titles. Although both teams have been on the podium a few times, we have yet to achieve both state titles in the same year. There are some very good programs in 4A and this goal will really push us. Another goal is to qualify for Nike Nationals. We've been inching our way closer the past few year and we feel we are ready to move up to the next level this year. An incredibly tough thing to achieve, but as Eugen Herrigel said, "Fundamentally, the marksman aims at himself." At Pine View we are just trying to be the very best that we can be.
We have set really big goals and we know that they will be very tough to get. One is to win both boys and girls state titles. Although both teams have been on the podium a few times, we have yet to achieve both state titles in the same year. There are some very good programs in 4A and this goal will really push us. Another goal is to qualify for Nike Nationals. We've been inching our way closer the past few year and we feel we are ready to move up to the next level this year. An incredibly tough thing to achieve, but as Eugen Herrigel said, "Fundamentally, the marksman aims at himself." At Pine View we are just trying to be the very best that we can be.