Young Guns: Spinu and Hoffman lead Rams at FCIAC cross country finals

Written by Dave Stewart
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 16:26

Alex Spinu has spent the fall leading the New Canaan boys’ cross country team through the twists and turns of the Waveny Park trails. And when it came time to step onto the big stage of the FCIAC championships last Thursday at Waveny, the Ram sophomore was back in his familiar spot.

Spinu finished the 5K race in 17:05 to take 15th place and earn a spot on the All-FCIAC First Team. The placement was the best of the day among all New Canaan runners, but Spinu didn’t quite meet his personal goal, although he managed to keep things in perspective.

“I wanted to break 17 minutes, but I cramped during the race, so I didn’t really get the chance,” Spinu said. “But there’s always time for improvement, so that’s just going to be my next goal for the next few years.

“It was a good performance but I don’t think it was his best and I think he feels the same way,” Head Coach Evan Remley said. “He was the only sophomore on All-FCIAC and that’s great, but it’s tough to know what he could have done if he had his best performance. It was definitely a good thing, but it’s something we want to keep working on.”

Remley’s Rams tied Fairfield-Ludlowe with 188 points, but Ludlowe finished sixth and New Canaan seventh based on the finish of the teams’ sixth-place runners.

Spinu and junior Brant Hoffman earned All-FCIAC awards to highlight the day for the Rams. Hoffman made the Second Team with a 24th-place finish and a personal best time of 17:30.

“Brant had a great race,” Remley said. “It was his best time of the year today and he did a great job at the right time for us.”

“I was around my goal,” Hoffman said. “I was situated well on the team. A lot of kids I recognized from old races and I was right there with them. I beat a few kids I usually don’t so I was happy with that, and I PR’d so that was good.”

New Canaan junior Pat Daly came in 47th with a time of 18:17, while freshman Kalan Lysenko was 52nd in 18:23, and junior Taylor Parsons was 55th in 18:25 to round out the scoring.

Senior Todd Bratches was 63rd in 18:45, junior James Arliss was 72nd in 19:03, and senior Will Guynn was 76th in 19:06.

The race was run on a different course than in past seasons in order to reduce the number of times runners crossed the road in the middle of the park. The race began in its usual spot next to the water towers, then crossed the road to the Waveny castle side of the park. Runners crossed the road just one more time near the finish.

Hoffman watched the start of the freshman race and adjusted his game plan accordingly.

“I was watching the freshman race and I saw how people were funnelled, so I sprinted out as fast as I could,” Hoffman said. “Over the next 2K or so, I just jockeyed for position with people, and then I tried to speed it up a little in the woods. With about a kilometer and a half (to go), you just start kicking it in, and on the last flat part, I was just sprinting it out and I passed one or two kids. It worked out well.”

Spinu, meanwhile, wasn’t feeling overly optimistic at the beginning of the race, but started strong.

“In the beginning of the race I felt tired and I thought it wasn’t going to be my day,” Spinu said. “Then after we went up Mosley (the hill next to the castle), I felt pretty good and felt better about my chances, but as soon as we hit the woods, I started cramping. That’s when people starting passing me. Then I saw the people screaming, and this is almost my last race, so I just pushed through.”

The JV race also featured some solid performances for the Rams, as senior Eric Lysenko was 13th in 18:48, sophomore Dylan Kavookjian was 17th in 18:56, sophomore Wesley Rhudy was 21st in 19:05, sophomore Luke McDermott was 31st in 19:30, and senior Taylor Lysenko was 40th in 19:47.

The biggest positive of the day may have been the experience the Rams gained for the future. Of the eight Rams who particpated in the varsity race, six were underclassmen, including all of New Canaan’s top five.

“Our top five were a sophomore, a freshman and three juniors, so that’s a positive thing to see,” Remley said. “By virtue of that, we can expect to be potentially better than that next year. There’s a lot of ifs in that statement but we have the potential. We still have some work to do. There are some that are on the verge, but we need to make sure that they get better and progress for next year.”