Scouting Report: St. Louis University HS

 

SLUH has something that most teams dream of…a pack.  They come in with a minuscule 33 seconds between their top returner, Tom Laughlin, and fifth runner, Joe Archer.  Thebest returning finisher from State XC, Matt Nicholson, ran 9:40 this spring in the 3200m.  A guy to watch out for is John Esswein.  He ran a 4:21 1600m as a sophomore as well as finished with an All-State finish in the 800m.  

Back in 2009 SLUH won the state championship.  There is a chance this could be their year if their pack can continue to improve.  With six guys returning under 17, with another at 17:02, the depth for St. Louis University HS is astounding.  

Coach Porter Says...

"I think we did a good job of getting in some miles despite a hot summer.  It's definitely a challenge with the heat, but the guys got together and did a good amount of work.  We are also healthy at this point.  It's a long season, but I think we are off to a good start."

"We decided to add one race to our schedule this year for our varsity and that is the Parkway West Invitational.  Coach Shepard puts on a great meet and we are excited to be a part of it.  In addition, we will be running at the Forest Park XC Festival and the Palatine Invitational in Palatine, IL."

"My goal as a coach is the always help kids become better people and to try to get the most out of their potential during the season.  We can't really control how other teams race, but we can control what we do to become better, so we focus on that."

2012 Returner's Top Times

5K XC

  St. Louis University High School  
  1) Tom Laughlin   16:17.80  
  2) Matt Nicholson   16:18.10  
  3) John Esswein   16:48.30  
  4) David Arredondo   16:50.80  
  5) Joe Archer   16:51.50  
  Average Time: 16:37.30 -- Total Time: 1:23:06.50 -- 1-5 Split: 33.70
  6) Tom Rubio   16:53.30  
  7) Peter Rackers   17:02.10  

3200 Meters

9:40.16 Nicholson, Matt MSHSAA Class 3-4 State Track Championships 2012-05-25
9:54.15 Esswein, Joe Gary Parker Invitational 2012-04-13
10:15.94 Archer, Joe Washington University/Gateway Invitational 2012-03-24
10:20.95 Rubio, Tom MCC Championship 2012-05-03
10:25.00 Rackers, Peter Webster Groves Invitational 2012-04-03
10:27.61 Sullivan, Jack Ladue Brusca/Strohbach Invitational 2012-04-21

1600 Meters

4:21.44

Esswein, John

Dale Collier Invitational

2012-04-28

4:38.55

Nicholson, Matt

Charlie Beck Invitational

2012-04-07

4:43.25

Swan, Michael

Dale Collier Invitational

2012-04-28

4:44.07

Rubio, Tom

Ladue Brusca/Strohbach Invitational

2012-04-21

 
More Coverage

St. Louis University HS Team Page 

<p> <em>Coaches - Interested in featuring your team? - &nbsp;Please contact David @ deverett@milesplit.com</em></p>