The sucess of the 2014 Flying Dragons

Lucian Ramnarase / T. Henning

The HSMSE Cross Country team has developed into one of the 20 elite Cross Country teams in the New York City area. The team reached the PSAL Cross Country City Championship of 2014; their success was greatly attributed to their ambition and focus on high paced running.

Coach Tom Henning prides himself on his recruiting skills and applauds the student athletes for their drive to be faster runners.

“I think we’ve been successful because MSE students work hard in anything that they do,” Henning said. “I’ve been very persistent in recruiting students.”

One prime example of an MSE student working hard is varsity runner Lucian Ramnarase. Ramnarase had a breakout season this year, finishing in 39th place out of about 200 other runners in the City Championships,  well above most of his fellow Flying Dragons.

Henning believes the success of his team is also due to coaching changes he made this season. Instead of increasing the mileage the runners run each week, he reduced the miles ran each week in order to develop faster runners instead of slower runners.

“I think I focused on more fast running, more high paced running with rest in between; I certainly took that from my track and field training,” Henning said.

Henning’s unorthodox quality over quantity approach has led to a team that reached the PSAL Cross Country City Championships for the first time. The accolades the team earned in the past year was a result of the enthusiasm the runners had, and the different approaches Henning used this past season in contrast to other great Cross Country teams.

                                          Authors: Bruce Mayfield, Harry Smith

The Flying Dragons journey into PSAL

HSMSE Flying Dragons at Grand Prix 1 / T. Henning

Finally after being acknowledged this fall as a PSAL cross-country team, the HSMSE Flying Dragons trained more intensely than ever to compete against the best in the city. Training four to five days a week in addition to weekly races, this team has been striving to be among the city’s top teams. All of the work this team has done has put them on the road to a bright future.

The HSMSE Flying Dragons have been forced to train harder since becoming a PSAL team. “The intensity of the practices were much greater this year since this was our first time in the PSAL,” said senior runner Marcelo Bravo. “The added level of competition made me run faster because I feel as a team, we felt like making our mark as able competitors.” The Flying Dragons worked hard to show off their speed in city wide competitions. In their first 5k Grand Prix at Van Cortlandt Park on September 19, 2012, five Dragons runners placed in the top 10, including Bravo. “Running has made me take on a very goal-oriented approach to athletics,” Bravo said. “It has made me competitive in a sense that I always want to improve my own personal bests.”

Thomas Henning, the coach of the Dragons, sees a bright future ahead for this team. Since joining the PSAL, the runners have improved due to not only running longer distances, but also “being a year older makes a big difference,” he said. “I think we’re going to improve because our best runners will be seniors.”

One of these seniors will be Kleant Daci. The 2012 Mayor’s Cup had many more schools competing against each other than the Dragons’ first Grand Prix. The junior placed 42nd overall in the 2.5-mile varsity race out of a total of 394. He is an extremely fast runner and the coach projects him to be a top competitor next season. “I think he’ll do well; he has a great work ethic,” said Henning. “He’s very gifted as an athlete and he’s very competitive in a sense of wanting to beat other people in a race.”

Now that they are in the PSAL, the Dragons no longer go to races as an unknown school. “There is a higher degree of competition than there was before,” said Daci. “We are going up against bigger schools and there's more competition, so this urges us to do better.”

Contributed by Alex Long and Kian Zadeh

The Flying Dragons' road to victory

After three years of being denied by the PSAL, this coming fall season will be the first appearance by HSMSE’s cross country team in the league. The Flying Dragons are planning to surprise the other competing teams. Thomas Henning, their coach, has great confidence in his team and knows they are going to go far. Henning said in an interview, “Nobody knows who we are so when we run, we are going to win and win.”

Henning is excited about his team finally being able to compete in the PSAL. The team’s first PSAL race starts in late September. The PSAL competition consists of ten races with teams from all five boroughs competing against each other for the championship. After asking Henning about his thoughts on the team’s first appearance in the PSAL, Henning replied, “It’s very exciting because we will be able to do ten races.”

Just like their coach, the Flying Dragons are looking forward to their first meet in fall. They will start preparing for this competition on the 20th of August. They will be doing drills and workouts such as long distance sprints, running up hills, and multiple mile runs four to five times a week. Sophomore Mathew Brown, one of the runners from the Flying Dragons who ran for two seasons gave his opinion on the drills and workouts, “It’s not fun, but I know it will help me improve.” These drills and workouts will turn out to help them in the future.

This will be an exciting season for the Flying Dragons. With their heads high, they will march towards victory. However, they do not expect for everyone on the team to win. Henning explained, ”You’re not trying to be first, you’re trying to be better.” The Flying Dragons want to win, but the top priority for them is to make themselves better. They are confident and training hard to get far in competition. They know that their hard work will pay off. This is a new era for the Flying dragons. The excitement within the team increases each day as the first PSAL meet gets closer.

The Best Pace is a Suicide Pace and Today is a Good Day to Die

     The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering Flying Dragons cross country team, “are a very tight group,” says head coach Thomas Henning. From practice to practice and meet to meet, they are always pushing each other to do the very best that they can. They have been running at the school for the past few years and although they aren’t a PSAL team, they love what they do. One of the most important values of the Flying Dragons is team spirit.

    The Flying Dragons have a very rigorous training regiment and this camaraderie is what keeps them going. They practice five days a week and run both long and short distances. The team runs on a variety of different surfaces such as grass, asphalt and dirt trails, because cross country meets span a variety of different running terrains. They do crazy things like running around in spirals on the surface of a hill; it builds up the muscles in your ankles which helps on the rough competition trails.  Kleant Daci, a runner on the Flying Dragons put it best, “You run ‘til you die and then keep on running.”

    Team companionship is the key for success in the sport of cross country, and thankfully for the Flying Dragons, this is not something that the team lacks. Everybody really gets along and they treat each other like family. When the team goes to meets, this is especially important. Daci says the Flying Dragons, “welcome each other like brothers and sisters, when someone needs an extra push we give it to them.” This is what makes the Flying Dragons such a great team; everyone is always having a fun time.

HSMSE Flying Dragons. Photo Courtesy of Thomas Henning

    Not only do they train hard and support each other throughout the year, the runners of the Flying Dragons love what they do. “It’s just a great feeling,” says Daci. Some people have also taken up leadership roles within the team. These leaders aren’t necessarily the fastest runners, but are the ones who are there for the team. They help the people that need it and really motivate the team to do better than their best.

    The main goal of the Flying Dragons is to improve their times, and many have done so. The top runners aren’t necessarily the ones who improve the most. Players such as Sam Braverman were able to improve their pace by 45 seconds, while others made similar improvement.  Improving your time is tough, but with enough effort, a love of cross country running, and support by your teammates, it becomes much easier.

    The HSMSE Flying Dragons have a great relationship with each other that helps them to improve their times. They always are supporting each other and helping them along the rocky road. For them, the key to success is support from their peers, having a good time, and running as fast as they can. As Steve Prefontaine once said, “The best pace is a suicide pace, and today is a good day to die.”

To learn more about the Flying Dragons visit their website.

Contributed to by: Greg Sakas, Timothy Jacobs and Amora Meas.

Why I Like Cross Country Running

Race starting line at Van Cortlandt Park/ Tom Henning

Cross country running encompasses the most important values that one can take from sports. It is widely participated in when it comes to high school teams although it can also be considered an individual sport. Runners may practice together, but when it comes to race day, one is in a constant battle against every other runner and most importantly, oneself. The body's true stamina and capability are determined greatly by the mind when it comes to running. As a competitive sport, cross country demands one to have complete control over the thoughts that say its time to stop or slow down when you really should not. The mindset of a runner always has the ability to be honed since running a race is a having to constantly make decisions all the way through. A racer has to consider what how long to keep a certain pace, when to surge another racer and must also be conscious of the body. It always feels great to be in tune with your body's physical workings and have enough discipline to control yourself under strenuous activity.

The physiological aspect of running; as with any sport, is important although the right mental capability is needed to truly excel. The true magic of running is the learning experience that is gained about how your own body responds to stress and actually builds off of it for strength. Progression is the drive for running cross country and there is no other feeling like sprinting the last stretch of a race and demoralizing the unsuspecting victim who lets their guard down. As a result, there is a predatory instinct in overtaking another runner and it makes the whole thing exhilarating. After gaining experience from every race, I love getting more accustomed to identifying the runners who I can overtake early on and those who I'll take later on. Perhaps even more satisfying than getting ahead of someone is taking back the lead position from someone who has surged ahead of you. Learning how to respond to being beaten or left behind is one of the few things that helps me to grow as an athlete and a person. It feels great to see yourself recuperating from a tough loss and it propels you forward to set higher standards.

The standards that one chooses to pursue when taking up running define what kind of experience you draw from it. One can set goals to run at a certain pace, complete a longer distance or run in an event that bears some personal significance. The biggest sense of accomplishment for me is knowing that every ounce of effort I put into my workouts and practices all help me finish strong through the finish line of a race. With competitiveness aside, participating in the sport itself is an amazing experience because of the scenery one encounters. From the tree populated trails of parks to grassy riverside courses, they all produce an amazing sense of serenity. Running throughout every season also keeps you in tune with nature and allows you to fully experience it as you tread through the snow, endure the rain and withstand the overbearing heat. Running with the Flying Dragons however, is the most rewarding factor for me since it allows me to bond with great teammates and the incredible coach; Tom Henning.