Silver Medalists!!

My apologies for not updating sooner... the now-famous ice storm that hit New England last week left us without power for four days. I've been trying to put the house back together and get Christmas lined up since then. Now that we're in our third day of snow (16+ inches), I am finally finding my way to the computer!

Rob and The Nitehawks from Massachusetts took the silver medal at the Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships with 117 points! They were only two points shy of taking the national championship title away from the Southern California Road Runners (115 points), and finished ahead of third place Ric Rojas Running Club of Boulder, CO (144 points).

Rob and his teammates placed as follows, against tough national competition in the 3K race: USATF All-American, Max LaChance of Lunenburg finished in 13th place in 10:35. He was followed by Robbo (41st/10:54), Matt Fischetti of Groton (48th/11:01), Willy Lyons of Southborough (53rd/11:03), Jeremy Alley-Tartar of Vineyard Haven (81st/11:17), Sean McLaughlin of Norton (83rd/11:18), and Sam Kupperstein of Lincoln (119th/12:35).

Here's a picture of the team just after receiving their medals:

Congrats, Robbo, friends, and coaches!!

Headed for Nationals!

Back in the last summer, Rob joined the Nitehawks, a year-round running club consisting of athletes from all around the metrowest Boston area. It has been a very positive experience and has added a team element to an otherwise very individualized sport.


The Midget (12-year-old) Boys team (pictured above) of Robbo, Jeremy Alley-Tarter, Max LaChance, Sean McLaughlin, Willy Lyons, Matt Fischetti, Eli Bucher, Sam Kupperstein and Anthony Aguirre recently took first place at the USATF-NE Junior Olympics Cross-Country Championships with a near-perfect score of 17 points.

Then last weekend, at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx the team took first place at the USATF Region 1 Junior Olympics Cross-Country Championships, advancing to Nationals. Rob placed 6th overall, out of 130 runners!
So now it's off to Nationals! That race will be in Mechanicsville, VA on December 13th. The Nitehawks are a strong team and have a great shot at a top finish. Robbo is excited and working hard to prepare for his biggest race yet.
We'll keep you posted...

Catching Up

So I've fallen way way behind in posting to Robbo's blog... since the last post, Rob has run in about seven or eight cross country meets for his middle school. He usually placed 2nd or 3rd. As a team, they one every meet except one - the Carlisle Invitational. At that huge gathering of middle school teams, Ben Katz (Rob's teammate and friend) won the race, and Robbo placed 6th. Both guys ran great races!

Here are a couple of pictures... one of the start of the varsity boys race; the other of Robbo and Dad after the race.

At the end of October, Rob ran in the Mayor's Cup, an annual cross-country race sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association - the same organization that conducts the Boston Marathon. He placed 2nd in his age group, and his team, The Nitehawks, swept the race to win the team competition.

Next up. The USATF associational, regional, and national championships in Rhode Island, New York, and Virginia, respectively.

Stony Brook won the cross country contest with Blanchard MS yesterday. It was an extra fun race, since most of the kids from both teams know one another.

Rob placed second overall. Here is a picture from the race taken by Ben's father, David Katz.

Left to right -- Stephen (blue shirt), Rob, Ben, and Rahul.

Rob ran third in the cross country contest at Concord last week. Then yesterday, he placed second as Stony Brook hosted Bedford. Here's a picture from the beginning of the race. Rob is on the far right... this was about 300 meters in.

Stony Brook hosts Blanchard (the other middle school here in Westford) on Thursday.

Cross Country begins

Robbo has his first cross country meet today with the Stony Brook middle school team. They are running in Concord. I'll post results later...

Boston Globe Article

Robbo made the Boston Globe today, in the Globe Northwest section. Here's the link:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/03/young_runner_picks_up_speed/

So, he's been covered in all the local and regional papers now. Must be fun to be "famous!" ;-)

Congrats once again, Robbo!

Needham Youth Classic

Rob ran this morning at Wellesley HS in the Needham Youth Classic. He finished 2nd with a time of 4:58.13!

This is his third sub-five-minute 1500M, which indicates an amazing consistency in his running. It also is making him even hungrier to break the 4:50 mark! Hunger is a good thing...

Rob's little brother also ran and participated in several field events this morning. Catch up with his fun here.

Here is a picture of Rob running this morning:

Video from Junior Olympics - 1500M

Here's the race! Rob is wearing orange and black...

9th Place at Junior Olympics!

Robbo ran well this morning, finishing 2nd in his heat with a 4:56.70. This put him in 9th place for the overall final standings in the 1500M!

The whole Junior Olympic experience has been great. Omaha and Burke High School were amazing hosts. We are extremely proud of Robbo and all of his hard work... congratulations!!

A couple of pictures from this morning:

Austin with his sign, cheering him on -

And the traditional "three guys" picture after the race:

Rob and Austin both run in the Needham Youth Classic coming up this Saturday, August 2nd... should be lots of fun!!

Champ!

Whoo-wah! In a photo-finish, Robbo won his race on Saturday to become the Region 1 USATF Champion!

This win qualifies him to advance to the 2008 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Omaha, Nebraska. He will run there on Sunday, July 27th.

Since Austin (the greatest Ringbearer EVER!) and I were in St. Louis at my nephew's wedding, we're missing the usual photos and such. I'll see what I can pull off of the video camera to share (I just have to figure out how to do that, first!).

Congrats, Robbo!!

This Just In...

Rob will be running the 1500M at the USATF Region 1 Junior Olympic Outdoor Track & Field Championships this Saturday, July 12th, in New York City. We'll keep you posted...

Medals and Memories

So, here we are at the end of a long, fun, wonderful day... We spent the morning at Disney's Wide World of Sports, the afternoon at Hollywood Studios, and the evening at Magic Kingdom! It's time for sleep!!

Here are a couple of pictures from this morning. The first is of the medal ceremony following the race (Rob is on the left), the second is the traditional "three guys" shot.

Rob's run today placed him the Top 20 runners in the nation this year! http://www.eliteyouth.com/rf2008/rf2008.asp?DCODE=MB&ECode=1500

Way to go, Robbo... we are proud of you!

7th in Nationals!

Robbo placed seventh in today's race with a time of 4:53.82. It was a great race and we are extremely proud of him! He ran 11 seconds faster than his previous best. Way to go Robbo!

More tonight, with pictures and links...

In Print!

Austin woke up at his usual 5:30am, so he and I went out to get the paper. When we opened it, we saw Rob’s picture on the front page of the Sports section! We ran upstairs to Robbo’s room, and Austin woke him up with the paper in hand… needless to say, it was a fun, exciting morning in the DeSisto household!

Here’s the link…

http://www.lowellsun.com/sports/ci_9735971

Photo Shoot and Interview

Today was great! We met the photographer and the sportswriter at Rob's middle school track just after lunch. Both were very cool guys and Rob enjoyed the whole experience! Here are a couple of pictures from the day...

Paper Time!

We just found out that a regional newspaper wants to do a feature story on Rob! We're all set for tomorrow for the interview and photos. As soon as it's released, the info will be posted here.

Yea!

USATF-New England Junior Olympic Championships

Rob won again today! He competed in the New England Junior Olympic Championships at Fitchburg State College, and improved his personal best time with a 5:04.80. He continues to impress those who are both racing and watching!

Here is a picture of Austin, playing school buses under our tent and waiting (actually very patiently!) for the race to start.

Here is Rob, just after the race:

And of course the becoming-a-tradition picture of the three guys!

Next up is the AAU Club Championships at Disney's Wide World of Sports on July 3rd. Should he finish in the top 4, he will advance to the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Detroit at the end of July... Good luck, Robbo!!

AAU New England District Championship

Rob ran the 1500M today in the AAU District Championship. The meet was held at Thayer Academy in Braintree, MA. He won with a time of 5:08, setting (and shattering!) the previously-held record for his age group (5:29). Way to go, Robbo!!

He qualified to advance to the AAU Region 1 Championships in New Haven, CT on June 29th. But he and some of his friends are playing in a flag football tournament that day. He decided to play flag football instead. Of course, the fact that the tournament is at Gillette Stadium (the Patriots field) and they are playing on the same field as Tom Brady plays on, probably influenced his decision!

Next up: the USATF New England Association Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships next weekend in Fitchburg, MA.

Here is a picture of all three boys after the meet... Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Middle School Meet at Concord

Rob ran in the Stony Brook/Concord meet today. He ran the mile in 5:31, coming in second to an eighth grader from Concord Middle School. Here are a couple of pictures from the race.

Welcome to Robbo's Runnings!

Welcome to Robbo's Runnings! Here you will find information, pictures, and links regarding Rob DeSisto and his races.