Lady Cardinal Track & Field
2005 Season Results

SSC Girls Compete in 2005 NE State Track Meet

The South Sioux City Girls Track & field team put the wraps on a fantastic season of competition by participating in the Nebraska State Track & Field meet (the 3^rd largest High School Track Meet in the nation) on Friday, 5/20 – Saturday, 5/21/05.  The Girls performed well—season and personal bests.

Sara Gotch competed in the 400-meter dash, running a blazing 59.57 second time—3^rd fastest all-time at SSC.  This time allowed her to advance to the finals on Saturday, where she finished 8^th, with a time of 1:00.5.  This caps a stellar career for Sara – that has seen her rise to the top of the SSC all-time charts in the 100, 200, 400, Long Jump, and 4x100 meter relay, where she anchored the school record setting relay last spring. 

Sara also competed in the 200-meter dash at State but lost some pop out of her legs (courtesy of the 400) and failed to qualify for the finals.

The 4x100 meter relay qualified for state as well and finished 10^th (2 places higher than their seed) in a season’s best time of 51.80 seconds.  The members of that relay are:

Tabatha Williams, Alyssa Paulsen, Kelsey Troth, & Sara Gotch

This relay also capped the career of Alyssa Paulsen, another star performer for the Cardinals throughout the course of her career.  She is near the top of the all-time charts in the Triple Jump; 200 meters; 400 meters; 4x800 meter relay; and 4x100 meter relay, where she also had a hand in setting the school record.

The coaches have enjoyed this season immensely and will miss the departing seniors, but also look forward to next year with anticipation, having the Freshman City Champs and the Heelan 9/10 Champions returning to carry the torch.

SSC Girls 9^th At B-4 District

The South Sioux City Girls Track & Field team competed in the District Track & Field meet on Thursday, May 12, 2005.  The girls competed hard and finished 9^th in a tough 11-team field scoring 24 points.  Much of the scoring was accounted for by senior Sara Gotch, who was 3^rd in the 200 and 400 and also anchored the runner up 4x100 meter relay team—each of which qualified for the State track meet.  The 4x100 meter relay team was comprised of Tabatha Williams, Alyssa Paulsen, Kelsey Troth, and Gotch.  Congratulations to all of our qualifiers and all of our girls who competed for us this year.

SSC Results:

2^nd Place:

4x100 meter relay    Tabatha Williams, Alyssa Paulsen, Kelsey Troth, Sara Gotch    51.90

3^rd Place:

200 meter dash    Sara Gotch        26.20

400 meter dash    Sara Gotch     1:00.90

5^th Place:

100 meter hurdles      Tabatha Williams    17.10

6^th Place:

Long Jump            Sara Goch   15’ 3 1/2”

4x800 meter relay    Alexa Phipps, Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Sadie Johnson  11:35.20

SSC Freshman Girls Track & Field Team – City Co-Champs!

The South Sioux City Girls Track & Field Freshman team competed in the Sioux City Freshman Metro meet on Monday, 5/9/2005 and for the first time since 1988, now reign as the City Champs.  The girls managed a tie with Sioux City Heelan with 97 points, Sioux City North was close behind with 95 points, and East in 4^th with 75 points.  Sioux City West did not field a team.  The coaches couldn’t be prouder of this accomplishment—it has long been a goal of our program to win a Freshman City Championship, and we’re thrilled to have gotten this job done.  Congrats to all girls in our Track & Field program.  Girls who contributed to this victory:  Cruz Ochoa, Tabatha Williams, Katie Nissen, Emily Schaefer, Margaret Navarrete, Sara Abbe, Salena Snake, Emily Kavanaugh, Alexa Phipps, Jody Thompson, and Molly Fuchser.  Every girl on our team scored in this meet.

City Meet Results:

1^st Place:

100 meter hurdles       Tabatha Williams       16.93

High Jump                    Katie Nissen               4’ 10”

Shot Put                       Cruz Ochoa              31’ 8 1/2”

300 meter hurdles        Tabatha Williams     55.39

2^nd Place:

Discus                          Salena Snake     81 8 1/2”

300 meter hurdles        Katie Nissen      55.88

4x200 meter relay         Molly Fuchser, Katie Nissen, Tabatha Williams, Emily Shaefer    1:59.35

3^rd Place:

Long Jump                  Emily Schaefer     13’9”

High Jump                   Emily Schaefer       4’4”

800 meters                  Alexa Phipps          2:41.0

1500 meters                Alexa Phipps         5:40.81

4x100 meter relay       Tabatha Williams, Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Emily Schaefer     56.88

400 meter dash           Margaret Navarrete       1:12.56

4^th Place:

Discus                         Cruz Ochoa               77’10”

High Jump                   Jody Thompson            4’4”

Shot Put                      Sarah Abbe                 25’ 6”

800 meters                  Emily Kavanaugh   2:42.95

1500 meters                Emily Kavanaugh    5:54.76

Sprint Medley Relay     Sarah Abbe, Salena Snake, Cruz Ochoa, Jody Thompson         2:26.87

4x400 meter relay        Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Alexa Phipps, Molly Fuchser   5:14.16

5^th Place:

Shot Put               Salena Snake     25’ 2”

100 meter dash    Molly Fuchser    14.25

SSC Lady Cardinals Freshman City Meet Champs

Something happened last night at the Cardinal complex that hasn't happened in 17 years.  The freshman girls track team are the new Freshman City Champs.  The last time that South Sioux City won the freshman city track meet was back in 1988 lead by Sherri Hames.  The new City Champs scored a total of 97 points and were led by Cruz Ochoa winning the shot put with a distance of 31feet 8 inches, Katie Nissen winning the high jump with a personal best of 4feet 10 inches, Tabatha Williams winning the 100 meter hurdles with a personal best of 16.93 and also winning the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 55.39.  The other teammates that contributed to the win were:  Salena Snake, Sarah Abbe, Emily Schaefer, Margaret Navarrete, Jodi Thompson, Molly Fuchser, Alexa Phipps, and Emily Kavanaugh.  Congratulations Freshman City Champs!!!!

SSC Girls Track & Field Team 3^rd in RCC Meet

The SSC Girls Track & Field team competed in the River Cities Conference Track & Field meet, Friday,  5/6/05.  The girls competed well on a warm, windy day and came away from the meet with a hard fough 3^rd place showing, accumulated 73 points.  Sara Gotch led the way by winning the Conference Long Jump title, finishing 2^nd in the 400 meters, 5^th in the 200 meters, and anchoring the 4x100 meter relay to 3^rd place in their best time of the year.   The following are the point totals and place finishes for the SSC girls Track & Field team in the RCC meet:

                                                1.  Ralston                      137 points

                                                2.  Beatrice                       97 points

                                                3.  South Sioux City       73 points

                                                4.  Skutt Catholic              57 points

                                                5.  Roncalli/Duchesne      44 points

                                                6.  Gross Catholic             24 points

1^st Place:

Long Jump                  Sara Gotch              15’ 5”

2^nd Place:

Triple Jump                 Emily Schaefer            32’ 2”

400 meters                  Sara Gotch              1:01.00

3200 meters                Brittany Stabe       13:12.60

3^rd Place:

Shot Put                      Jackie Humphrey    34’3”

High Jump                   Katie Nissen         4’ 8”

1600 meters                Alexa Phipps     5:58.14

4x100 meter relay       Tabatha Williams, Alyssa Paulsen, Kelsey Troth, Sara Gotch    51.70

4^th Place:

100 meter hurdles       Amber Estochen     17.30

5^th Place:

Discus                       Jackie Humphrey        99’ 1”

100 meter hurdles     Tabatha Williams       17.42

200 meter dash         Sara Gotch                26.98

300 meter hurdles     Amber Estochen       54.60

High Jump (tie)          Emily Schaefer             4’4”

6^th Place:

Shot Put                Cruz Ochoa             32’ 1/2”

800 meter run       Brittany Stabe       2:44.10

SSC Freshman / Sophs Win the Heelan 9/10 Invitational

 The SSC Freshman and Sophomore Track & Field team competed in the Heelan 9/10 Invitational on Monday night, 5/2/05.  The girls competed very well, winning the competitive 8 team meet, scoring 98 points.  Team depth accounted for the win, with SSC scoring with 2 or 3 placers in some events.  What follows is the SSC places for the Heelan 9/10 meet:

1^st Place:

Shot Put             Jackie Humphrey       34’9”

3000                   Brittany Stabe        11:56.8

800                     Brittany Stabe           2:39.6

400 m hurdles   Tabatha Williams    1:19..2

2^nd Place:

Shot Put                    Cruz Ochoa                    32’

4x800 meter relay    Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Sadie Johnson, Alexa Phipps  11:50
100 meter hurdles    Tabatha Williams        17.25

4x200 meter relay     Tabatha Williams, Molly Fuchser, Katie Nissen, Emily Schaefer   2:00.77

400 meter hurdles    Katie Nissen        1:19.65

1500 meter run         Alexa Phipps       5:26.18

3^rd Place:

Discus           Jackie Humphrey     87’

4^th Place:

High Jump                 Katie Nissen                4’ 8”

400 meter dash        Margaret Navarrete     1:12.41

4x400 meter relay    Emily Schaefer, Molly Fuchser, Alexa Phipps, Emily Kavanaugh       4:50

5^th Place:

800 meter run           Emily Kavanaugh                             2:54

1600 meter run         Emily Kavanaugh                             6:07.92

4x100 meter relay    Tabatha Williams, Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Emily Schaefer   57.12

6^th Place:

Discus                     Salena Snake               83’

800 meter run         Sadie Johnson           2:54

1500 meter run       Margaret Navarrete   6:18.09

SSC Girls Track & Field Team 3rd in SSC Invite

 The South Sioux City Girls Track & Field team finished 3^rd in the South Sioux City Invite, held in South Sioux on Friday, April 29^th, 2005.  The girls scored 67 1/2 points to finish 3^rd behind Columbus (136 points) and Omaha Westside (108 points), and finished  ahead of Omaha Northwest (62 points), and all of the Sioux City schools.  South Sioux was paced by Alyssa Paulsen’s win in the 400 meter dash (1:02.38) which moved her into the 7^th place spot on the SSC all-time charts, Sara Gotch, and Amber Estochen, who finished 2^nd in the 100, 200, and 100 meter hurdles respectively.  The following is the list of SSC placers:

1^st place:
400 meters    Alyssa Paulsen    1:02.38

2^nd Places:
100 meters              Sara Gotch            12.96
200 meters              Sara Gotch            26.55
100 meter hurdles   Amber Estochen    17.14

3^rd Places:
Triple Jump               Emily Shaefer    30’ 7 1/2”

4^th Places:
100 meter hurdles    Tabatha Williams      17.68
1600 meter relay      Amber Estochen, Katie Nissen, Brittany Stabe, Sara Gotch     4:34.23
Shot Put                   Cruz Ochoa     33’ 8 1/2”

5^th Places:
High Jump                  Katie Nissen        4’ 8”
4 x 800 meter relay    Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Sadie Johnson, Alexa Phipps 11:42.25
300 meter hurdles     Amber Estochen   53.75

6^th Places:
1600 meter run       Alexa Phipps  5:52.21
4x100 meter relay   Tabatha Williams, Amber Estochen, Emily Schaefer, Sara Gotch     55.68
Shot Put                  Jackie Humphrey       33’ 2”

SSC Girls Track & Field team Competes in Sioux City Relays

The SSC Girls Track and Field team took part in the Sioux City Relays on  Friday & Saturday, April 22^nd & 23^rd.  The team fared well, collecting some placings in this meet featuring over 1700 of the areas finest participants.   SSC’s efforts were headlined by Sara Gotch’s 4^th place effort in the Class B 100 meters and 4^th place finish in the open Long Jump.
Friday Results
Freshman 4x100 meter relay   2^nd Place   Tabatha Williams, Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Emily Schaefer   56.37 sec.
Freshman 4x200 meter relay   2^nd Place   Katie Nissen, Amanda Byrne, Molly Fuchser, Emily Schaefer   2:03.95

Saturday Results:
100 meter dash          4^th Place   Sara Gotch             13.51
100 meter hurdles      8^th Place    Amber Estochen    17.82
                                  10^th Place   Tabatha Williams   18.00
3000 meter run           14^th Place   Brittany Stabe        11.58.12
100 meter dash (elite)  6^th Place   Sara Gotch            13.29
4x200 meter relay         5^th Place   Tabatha Williams, Kelsey Troth, Alyssa Paulsen, Sara Gotch  1:52.14
1500 meter run           18^th place   Alexa Phipps        5:32.09
                                    20^th place   Brittany Stabe      5:35.05
400 meter hurdles      14^th place   Amber Estochen  1:14.62
Long Jump       4^th place   Sara Gotch       15’ 10 1/2”
                       23^rd place   Kelsey Troth      13’ 10”
Shot Put         17^th place   Cruz Ochoa       31’ 8 3/4”
                        18^th place   Jackie Humphrey    31’ 7”
Discus Throw       8^th Place   Jackie Humphrey     105’7”
                            23^rd place    Heather Yacevich      91’ 10”
Freshman 4x400 meter relay   2^nd place  Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Emily Schaefer, Alexa Phipps  4:40.61

SSC Girls Track & Field in East Invite

The South Sioux City Girls Track & Field team competed in the East Invite on Tuesday, April 19^th.  The girls competed very hard and came away with many seasons best and personal best performances.  Headlining SSC’s efforts in this meet was Senior Sara Gotch’s 1^st place finish in the 400 meter dash in a blazing 1:00.13 seconds.  This clocking was the 5^th fastest all-time and positions her well to attempt to break the school record of  59.1 seconds later in the season.  The entire team  competed well, however,-- 4^th in the meet totaling 61 points-- the results are as follows:

1^st Places:

Shot Put                Jackie Humphrey        33’ 4”

400 meter dash    Sara Gotch               1:00.13

2^nd places:

4x100 meter relay    Tabatha Williams, Emily Schaefer, Kelsey Troth, Sara Gotch       53.30

4x400 meter relay    Kelsey Troth, Brittany Stabe, Amber Estochen, Sara Gotch        4:29.44

3^rd Place:

400 meter hurdles    Amber Estochen    1:14.18

4^th Places:

Long Jump                  Sara Gotch        15’ 9”

Shot Put                      Cruz Ochoa       31’ 5”

Shuttle Hurdle Relay   Sarah Tan, Tabatha Williams, Jessica Wooley, Amber Estochen    1:18.91

100 m hurdles             Amber Estochen      17.28

800 meter run             Brittany Stabe        2:44.16

1500 meter run           Alexa Phipps         5:20.75

Sprint Medley Relay    Jessica Tapia Emily Schaefer Carrie Anderson Molly Fuchser    2:11.87

5^th Places:

4x800 meter relay    Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Sadie Johnson, Alexa Phipps   11:47.13

4x200 meter relay    Tabatha Williams, Emily Schaefer, Molly Fuchser, Kelsey Troth  1:58.38
 

Girls Track & Field Team 3^rd @ the City Meet

     The SSC Girls Track & Field team competed in the Sioux City Track & Field meet on Friday, April 15, 2005.  On a beautiful night for Track & Field the girls showed up very well in competition against the rest of the City, accumulating an impressive point total of 99 points—the most in many years.  SSC was paced by senior Sara Gotch who collected two wins (100 & 200), anchored a second place 4x100 meter relay, and finished 3^rd in the Long Jump. The South Sioux City JV team was 4^th in their division. Results are as follows:

1^st Places:
100 meter dash          Sara Gotch              12.98
200 meter dash          Sara Gotch              26.68
Shot Put                     Jackie Humphrey     34’ 7”

2^nd Places:
Shot Put                     Cruz Ochoa                32’ 0”
400 meter hurdles      Amber Estochen            1:15.62
Discus                       Jackie Humphrey            102’9”
4x100 meter relay      Tabatha Williams, Katie Nissen, Kelsey Troth, Sara Gotch      53.50

3^rd Places:
4x400 meter relay           Kelsey Troth Emily Schaefer Brittany Stabe Amber Estochen             4:37.78
Long Jump                      Sara Gotch              15’ 4”
Distance Medley Relay   Jessica Tapia, Carrie Anderson, Amanda Byrne, Emily Kavanaugh     5:15.62

4^th Places:
800 meter run             Brittany Stabe           2:40.63
3000 meter run           Brittany Stabe         12:12.04
4x800 meter relay       Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Sadie Johnson, Alexa Phipps  11:47.61

5^th places:
1500 meter run         Alexa Phipps        5:31.04
100 meter hurdles    Amber Estochen     17.14
4x200 meter relay     Katie Nissen, Emily Schaefer, Molly Fuchser, Kelsey Troth      2:00.24
High Jump                Emily Schaefer            4’8”
Sprint Medley Relay     Emily Schaefer, Jessica Tapia, Carrie Anderson, Molly Fuchser     2:13.22                  

6^th Places:
100 meter hurdles      Tabatha Williams    17.73

Other SSC Results
High Jump       Katie Nissen            4’4”
Long Jump      Kelsey Troth           14’ 2”
                        Tabatha Williams   12’ 5.5”
Shot Put         Jessica Tapia          25’ 01”
Discus           Heather Yacevich     86’ 06”
                       Salina Snake            76’ 05”
 

Junior Varsity Results
100 meter dash       6^th       Sarah Tan                  15.64
                                 7^th       Jodie Thompson            15.72
                                 8^th       Jessica Wooley            15.94
200 meter dash        6^th      Sarah Tan                  32.76
                                 7^th       Jodie Thompson            33.30
800 meter dash        4^th       Sadie Johnson                      3:01.60
1500 meter run         2^nd      Margaret Navarrete            6:37.96

4x100 meter relay     5^th      Salina Snake, Cruz Ochoa, Jessica Tapia, Jackie Humphrey   1:05.50           

4x400 meter relay    1^st       Katie Nissen, Carrie Anderson, Alexa Phipps, Emily Kavanaugh   4:59.06

Shot Put                  3^rd        Salina Snake        26’
                                4^th        Brooke Graves     26’
                                7^th        Sarah Abbe           24’
                               11^th       Meghan Renfer    18’ 4”

Girls Discus Throw      3^rd    Cruz Ochoa        66’ 09”
                                     7^th    Sarah Abbe         58’ 05.5”
                                     8^th    Brooke Graves    32’ 01”

SSC Girls Track & Field  6^th at Omaha Benson 

The South Sioux City Girls Track & Field team finished 6^th (out of a 10 team field) in the Omaha Benson Invitational on Saturday.  The girls scored 39 points in this competitive  meet, made up primarily of Metro Conference schools.  Sara Gotch, Jackie Humphrey, and Amber Estochen led the way with three third place finishes in the Long Jump, Shot Put, and 100 meter hurdles respectively.  The following are the SSC places and finishes:

3^rd Place:
Jackie Humphrey        Shot Put                   35’ 1”
Sara Gotch                  Long Jump               15’ 6”
Amber Estochen         100 m hurdles        16.9 seconds

4^th place:
Sara Gotch        400 meter dash   1:02.5

5^th place:
Emily Schaefer       High Jump            4’ 8”
Brittany Stabe         3200 m run          13:29
Amber Estochen     300 m hurdles     53.97 seconds
Tabatha Williams    100 m hurdles     18.80 seconds

6^th Place:
Sara Gotch             200 meter dash       27.8 seconds
Brittany Stabe       1600 meter run            6:09

Other SSC results:
Long Jump      Emily Schaefer       13’ 11”
Shot Put          Sarah Abbe             24’2”
                        Cruz Ochoa            30’ 4”
High Jump       Katie Nissen           4’ 6”
Discus             Jackie Humphrey    101’ 11”
                         Cruz Ochoa             55’ 7 1/2”
                          Heather Yacevich    88’ 6 1/2”
Triple Jump          Emily Schaefer         28’ 81/2”
100 meter dash    Emily Schaefer       13.8 seconds
                             Katie Nissen            13.8 seconds
3200 m run       Margaret Navarrete   16:48
800 m run         Alexa Phipps         2:46
                         Emily Kavanaugh   2:57

SSC Girls Track & Field 5^th at Elk Point Invitational.

The South Sioux City girls Track and Field team competed at the Elk Point-Jefferson invitational on a beautiful spring night on Tuesday, 4/5/05.  The girls finished 5^th in a competitive 13 team field—a finish of which their coaches are extremely proud.  The Lady Cardinal Tracksters scored 59 points in this meet narrowly missing a higher placing.  Our next competition will be  Saturday in Omaha at the Benson Invitational.  This is a summary of the SSC placers and finishes:

2^nd Places:
            100 meter dash     Sara Gotch              12.80 seconds
            200 meter dash     Sara Gotch              27.40 seconds
            Triple Jump            Kelsey Troth                31’ 4”
            4x100 meter relay  Tabatha Williams, Alyssa Paulsen, Kelsey Troth, Sara Gotch     52.14 seconds

3^rd Places:      Shot Put    Jackie Humphrey       35’ 3 1/2”

4^th Places:
            Long Jump             Kelsey Troth                14’ 10”
            100 hurdles            Amber Estochen            17.80 seconds
            400 meter dash      Alyssa Paulsen            1:03.78
            800 meter run         Alexa Phipps             2:47.34
            4x400 meter relay   Alyssa Paulsen Kelsey Troth Amber Estochen Sara Gotch      4:29.1           

5^th Place:       3200 meter run        Brittany Stabe    13:25
6^th Place:       1600 meter run        Brittany Stabe      6:01

Other Finishes:
Shot Put:     Cruz Ochoa        31’1”
                    Jessica Tapia     27’11 1/2”

Discus:        Heather Yacevich       96’
                    Jackie Humphrey        95’
                     Salina Snake              69’

High Jump:    Alyssa Paulsen    4’ 5”
                      Emily Schaefer    4’5”
                      Katie Nissen         4’3”

Long Jump    Tabatha Williams    12’ 8”
Triple Jump   Emily Schaefer       29’ 1”

100 meter hurdles     Tabatha Williams       18.9 seconds
                                   Jessica Wooley         24.1 seconds

Girls 3200 m relay    Emily Kavanaugh, Margaret Navarrete, Sadie Johnson, Brittany Stabe         12:24

100 meter dash    Molly Fuchser      14.97
                             Jodie Thompson  15.1

4x200 m relay       Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Emily Schaefer, Carrie Anderson  (2:06—DQ)

1600 meter run     Alexa Phipps           6:06.0
                             Emily Kavanaugh     6:41.37

300 m hurdles      Amber Estochen       54.1
                             Tabatha Williams      54.3

Medley Relay       Emily Schaefer, Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Emily Kavanaugh    5:25.46
800 meter run       Sadie Johnson         3:08
200 meter dash    Carrie Anderson    33.8
3200 meter run     Margaret Navarrete     15:35.0

South Sioux City Girls Track & Field at Dan Lennon Invitational

The South Sioux City Girls Track and Field team competed, Monday, March 28, 2005 in the Dan Lennon Invitational in Vermillion, SD.  The Dan Lennon meet is one of the larger that we attend all year and is a very competitive meet.  South Sioux managed to come away with several places & more strong performances.  Full results are as follows:

5^th Place:
4 x 200 m relay   Kelsey Troth, Alyssa Paulsen, Tabatha Williams, Sara Gotch   1:53.29
4x400 m relay     Amber Estochen, Kelsey Troth, Alyssa Paulsen, Sara Gotch    4:28.05

SSC  Results
High Jump          Katie Nissen        4’ 8” (tie, 19^th)
                           Emily Schaefer     4’ 8”  (tie, 19^th)

Long Jump         Kelsey Troth      14’ 3”   (19^th)
                           Tabatha Williams       13’ 10”

Shot Put             Jackie  Humphrey    34’ 02” (11^th)
                           Cruz Ochoa             29’  01 1/2”

Triple Jump        Kelsey Troth       30’ 03 1/4” (22^nd)
                           Emily Schaefer   29’ 9”  (23^rd)

60 Hurdles         Amber Estochen     10.58(24^th)
                          Tabatha Williams     10.34(18^th)

60 meter dash    Tabatha Williams     8.82
                            Molly Fuchser          9.40

1600 meter         Alexa Phipps          6:09.38(20^th)
                            Emily Kavanaugh   6:50.14

Sprint Medley Relay     Emily Schaefer, Katie Nissen, Molly Fuchser, Alexa Phipps   5:15.2
400   Amanda Byrne       1:17.81
800   Emily Kavanaugh   2:57.55

All of the girls ran well and the coaches see this as a strong start to the ’05 season.