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verminviscount · 2 years ago

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ive been made aware that i have strong opinions on my personal ranking of percy jackson characters so im making a post about it. bc thats what we do here on tungle.hell. experiencing brain worms? spread the word. @garecc i invite you to include your own brain worms here

for those who may not know, which i expect is most of my followers here, Travis (garecc) and i go way back to the days of a trials of apollo discord server that has since crumbled under the weight of various discourse and does not exist at this time. so if anyone understands pjo brain rot, its him.

ONTO THE RANKING. ill be focusing on main characters bc if i include side characters we'll be here all day and Sally Jackson would be every character in this top 5.

1. Hazel Levesque. Deserves better in the eyes of fandom. Gained pretty good control over the mist within one book. Has a cool magic horse. Similar tragic backstory to Nico, but not sulking about it. No shame in sulking, but its cool to see someone go through bad shit and come out still feeling mostly okay.

2. Will Solace. Unfortunately for me, I haven't finished the trials of apollo series yet, so i dont know THAT much about Will as he's primarily a background character. But Apollo kids and medics both get my utmost respect and appreciation, always. and he's a little bit of a sarcastic little shit, but the kind where people dont get annoyed with you bc its almost always funny and lighthearted. i know from hearing people talk about tsats that he's also a Sad Boy (which is to be expected as a demigod, tragedy physically cannot leave you alone.), and im excited to read about someone with my personality go through a mental breakdown :D!

3. Frank Zhang. Listen to me. How can he not be this high up. I don't even know where to begin with this guy, he's so gods damned cool. He's just such a good character and a good dude too! I'd love to be his friend. What a sweetheart, iirc he was the only person at camp jupiter who wasnt freaked out by Nico? he's so nice. children of Ares/Mars are usually mean, and he's so nice. i love him so much. also his life force is connected to a chunk of wood, which is kinda neat. he's a legacy of poseidon. he's canadian. im pretty sure his first name is Westernized bc his grandma calls him Fai, my last name was westernized when my great grandparents came over so i sort of get it though not nearly to the same degree. I ALMOST FORGOT HE CAN SHAPESHIFT!!! DUDE what a cool guy. we gotta move on, i gotta cut myself off. give him more attention in your fan works

4. Nico di Angelo. obviously a fan favorite, but im talking canon Nico here. im not talking about an uwu soft emo boi. im talkin about a sarcastic, pessimistic, deeply insecure little dude. listen, im not gonna talk about the things i love about nico because its been said a million times. its nothing new. im just gonna say that i love reading about characters that go through awful awful trauma and still overcome and find joy on the other side.

5. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. so my impulse is to put Leo here bc i adored him when i first read HoO. and if i didnt really think about it, i wouldve put him. but... Rachel!! how can you not love her! a mortal lady who can see through the mist, she fought with a hairbrush, she's the liveliest and loveliest oracle of delphi camp halfblood has ever and will ever know, she’s from money and hates it, she's an activist, an artist, way more helpful than the last oracle for sure. the mummy in the attic just left you to fend for yourself, Rachel will at least try to help you interpret what a prophecy means. she's blunt and talks a mile a minute, i love seeing my "flaws" represented positively in media.

honorable mentions: Leo Valdez of course, easily my number 6 spot. Apollo/Lester, we love seeing immense character development. Grover Underwood, probably the first time i ever had a definitive favorite character. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, romance would be dead and we wouldnt have a series without them.

#percy jackson #pjo hoo toa #character ranking

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highschoolharrier · 6 years ago

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Damon Godfrey is the head boys and girls cross country coach at Holmdel High School in New Jersey.

High School Harrier: Last year your team finished 3rd at the New Jersey Meet of Champions (a school best) and 7th at NXR NE. What were the expectations going into the season and how did the team feel the season finished?

Damon Godfrey: Last year, we felt we had the potential to be a top 10 team in the state of NJ. We had finished 13th the year before with a very young team and felt like top 10 in 2018 was a realistic goal. The highest finish any Holmdel girl's team had at MOC's prior to last year was 9th place, so we were shooting to place above that. We were extremely pleased with our 3rd place overall finish. The girl's had finished second the previous 2 weeks at both the sectional and Group championship meet to a very strong Metuchen HS team. Many people did not think that they would be able to respond after 2 tough losses back to back but they really responded with their backs against the wall on the biggest stage.

HSH: How big of a motivating factor is NXN in the training and lead up to the season for these girls?

DG: Going into this 2019 season our #1 goal as a team is to try to win the NJ Meet of Champions. We are trying not to focus on NXN and feel like we need to handle things in our own state before we can start thinking about Portland. There are so many great teams in the state of NJ that it is going to take a monumental effort to win Meet of Champions. If we are lucky enough to be in a position at the regional meet to have a chance for 1st or 2nd and make it to nationals then we would be ecstatic, but we are going to try to not focus on that until after MOC's.

HSH: Compared to last year, where do you see your program this fall?

DG: We are extremely excited for the upcoming season. We have added some very talented girls to the mix of our team to go along with the entire group that competed last year. We had no seniors on the 2018 team. All of the girls back this year were able to get some great experience last fall in some really big races that we hope will benefit and prepare them this year for the challenges ahead.

HSH: Do you have any athletes you believe are ready to have a breakout season?

DG: We have several girls that I think are ready to have breakout seasons this fall. We are led by seniors Emily Levonas and Claudia Zhang as well as Junior Caitlyn Joyce. All 3 are returning All-State runners and primed for a big season. We have also added 2 very talented and strong runners to the mix that are new to XC. Junior Julianna Brown and junior Margaret Wojie both have played soccer the last 2 years during the fall, but both have done very well for us on the track. Both young ladies are training extremely hard and I believe both will make an immediate impact as top 7 runners for our team this season.

HSH: Do you have any big regular season meets your team will be participating in this fall?

DG: We have several meets this season that we think will be extremely challenging this fall. In addition to our ultra competitive Shore Conference Championships and NJ State meets we plan on competing in the Bowdoin Invite as well as the Manhattan Invitational.

HSH: What is your philosophical approach to coaching that shapes how you run your program?

DG: My philosophical approach to coaching is that I put great emphasis on culture and relationships. With the amount of information available today to coaches everyone is knowledgeable and everyone has the ability to come up with great workouts. I strongly believe that the best coaches have a culture in place where everyone wants to contribute and everyone is vested in the outcome of the season. Finding out what motivates kids on a personal level and trying to push those buttons each day to me is the most important thing for team success.

HSH: What is a sample week of training for your program during the cross country season?

DG: During the XC season a typical week for us consists of a mixture of strength focused base runs and interval work. We are extremely lucky that we have Holmdel Park, which is the best park in NJ, to train at every day. I try to implement 2 harder efforts a week that involve both hills and speed. The other days of the week we focus on running together as a group at a solid pace and strengthening and lengthening the size of our pack. I am a huge fan and proponent of the motto often talked about by great coaching legend Frank "Gags" Gagliano. Strength + Speed = a champion.

HSH: How different is your track training versus your cross country training?

DG: The difference between our track and XC training is based around the type of workouts we do. We spend much more time doing faster interval work on the track during the winter and spring as compared to the fall. We try to keep similar mileage season to season but the winters in NJ can sometimes throw a wrench into that scenario. We try to focus much more on dissecting the different parts of Holmdel Park in the fall as well so that we feel we are comfortable and ready for the championship season there.

HSH: Do you have a staple workout you like to do with your program?

DG: A staple workout we love to do in the fall is mile repeats on the second mile of the Holmdel Park XC Course. The second mile is where the "bowl" is located. We will do 3-4 mile repeats at 5k race pace with only 2-3 minutes rest between each. This is a really challenging effort that we do a few times per season.

HSH: What type of ancillary training does your team do?

DG: Our team has really focused on strength training throughout the summer to prepare for the long grind of the XC season. Many of our girls work multiple times per week with a trainer where they focus on improving core strength and flexibility. We also try to use our weight room at school during the season to try to maintain the strength that we have built up during the summer months.

HSH: What do you think is the most important aspect of your training program?

DG: I think the most important aspect of my training program like so many others is consistency. I feel confident in myself and my staff's ability to turn kids into better runners as long as each athlete is willing to commit to our program and show up every day. If they are willing to be " all in" and work hard then I think each athlete will see tangible results that they can be proud of no matter their place on the team.

HSH: What was the most influential book or coach that helped you get to where you've brought your program?

DG: I have been very lucky to have been around some great coaches in my life that have had a major impact on me. My high school coach John Gundry, who coached NJ legend Janet Smith, was a major influence on me and helped form my desire to be a coach. My college coach at Lynchburg College, Dr. Jack Toms, also was a great mentor for me. More recently I have been extremely lucky to form great friendships with Jason Vigilante (Head Mens XC Coach at Princeton University) and Brad Hunt (Head Womens XC Coach at Princeton) Both of these incredible coaches have taken me under their wing and have been invaluable resources for me the past several years. I am always looking for their input and opinion on team related matters and feel very fortunate that I can call them friends.

HSH: What is one habit of your athletes that you wish you could change?

DG: One habit I wish I can change of my athletes is their lack of attention to sleep and rest. I am constantly reminding them how important rest and recovery is for performance but unfortunately I feel like sometimes it falls on deaf ears.

HSH: If you could improve one area of your training program what would it be?

DG: One area of my program that I wish I could improve is our participation numbers. Holmdel is a small Group 2 school and we are challenged during the fall season getting new athletes to join the team from the middle school level. It is difficult to compete with many of the larger Group 4 schools in NJ when they have upwards of 80 girls on the team and we have 16 or 17. It makes our margin of error very slim and forces us sometimes to be very conservative with our training.

HSH: As an aside from XC, you put on a very competitive 3200 meet in the spring. Can you say a little about that?

DG: The Holmdel Twilight meets that we put on in the spring are something we are very proud of. We try to attract the best runners not only in NJ but from the east coast to take part and we try to put on a high quality and fun meet. We are very lucky to have formed a partnership with Hoka One for our Twilight meets and they add a different level of validity to the events. We also have great partners in the owners of Runners High Shoe Store in Freehold, NJ, who do a phenomenal job helping us market the events to the local community.

Photo from the Holmdel XC Twitter

#holmdel #nj #newjersy #northeast #newengland

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