State XC Meet! @ Pasco, WA - Sun Willows G.C. - 11/4/23

RACE COURSE: 5k. Sun Willows Golf Course. A rolling golf course terrain with firm fairway footing and tons of good atmosphere and State Meet vibes. The quieter, opening mile is followed by a second and third-mile loop and a downhill finish. Upper 40’s to low 50’s for both girls and boys. Wet… but not really actively raining for any of our races. Again, universally not a great PR day due somewhat slippery footing, but PRs or close were still to be had with just the right race!

VARSITY GIRLS: 79 Finishers. Third place team with 75 points! PJP2 1st: 45, Garfield-Palouse 2nd: 51, Rainier 4th: 100, Davenport 119, Covenant 147, Manson 170, Three Rivers Christian 206

Finish places: 2-19-24-33-49-52-75
Scoring places: 2-14-15-18-26-28-47

GIRLS OVERALL: Third Place! We outperformed expectations with a really good solid day across the board. Congratulations! You have kept the streak alive of 8 straight appearances at the State Meet with 7 straight podium finishes. Quite an accomplishment and quite a tradition to be proud to be a part of. It was rainy and wet out there, but you stayed focused on the race and everyone ran well. What a pleasure and an honor it has been to coach such a fine group of young people – thank you for letting me be a part of your journey. You inspire me!

Leki: 19:32.1, 2nd Place. First Mile 6:06. Second Mile 6:23, Overall Pace: 6:17
That was truly one of the most hard-fought, inspiring races I have ever seen! I couldn’t care less whether you crossed the finish line first or second…you put on an incredible display of tenacity, trust, and toughness. I hope you can let the sting of being so close to the win fade a bit as you realize what you did. You raced so well – and then you slipped on the super wet downhill—and what happened next says so much about who you – Leki Albright – are. You got right back up. You didn’t panic. You regrouped, found your rhythm, and focused. And within half a mile you had not only made up the gap you lost in the slide but put that much distance on Ruby. So unbelievably heroic. You both were literally flying on that last mile, and you gave it literally everything. I could not be prouder. That was what sports are all about. And what you displayed in that race is exactly what will carry you so far in whatever comes next. That has nothing to do with coaching or training – that’s all within you. Yes, you will remember this race your whole life. Make sure what you remember is the sheer will and determination you showed, and we all saw. I’ll never forget it.

Samra: 21:33.6, PR, 19th Place. First Mile 6:38, Second Mile 7:10, Overall Pace: 6:56
Wow! So many style points earned with that one! You looked so smooth out there. You put yourself right into the top 20 and you held your spot so well. I could see your focus and your willingness to give it your all every step of the race. You never once looked like you weren’t totally “in it” and totally committed to doing what your team needed of you. For your first state meet, you seemed calm, cool, and collected and you didn’t let the whole scene distract you. Top 20 at state – that’s pretty amazing. Can’t wait to see what you do next….you’re just starting to realize how fast and strong you are!



Sandra: 21:45.1 24th Place. First Mile 6:41, Second Mile 7:11, Overall Pace 7:00
You ran 45 seconds better than last year on this course and more than 3 minutes and 15 seconds than the year before at state. That is such a great example of your entire cross-country experience. You have just been a steady force of improvement. I know you said you felt a little off – that’s understandable given it is an emotional thing to run your last high school cross country race. I hope what you take away though is this: even though you didn’t feel your best, you ran faster than every single race last year. Every. Single. One. And you finished in the top 25 of a very much improved girl’s field compared to last year. Congratulations on an impressive 4 years with Liberty Bell Cross Country. You’re a wonderful example of what hard work, trust, and finding joy in the team and running can result in. Thank you for being such a good example and a leader of this young team.

Ingrid: 22:25.3, PR, 33rd Place First Mile 6:53, Second Mile 7:22, Overall Pace 7:13
Here’s something to consider: You just ran that course more than 2 minutes and 10 seconds faster than last year. You are a completely different runner than last year—so much more confident, so much more willing to trust yourself, and so much more capable of handling the hard workouts that lead to results like this. Your season was stand-out! From 24:52 at Wenatchee to 22:25 at state in just seven weeks. What happened? I think you realized you can be really good at this and then you set some quiet internal goals and you worked hard to meet them. We are truly just starting to see what you can do – with another year of strength and some more running miles after track, you’ll launch into another sphere next year too. I’m so glad you’ve caught the cross-country bug! Plus, you really are a lot of fun to coach – don’t let anyone (like LK) tell you otherwise!



Alida: 23:35.4, 49th Place First Mile 7:01, Second Mile 7:57, Overall Pace 7:35
Pretty darn good considering you had a mean cold all week long. Your plate has been full the last few weeks and in spite of all that, you still ran within 40 seconds of your PR on a course that does usually run a bit slower than Twilight. While I know it wasn’t the exact result you were hoping for, I hope you take a lot of pride in what it represents. You started the year with a 24:51 at Wenatchee for 5K and now you just ran almost a minute and a half faster, when you have been sick! That’s a very impressive progression. And, it is totally due to your dedication and hard work. You are so wonderfully coachable. You care about running and your team and you aren’t afraid to put in the efforts that pay off in the end. You are already a good, strong, fast runner, and I believe that over the course of your three more years in high school, you will find you shatter the new goals you’ll set. Can’t wait to see you run track, right?

Nella: 23:48, PR. 52nd Place First Mile 7:26, Second Mile 7:56, Overall Pace 7:40
My oh my. Look what happens when Nella puts on some spikes and decides to go out a little bit harder. Amazing! A more than one minute, twenty second PR over 5K, in just one month. That’s hard to even fathom. Thank you for being willing to take the advice to get out harder. You managed it perfectly – keeping to your preferred move-up-through-race strategy, but just being further up in the race. You went from 57th at the mile to 52nd by the finish. Just the way you like it! Once again, you had an amazing last mile. You were just charging down the course and you were so focused. We are so glad you decided to join this team – you are a super good teammate and we all couldn’t be happier to watch you improve so much!

Yasmin: 28:56.5, 75th Place First Mile 8:32, Second Mile 9:33, Overall Pace 9:19
That was a really solid effort. You had to do much of that race alone and that is always challenging. Good job sticking with it. You ran up that last hill with so much determination. As I watched you, I thought that moment summed up your season really well. Sometimes it was hard this year, but you never gave in and when it came to race day, you always threw yourself into the race and did your best. I hope you’ll choose to come out for cross-country again. I believe you will find that with another year of racing experience, it all just gets easier and even more fun.

VARSITY BOYS: 163 Finishers. Fourth place with 142 points! Valley Christian 1st: 77, PJP2 2nd: 100, Chewelah 3rd: 108, Garfield Palouse 5th: 157, Okanogan 6th: 171, Davenport: 239, Covenant: 249, Adna: 250, Coupville: 252, Goldendale: 268, Cle Elum: 279, Brewster: 284, Mt. Vernon Christian: 299, Onalaska: 332, Morton White Pass: 336

Finish places: 1-12-29-82-98-108-109
Scoring Places:  1-8-17-52-64-70-71

BOYS OVERALL: Yet another year where I am proud to be a coach of this team! We improved as individuals, but grew even more as a group. With MANY youngsters and a crew of seasoned vets, we slowly but surely defined ourselves, learned how we work, and we emerged again near the top of the State. 59 boys teams started the year. 16 qualified for the meet in Pasco. 4 teams walked the podium, and only 3 teams - PJP, Chewelah, and LBHS - can say that they’ve done that for three years in a row – let alone 6 of the last 9 State meet competitions – a standard by which ONLY Liberty Bell is measured. You are in a class of your own among the B schools and are indeed one of the most consistent teams of the last decade. Congratulations again and thank you so much for an excellent season.

OF SPECIAL NOTE: Dexter's individual victory was a first-ever accomplishment for a boy's LBHS XC runner. Congratulations and well done!
 

Dexter: 15:45.10, 1st place. 1st mi: 4:54.2 (1), 2nd mi: 10:00.7 (1), Overall pace: 5:04
Wow! An excellent finish to a clearly terrific season. Happy for you to get the win and also EXTRA excited to see you looking just as good in the State meet effort as you have over the last several weeks. If you step it back a little, this was really just your first full year with complete and unhindered training cycles – no injury like 9th grade, and no canoe-summer like 10th. You adapted well to the stresses of racing and workouts, plus have found a workable balance between biking and running. Plus, and it bears repeating, your form found its “flow”. Relaxed and fast. Such is the thing :) Have an excellent trip to Idaho if you get into the race (fingers crossed) and then give yourself a break. Congrats again, Dexter, and good luck getting after it one more weekend. GRRR!

Will: 17:02.70, 12th place. 1st mi: 5:11.4 (11), 2nd mi: 10:42.9 (8), Overall pace: 5:29

A selfless race to cap off a totally team-oriented season! Thank you very much again, Will, for managing all of the stresses of a senior year, a young team, and an injury. Your efforts today definitely kept us on the podium, and your efforts all season long were good for so many people in the mix. I am very bummed that you didn’t get your chance to build on the Twilight PR and to crack that 16-minute barrier, but you are knocking on the door for sure. We could even take a stab at it with some kind of track time trial (or a Twlight track meet?) if it fits within the rules and regulations of a high school season. I’m hopeful too that you will keep at this running thing for college. I think that you would enjoy the heck out of it, but I also know that you will launch yourself well into just about whatever comes your way. Thanks so much again for 6 great years of XC. One more track season to go!

Aksel: 18:05.80, 29th place. 1st mi: 5:32.7 (33), 2nd mi: 11:36.9, (30) Overall pace: 5:49
Like any good runner or thinker, Aksel, you are always striving for more and wanting to be at your best. You set an incredibly high bar and time and time again you prove that you are willing and able to clear it. Sometimes that means running 17:12, and sometimes it is 18:05 but sticking to the competition like glue and kicking them down at the end! I wish for you too that we had been able to crack that 17 minute barrier at some point or to find that top 16 podium kind of finish, but what I saw out there on Saturday was, as usual, impressive. You’ve been pushing through discomfort and quirks of illness, but once again found peace of mind in your form and the steadfast reliability necessary to find that top-30 kind of spot – the second best 3rd man at the meet – on the race day down in Pasco. Any college coach would be excited to have you on his team and I look forward to cheering you on from afar should you choose to run next year – which I hope you will :) One more track season first. We’ll try to make it a fun one!

George: 19:07.80, PR, 82nd place. 1st mi: 5:56.1 (94), 2nd mi: 12:09.8 (73), Overall: 6:09

Congratulations, George, on an excellent final race and an AMAZING senior season. You launched into new 19-minute territory right from the start and were remarkably consistent all year long. And your race on Saturday was absolutely critical to the success of our fourth place finish. We needed every point we could get and from the opening mile you totally delivered. I hope you know how much you mattered out there, and I hope you know as well how much of a pleasure you are to have on this team. Even when you hurt or ache or don’t know quite how you feel, you are always gusty and determined and willing to put your own pain and discomfort aside in your efforts to help your team and your teammates. Awesome to see you shining on the season’s brightest stage. Congrats on earning the only boy’s PR on the day and thank you for an excellent three years of LBHS cross country. One more track season in the spring and I’m excited to get to coach you through at least a few more distance races :)

Kyler: 19:30.6, 91st place. 1st mi: 5:56.1 (93), 2nd mi: 12:20.6 (89), Overall pace: 6:17

From 22:36 in your 9th grade year to 18:35 as a senior. We haven’t made a huge deal out of it, but one-minute faster per year is a pretty awesome thing! You always show up and you always work. You’ve been an amazing part of this team and have made memories with this group that will surely last a lifetime. And this year, you were steady as a rock in the mid-19s with a breakout race at Districts that is definitely a sign of good things to come in the spring. You ran with all that you had at State, and while the time maybe didn’t show, you locked in early and finished. Super hard to know how we could have gotten out faster. It seems like the whole field was maybe just a little slow… but you were super steady in your spot. You didn’t falter, and you handled the pressure of your second State meet like the senior captain that you’ve been for us all year long. Thank you so much for an amazing six-year run of XC here at Liberty Bell. You are such a great athlete, teammate, and an even better person. Basketball first, but I can’t wait to watch you crushing quarter miles!!!

Brodi: 19:37.7, 108th place. 1st mi: 6:06.2 (125), 2nd mi: 12:31.4 (106), Overall pace: 6:19

Another near-PR performance and an excellent finish to your first year of cross! Strong running for sure over that second mile, and you moved up 19 places to get yourself back in contact with Tristan and to help him through to the finish. You also seemed to have locked-in on the mid-19 minute race pace and this should be a great launching point for the start of your senior season. Thank you for being very coachable. Thank you for trying something new. If your experience in year number two is anything like the pattern you’ll be “barbed-wire” dangerous next year dropping times in the low-18s. Something to anticipate… after you get done dusting your dad on the backcountry ski climbs this winter and tear it up with endless endurance on the soccer pitch this spring!

Tristan: 19:39.10, 109th place. 1st mi: 5:56.7 (96), 2nd mi: 12:30.3 (102), Overall: 6:19

Another step in the right direction and an entire season of building more strength and consistency as a varsity racer. I know that you are ready to bust one of these wide open, and I’m sorry that we couldn’t quite find the magic formula to unlock that 5:15-track-style speed on the XC course. That being said, a 40-second improvement over last year’s State performance is nothing to sneeze at, and low-19 is now your average It is also duly noted that you were better than every 7th man in the meet but one (from Valley Christian) so while we do lose a lot of senior power, it is positive to know that you are poised and ready for a major breakthrough! 

Sam and Liam: Thank you for truly doing an excellent job in taking your alternate roles seriously and in being prepared to race right up until the final moments. You were both right where you needed to be at all times and were supportive and attentive to the nth degree. Honestly, 9th graders at the state meet can sometimes get a little too excited and/or overwhelmed to the point of distraction, but you both demonstrated a maturity and readiness beyond your years. A great experience to build on for next year!

THOUGHTS FOR NEXT SEASON:
On the podium: All season long Valley Christian looked pretty solid, and they proved to be just that. Their 7th place finish from 2022 turned into a State title and they graduate no one! PJP was solid as well and Chewelah brought their A-game and pretty much ran their race of the year. Both PJP and Chewelah lose two of their 7 to graduation, but we will be rebuilding more than most :)

On the outside looking in for those podium spots: Garfield Palouse loses no seniors, nor does Okanogan (though they may be moving up to 1A), and Davenport only graduates Jaeger Jacobsen – a big loss, but still. There are plenty of young teams poised to climb the podium. We will need to set some goals for summer and build on our end-of-season freshman and junior successes to be back in a competitive mix.

 
On the local horizon: Okanogan may be moving up to 1A, but if not they will want some serious revenge. Their meet was improved from last year time-wise, but can’t be what they wanted. Brewster will reset things for sure, and we will also be competing with the likes of Goldendale and Cle Elum for District qualifiers/State allocations - where Goldendale in particular will have a senior heavy roster with probably hopes to improve upon their 11th place finish. We can certainly continue a proud tradition of consistency and success, but keep those fires on a low stoke, come out for track to develop some speed, and be ready to run when the school year is done and no one is meeting you for practice every day :)

District Meets! - Girls @ Apple Ridge XC Course (Yakima) 10/26 and Boys @ Home 10/28/23

GIRL’S DISTRICTS: Combined District 5 & 6 Apple Ridge Cross Country Course, Yakima, WA

GIRLS OVERALL: 1st Place with 19 points. 42 Finishers. Course was 3 miles. (The first time listed below was your actual race time. The second is that time converted to a 5K, so you can compare to other races from the season)

We are so lucky to get to coach you! You are amazing! You handled the crazy day, including 9 hours of bus riding, the cold temps, the brand-new-to-us course, the late night, AND the really tough racing. And, you handled it all with a wonderful sense of humor, humbleness, and true team spirit. It was a pleasure to spend the day with you — and truly awesome to watch you completely crush the state qualifier. We continue to believe you are going to surprise a whole lot of people next week.

Leki: 19:11 (translates to 19:52 for 5K). 1st Place
Perfect execution of the race plan on a day that really was more full than it should be. Great job managing the SAT and the race pressure. You did exactly what you needed to do — and in the process secured another sub-20 minute effort. And, I know you didn’t even feel your best (understandably given the super taxing week). You can actually tuck this one away in the confidence bank, because if you can run that fast and race with that kind of confidence EVEN when you aren’t feeling great, I can only imagine what you will do next week with a bit more rest. Keep believing. You’re a very good runner and racer. One to go.

Sandra: 20:45 (translates to 21:29 for 5K— PR) 4th Place
You have so much poise! Way to show the world what it looks like to move from the SAT in the morning to a PR over 5K in the afternoon, and not seem to be overwhelmed by any of it. I know you're super sleep-deprived and mentally exhausted AND you found a way to dig in on that second lap of the course and really run a terrific race. As you prepare for your last Liberty Bell XC race, I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on the amazing journey you’ve had as a runner. Freshman year your PR was 26:28. You are 5 minutes faster. You work hard, you compete with all your heart, and stay calm under pressure. I can’t wait to see what you are going to do next week.

Samra: 20:48 (translates to 21:32 for 5K — PR) 5th Place

It’s official— a new lifetime PR for 5K. Congratulations! And, it’s official that you are exactly the kind of person and runner that every coach dreams of having on their team. You soak in all the advice and cheering, you are incredibly focused on the task at hand, and you make the rest of your team better with your kindness, joy, and support. This was a terrific race — you got out into a perfect spot and then you and Sandra worked together to move up. You ran that hill perfectly both times and you worked for every second of that PR. I know it's been a busy, sleepless week... get a little rest and watch out — you’re ready for a big race next week.



Ingrid: 21:13 (translates to 21:58 for 5K — PR) 7th Place
PR doesn’t do this race justice. This was an out-of-your-mind effort. You PR’d by something like a minute and a half. I can’t even quite wrap my head around it. Except I can, because you’ve been putting in the hard work, you’ve been taking care of yourself, and you’ve been quietly gaining confidence. You kept your stride long and relaxed the whole way and you chose to dig in when the hard parts of the race came along. You worked well with Alida and you see the benefits of having a teammate to run with. You gave this one your all — and look what happened. Just do the same thing next week and wow!

Alida: 21:29 (translates to 22:14 for 5K — PR) 8th Place

A superb race in the midst of a super stress-filled week. You are learning you can manage it and as the to-do list gets a little bit less crowded in the week to come, you are going to find you can relax and enjoy the state experience. You’ve put in an amazing season of good work and combined it with a wonderfully goal-oriented, pain enduring mental toughness. You’ve already improved more than 3 1/2 minutes over 5K - and I believe you still have another PR in you. You did all the right things in this race — you worked with Ingrid, you both chased the runner from Highland with admirable tenacity and you finished strong. I hope you’ll take a moment sometime in Pasco next week and just tell yourself what an amazing freshman season you’ve had. It’s been so fun to watch you grow into realizing you are fast.



Nella: 23:32 (translates to 24:22 for 5K — PR) 16th Place.
Congratulations — a 30 second PR and you looked like this one was a lot more fun than the last one! The second half of the race was perfect - you found the racers from Manson we talked about and you raced them so well. You were flying down that last hill and really opening up in the finish stretch. Next week I want to challenge you to go out a bit harder. I know you like to come from behind and we can still incorporate that idea, but if you got out a little bit faster in the first third of the race, you’d be amazed at how much time you can drop. Congratulations on making it to your first high school XC state meet. Enjoy every minute!!

Yasmin: 26:35 (translates to 27:31 for 5K) 30th Place.
Another good hard effort! You were giving it everything in that last 400 meters into the finish! I loved watching you really focus on racing the runners around you. You worked that hill on the ups and every step of the way you were determined. You were ahead of Oroville’s 5th runner and Manson’s 6th and you were literally just seconds behind Warden’s 3rd and 4th runners. You’re improving each week. Now, on to state and let’s get that PR.

*****

BOY’S DISTRICTS: D6 only. Three teams and 21 individuals deep for qualifying.

RACE COURSE: 5km. The same as our home invite. Twisty, turny, two big campus loops with a variety of grass, dirt, and a few pavement crossings. A cold morning, but sunny with really no wind. Temps in the upper 30’s or low 40’s but I really never looked. It was 15 overnight so the ground was firm and fast.

VARSITY - 51 finishers. Second place to Okanogan, 39 points to their 32. 13th consecutive years of qualifying for State! Brewster 3rd (79 pts.), Tonasket 4th (88 pts.), Lake Roosevelt 5th (147 pts.), and Manson 6th (158 pts.). Between boys and girls both, we had 16 out of 21 PRs in our state-qualifying efforts. Not too shabby if I do say so myself :)

Dexter: 15:40.88, PR, 1st Place, 1st mi: 4:45, Overall pace: 5:03
Another very fine race and it was excellent to see that “flow” from the track carry over so nicely to a 5k solo effort in the cold. A little bit warmer weather on tap and in many ways a smoother course to run in Pasco this next weekend as well. One mile to launch, and then two laps of rolling hills to put in the work before a finishing kick up and over that rise. You have an excellent base, a good rhythm to ride, and lots of great interval and hill work to set you up. A little sharpening on the speed this week and we are excited to see you race on Saturday!

PS. Congrats on the new LBHS 5k XC record!

Will: 16:51.67, 2nd place, 1st mi: 5:00, Overall pace: 5:26
Thank you, Will, for an excellent and team-centric effort on a day when I know that you were rolling the dice a bit personally and running with the injury. You looked smooth throughout, but then were obviously tight at the end. A physically restful Sunday - with perhaps some mobility work hopefully kept you trending in a positive direction... but we will take things day-by-day this week for sure. Even with two harder races at home it is duly noted that only you, Dexter, and Morales from St. Georges have kept all of your 5k races under the 17 min mark for the season. You belong at the front of this meet and your racing instincts, and solid summer/early-season will get you there. One more go in the gold and green XC kit. GRRR!!!



Aksel: 18:03.5, 6th place, 1st mi: 5:10, Overall pace: 5:49
Nice work, Aksel. Not quite where you will be in a week, but a step in the right direction. You got out strong and ran the race with the group you were in. You felt fine with the 5:10 mile. No dramatic moves one way or the other. Solid. On Saturday as well, we are a little less concerned about time but more about position. I’m still calibrating for random fast races like the 509, but sitting in 19th place with your 17:12 (including individuals) you can definitely think about a top 16 spot on the podium. And you don’t need to “try” to run that. You just need to throw yourself into the race and run it. You are strong. You crushed it at Twilight - which is a very State-similar course. You can be with the Valley Christian no. 2. You can be ahead of the Okanogan 1 and 2 again. Position, position, position. You love this meet!



Kyler: 18:35.93, PR, 13th place, 1st mi: 5:32, Overall pace: 5:59
Congrats on the excellent new PR and some incredible tough racing. And here’s the thing, you never looked stressed or tight. You got gapped just a bit at the start, still CRUSHED a first mile, and slowly reeled in runners one at a time over the course of the race. In similar fashion at State there will be many more points to gain and even more fun to be had with Tristan and George and Brodi a little closer to your side. Find the Okanogan boys again. Tunnel vision on the maroon and white. Get out quick. Set it all aside. You are strong, fast, and experienced, and you showed that in spades on Saturday afternoon!

George: 19:09.86, PR, 20th place, 1st mi: 5:34, Overall pace: 6:10
Congratulations, George, on another nice PR – on especially on racing your way into a senior year spot at the State XC meet!!! You’ve had a LOT going on with food poisoning, the play, HOCO and various trips back and forth to Brewster, but you still managed to keep it loose and to knock 20 seconds off of your time from Twilight! State is just another race. It’s no big deal. Keep being the calm, cool, collected, and confident George that we all know and love. We feel so lucky to have you on this team (SO glad that you didn’t move to Brewster for senior year!) and I can’t wait to celebrate with you at the end of your first-ever State XC meet!

Tristan: 19:18: 02, PR, 21st place, 1st mi: 5:33, Overall pace: 6:13
Another home meet slightly under the weather, but you did an AMAZING job of setting the tone and taking off after Okanagan's pack! You know the State course and you know what a circus it feels like at the start. The goal for this week is to recover, relax, re-set, and run :) A similar start on Saturday will throw you right into the race that you need to run. Don’t overthink it. Don’t think at all. You are smart, but you are also tough as nails, stronger than you know, and good at this!



Brodi: 19:34:53, PR, 26th place, 1st mi: 5:40, Overall pace: 6:18
Of the 16 teams qualified for State you are the 4th best 7th man. By similar measures, you are better than the 5th man on 9 other teams that will join us at the meet. You started this season running over a minute twenty seconds (25 seconds per mile!) slower than you finished on Saturday, and this week’s race is just simply icing on the cake. No pressure. Way more rest. Tons of excitement. A party in your spikes :) Thanks for being such an excellent and willing member of this team. We’re so glad that you decided to join us this year and can’t wait to celebrate with you at the finish line of your very first XC season!



JV BOYS: 18 finishers. Liberty Bell 17, Brewster 38

 

Sam: 19:47, PR, 1st place, 1st mi: 5:55, Overall pace: 6:22
A huge new pr by almost a minute, and just really excellent, smart and patient racing all around! It would have been easy to take the bait - to go with Okanogan right from the start - but you kept it close enough and just slowly reeled him in. Likewise, when you made the pass you made it stick! It was a consistent and confident performance, well worthy of your first-alternate designation for the State meet. You never hope that you need your alternate, but should anything come up we know that you will be ready to run. Congrats on a great first XC season, Sam!

Liam: 20:00, PR, 2nd place, 1st mi: 6:00, Overall pace: 6:26
Once again stepping into new territory of time and toughness, and just almost stepping into territory even newer still with the sub-20 effort. Incredibly consistent and solid running throughout. You stayed with Sam – right about the same distance back – for so much of that race, and it was just simply awesome to watch both of you slowly reel back time and distance from the Okanogan runner racing out to the lead. Congratulations on a great freshman season and likewise on joining us as the second alternate to State!



Orlo: 20:24, PR, 4th place, 1st mi: 6:12, Overall pace: 6:34
Such an awesome end of your 9th grade racing season! First, a knock-out 3200m performance, and then a nearly two-minute PR in the midst of an INCREDIBLY busy ten-day (or so) stretch of time. You continue to look loose and relaxed while running faster and faster with each weekly effort. We still don’t know your top end yet, but you have done excellent work in pushing it forward over these last several weeks while really starting to embrace the racing :) And to top it all off, you selflessly put your social enthusiasms to use by leading and encouraging Hunter to his own spectacular PR. It is no small thing to help a teammate and the fact that such an act was still on your mind two-miles into a very hard effort of your own is truly an excellent thing. Bravo, bravissimo!

 

Hunter: 20:45, PR, 6th place, 1st mi: 6:12, Overall pace: 6:41
A quick trip down memory lane shows me that you started your 10th grade 5k XC career on 9/18/21 with a 32:49 second 5k in Wenatchee. This is a pace of 10:35 per mile. Two short years later, and you are now running nearly 4 minutes faster per mile! You PR'ed today by almost two minutes and you looked bound and determined to stick with Orlo the whole way through! Your journey with XC has been so incredibly great – not only from the standpoint of times etc. - but also from getting to know you and getting to watch you learn and grow with your friends on the team. Your next steps beyond high school will be similar. There is a TON of potential in you, Hunter. Get out there and work for it just like you have with this team. An amazing final race of your senior year!

Benji: 21:29, PR, 7th place, 1st mi: 6:25, Overall pace: 6:55
Almost two minutes faster than your first 5k of the year and 1:50 seconds faster than on the same course three weeks ago! There is a moment, it seems, in every race where you just let loose and go. You start moving those arms a little quicker and your focus zooms in on the racers down the trail. You’ve come a long way this season in getting more and more comfortable with the HS team and the 5k distance. You are an excellent runner and it will be exciting to work with you more again in the spring for track. Congrats again on an excellent freshman season!

 

Finn: 23:47, PR, 14th place, 1st mi: 7:08, Overall pace, 7:39
You had been looking really great in practice last week and it sure seemed like a new PR was possible. What we didn’t see coming was a new PR by over a minute! SUCH a nice job with getting out quicker and then holding pace – and in a smaller race with fewer people to race that is never an easy thing to do. Even in the cold you looked loose and free out there and you made an excellent push over that last 400m or so from when you emerged on the back side of the track. Congrats on your first “official” season as a high school runner and I hope that you will be running with us again in the spring for track!



Omar: 27:56, 16th place, 1st mi: 8:06, Overall pace: 8:59
Back on track with a faster first mile, and then just solid running over that second half of the race. You’ve been dealing with a little more injury and soreness than last season, but you still just ran your fourth fastest 5k of all time on a chilly day that would not be friendly to muscle fatigue! Wenatchee, Twilight, and home meet #1 were ALL faster this year than last. Your attitude is amazing. Your willingness to hurt a little and to keep pushing or to keep doing more is inspiring. It has been a serious pleasure working with you and having you on the team these past two years. I hope that you can recover those quads a little in the next week or two before basketball and I’m glad that you can join us at the State meet. Also, very much looking forward to having you as one of our track captains in the spring. Thanks again for an excellent senior year of XC!