Okanogan
Meet – 3/31/2021
Distance: 1.4
miles
General Notes – The course is fairly rolling, with two large
hills back-to-back right around the one-mile mark. Half of the course is on
fairway grass, with the other half being a dirt/paved cart path. The weather
was very warm, with some strong gusts of wind coming out of the South. The
course was a bit short, but people still ran excellent paces despite the
difficult hills. One-mile splits were likely not exactly accurate, so take them
with a grain of salt. Overall, I thought everyone ran their best races of the
season!
The girls’ team won, with a score of 22 points. 2nd
place went to Omak with 43 and 3rd place went to Manson with 58.
There were 28 athletes in the race.
The boys’ team did not have enough runners to count as a
scoring team. There were 26 athletes in the race.
Marit – 9:34, 1st place. Average pace: 6:50. 1-mile
split: 6:26.
This race went a little bit differently than the previous
one, as you found yourself racing with someone early on. Then, when you wanted
to let off, you dug in deep and opened up a gap. That ability to hang on in the middle of the
race is very important, particularly if you’re on your own with no one cheering
you on. Great job!
Congratulations on a great season, even if you missed a
couple meets this spring! Maybe you knew this, but both races this spring you’ve
had a faster pace than your best 1.5 mile time trial on the track last fall,
which is fantastic! You’ve shown that you can run by yourself or in a pack,
which means you can handle any scenario in a race. Thanks for coming back this
spring!
Nella – 10:24, 3rd place. Average pace: 7:25.
1-mile split: 7:07.
Running with Samra early on really seemed to help you in the
long run as you were able to maintain your intensity down the stretch. Then,
the two of you worked together with Marta to pick off runners in front of you,
and you were still able to open it up for a nice hard kick into the finish.
Fantastic running!
Hopefully you had some fun this year while you were doing
such an awesome job! It’s been great having your energy around, and you
definitely kept us on our toes with a few well-timed snowballs. You definitely beat
your fastest time trial from the fall with the help of a little competition and
a lot of hard work. Congratulations!
Samra – 10:27, 4th place. Average pace: 7:27.
1-mile split: 7:07.
As is always the case with your running, consistency was
key! Despite having a bothersome ankle, you looked super smooth in the beginning
while running with Nella. Then, you kept up the pace as the two of you moved
through the other athletes in the race. It’s so awesome to see some solid team running,
and you’re definitely a driver of that camaraderie. Well done!
Cool, calm, and collected. That’s exactly the kind of energy
that leads to a successful runner! Thanks for coming back this spring. We maybe
didn’t tire you out quite enough at practice, but you showed major improvement
over the course of the season, and you easily beat your best time trial from
the fall. Hopefully you enjoyed participating as much as we enjoyed having you!
Marta – 10:41, 5th place. Average pace: 7:37.
1-mile split: 7:05.
Despite not having raced in almost a year and a half, you
looked like a natural out there! You maybe went out a little fast, but that’s
ok because when it came to crunch time, you dug deep and pushed all the way
through the line. And that was with an injured ankle, which is no small feat!
It was great seeing you race again!
I know you missed a good portion of the season but thank you
for finding a way to make XC work this year. We were so glad to have you back. Despite
such a short season, in your only race you were going basically the same speed
as last year, which just shows how tough and committed you are as an athlete.
Good luck with whatever you do!
Zoe – 12:11, 12th place. Average pace: 8:42.
1-mile split: 8:35.
The Grr faces strikes again! That, accompanied by the gold
socks, helped you find that inner drive to power up the hills and push through
to the line. You’ve once again shown how tough you can run as you gradually
opened up the gap behind you then held off a last-second charge to maintain
your position. Way to give it all!
Firstly, not only did you run a sub-8:00 mile this spring,
but you also ran a sub-12:00 race for 1.5 miles! And even better, they were in
the same race! You’ve always been a tough person, and this season you reminded
us of that. Thank you for your steady leadership and your friendly nature. Good
luck next year!
Greta – 14:21, 22nd place. Average pace: 10:15.
1-mile split: 9:38.
Once again, it looked like you were smiling the whole time,
which hopefully means you were having fun! You spent a large portion of the
race running with someone, which really seemed to help you maintain your effort
the whole way through. As is always the case, you worked as hard as you could
the whole way and had a great race because of it!
You wanted to try something new. Well, between last fall and
this spring, you basically got to try two completely different styles of
running! Thanks for bringing a positive attitude to every practice and meet,
even when you weren’t 100%. You had a super successful season, and we really
hope to see you again next year!
Layla – 16:31, 28th place. Average pace: 11:47.
1-mile split: 10:50.
You should be so proud of what you accomplished on Wednesday
because it was seriously phenomenal! Not only did you bounce back, you bounced
back in a huge way and ran what I think was your best race all year! Every day
at practice you show how determined you are, and your final race was just the
final step in a season-long process. Congratulations!
This season, you have shown how determined you can be.
Everything you set your mind to you can accomplish. I’m so glad you decided to
run XC this year, because you are genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever
met. Keep being you!
McKenzie –
While you never got to race, we’re so glad you decided to
try cross country this year. It’s always great to see new faces, and we welcome
people onto the team regardless of why they want to participate. Hopefully you
had some fun running with your friends, and best of luck with soccer!
Dexter – 7:40, 1st place. Average pace: 5:28.
1-mile split: 5:15.
Welcome back to racing! It’s been a little while since your
last running race, but you brushed the dust off like it was nothing. You got
out fast, which meant you ran the entire race on your own, but you were able to
maintain your solid pace and effort the whole way through. Was that the best course
for spikes? Probably not. Did that slow you down? Definitely not. You ran a
faster pace than last fall! So glad to see you out there racing!
While we didn’t have you around the whole season, it was
great to see you this spring! You always make practices fun for everyone when
they need to be. Plus, you make hard work look fun! Great job this season, and
good luck in high school!
Bodie – 8:25, 2nd place. Average pace: 6:00.
1-mile split: 5:45.
This was your most impressive race of the season. You went
out early with a pack, then when you were ready, you made some serious moves to
open an untouchable gap. Then you kept widening that gap the rest of the way,
which shows how determined you can be. You were so fun to watch, and congratulations
on a great race!
You showed some serious grit this season and last fall,
going as hard as you could every single practice. And over the course of the
season, you totally beat your goal of a 9:00 race. Well done! Now you get to use
all of your racing experience next year to keep crushing your goals!
Tristan – 8:52, 5th place. Average pace: 6:20.
1-mile split: 5:55.
As is always the case when you run, you looked smooth and in
control. You were able to move up throughout the race and did a great job of
closing at the end despite getting out maybe a little fast. Now you’ve shown
that you can hang tough in the middle of the race. Fantastic!
You certainly improved over the course of this shortened
season, which was great to see. Hopefully you were also able to get some more
stretching done this year. Thanks for bringing your calm demeanor to practice
every day. You genuinely seem to enjoy running and pushing yourself, which is
so exciting! Hopefully you decide to keep running in high school, but best of
luck with whatever you do!
Ethan –
We’re so glad you tried something new this spring. Even
though you ended up playing soccer, it was great to have you around for those
long runs in February. You’re super fun to be around, and your positivity is
contagious. Congratulations on such a successful season!
Malloch –
Unfortunately you were injured for the latter part of the
season, but you still found a way to come to practice every day and enjoy it!
It’s always fun to have conversations about random things every once in a
while, and you bring a plethora of knowledge to the team. Thanks for coming
back last fall and this spring, and good luck next year!
