Liberty Bell XCLocation: Blue Heron Regional Park - Moses Lake, WA Date: 9.12.15Distance: 1.5mi/5km Conditions: 65-85 degrees. Sunny… and 2 hay bales + a hill per lap!
Comments: VERY late on the race report this week, but it’ll get better :) SO great to have 32 kids toe the line to start the racing season in Moses Lake. A fairly hot morning/afternoon with a slight breeze and a some shady trees to keep things bearable. VERY impressed with the team’s patience and poise as a whole — especially considering the sheer number of newcomers that we have — either to XC in general and/or to a new distance or their first-ever high school races. As a team the kids were also very supportive of one another, and our cheers and enthusiasms were palpable at the finish.
MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS - 1.5mi. 38 pts. 2nd place!
Missing four of our middle school girls and we still managed an excellent team placing in the overall results. Congrats to Lindsay, Eva, and Annika on their first-ever middle school XC races and to Novie and Rivers for starting off their 8th grade years in fine fashion. To a kid, and you will read this throughout, no one was flustered and no one got carried away at the start. Novie, strong form and patient racing while moving up throughout. Rivers and Lindsay, great work, and while finding yourselves near each other at the finish, perhaps we can have you run a little more together at the start of next week. Eva - cruising! Nice work and we’ll find you a teammate to work with when we get Lena, Keeley, Liv, Andrew, and Erick into the mix soon enough. And Annika, a great first-ever race as well. More teammates to work with in that list above and such a smart job moving steadily up as the race went on.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS - 1.5mi. 39pts. 2nd place!
With another teammate or two joining us in the weeks ahead, this group will gain some added depth and be poised to rock it! Congrats to Ian, Travis and Aidan on their first-ever middle school XC races. Walker, awesome patience, and then major poise to finish well running on your own - very similar in fact to Ben’s race in the boy’s varsity. Ian and Travis, great teamwork and its clear that you are well suited to running together. A flatter course next week will mean a little more push toward the front early — but smart running all around and good kicks at the line. Logan, picking up right where you left off last year in a loose relaxed running style that serves you well. You will knock off huge chunks of time again as the season unfolds and as you find your balance of start and finish energy. And Aidan, a great first race as well. You’ll get a good match this weekend with Andrew in the mix and it is always nice to have a teammate at your side.
VARSITY / JV GIRLS - 3.1mi. No Team Score
The fact that I am writing about a junior varsity AND a varsity girl’s race is simple awesome! And by mid-season Larkin, Sage, and Mackenzie (sadly now off to soccer), you all will have found some groove with your racing and be ready run as a full PRIDE of Lady Lions and a scoring girl’s team for competitions at Leagues, Regionals, and maybe even State! I’m excited, are you excited? :) Larkin, such a nice job in managing your first 5k high school race in the heat. As the days cool you will find your summer running paying bigger and bigger dividends. And Sage, a great last mile and one of the bigger drops between your first and final mile for anyone on our team. Challenge yourself just a little harder at the front end next weekend and see what happens. And Mackenzie, a nice opening effort on a tough day in slow conditions. We’d have loved to have you around to see some big payoffs for your summer running, but also can’t wait to cheer you on in the home soccer games that are just around the corner.
JV BOYS - 3.1mi. No Team Score
Four runners and four first-time 5k XC races. Congrats to you all, and the learning curve will be steep as we race from weekend to weekend. Michael, maybe a little ambitious in the 1st mile. A good response in the final loop however and adding Lazo to the mix this weekend will be a great addition to this group. Simon, strong running too and a fairly balanced effort. I’m sure the final mile hurt, but always cool to see the last mile as your fastest on the day. Zach and Ian, awesome teamwork out there. With a good final kick for each of you, lets try to shore up that middle mile just a bit in Spokane. Work together and chase some people down from mile 1 to mile 2 and then help each other run tough on that final mile!
VARSITY GIRLS - 3.1mi. No Team Score
And again :) a huge congrats to all on your first-ever high school XC races. Ella, great to see you get out strong and very smart in right about the spot we’d planned. To see you move steadily up from there (about 20th to 10th at the finish) was icing on the cake for your first-ever XC Invitational and only hints at many good things to come… and I can add that for everyone else in this race as well. Mia, Athena, Icel and Ava, wow, we are a tougher team then we’d even yet imagined! Mia, no worries. You managed some nerves, started the race, and ran great and under control. Mission accomplished for high school race no. 1. Patience. Athena, you are right that those 2mi. middle school XC race probably helped….and a ‘kick butt’ final mile second only to Sage. Still, composed and calm in the first 1/2 mile is always hard to do. Keep that up with some subtle adjustments as we move ahead. And Icel and Ava, more awesome teamwork! I love it when we can pair up like this and you will both do well to keep urging each other on. Icel has a little more XC experience, but your similar track times make for an excellent pair. There will be days/meets of course when you trade places back n fourth, but a first mile with less heat, and fewer hills (but run in a similar time) this week should translate into more life in your legs for the middle to end of the race.
VARSITY BOYS - 3.1mi. 190 pts. 8th place tie-breaker over Tonasket!
And finally, the high school boys. A few newcomers to the high school ranks here in Peter and Emerson, but otherwise a little more experience with the distance etc.. After losing Willy, and Josiah from last year’s 4th place in State team, we will see some great growth in this crew and no doubt discover a surprise contribution and performance or two by the season’s end. Ben, so solid! Tough, smart running, and a controlled performance on pure strength of summer training. Nothing crazy, but its working! A bit of a drop in that second mile but there may be less chance of that this week with maybe a few more runners near the front. Eli, strong as well, and know that everyone will benefit from the speed and turnover that comes a little later in the season. Still, as usual, you moved up super well through the middle to end of the race and it was impressive to see you cover that final gap to the next spot up in the final 500m. Emerson, a fine opening effort on a hot day on a slow course. Measure your improvements on how you feel during different parts of the race week to week - and we’ll start to find you runners from other teams that will be a good benchmark as well. Keep working on that tempo when you tire. In a few short weeks your excellent foundation of summer mileage will factor in more and more. Tim. Blast off! This was a perfect way for you to start the season. Very fluid running and good leadership in sticking with Peter and Geza. You had TONS of kick left for that final 100m. The group is good, but next week feel free to get away on your own even a little earlier. And Peter and Geza, our last awesome pairing for the weekend. Great teamwork. A plan that we’ll stick with for the coming race as well. Your opening pace of about 6:45 should also be great for the flatter and cooler day this Saturday and you will see a little less fall-off on mile 2, plus hold a little more strength in your legs for the final stretch. And finally, Carter, Cameron, and Cade, (AKA Triple C) we look forward to having you guys join the high school ranks as soon as you are ready. The more the merrier, and the season ahead should be tons of fun!
The fact that I am writing about a junior varsity AND a varsity girl’s race is simple awesome! And by mid-season Larkin, Sage, and Mackenzie (sadly now off to soccer), you all will have found some groove with your racing and be ready run as a full PRIDE of Lady Lions and a scoring girl’s team for competitions at Leagues, Regionals, and maybe even State! I’m excited, are you excited? :) Larkin, such a nice job in managing your first 5k high school race in the heat. As the days cool you will find your summer running paying bigger and bigger dividends. And Sage, a great last mile and one of the bigger drops between your first and final mile for anyone on our team. Challenge yourself just a little harder at the front end next weekend and see what happens. And Mackenzie, a nice opening effort on a tough day in slow conditions. We’d have loved to have you around to see some big payoffs for your summer running, but also can’t wait to cheer you on in the home soccer games that are just around the corner.
JV BOYS - 3.1mi. No Team Score
Four runners and four first-time 5k XC races. Congrats to you all, and the learning curve will be steep as we race from weekend to weekend. Michael, maybe a little ambitious in the 1st mile. A good response in the final loop however and adding Lazo to the mix this weekend will be a great addition to this group. Simon, strong running too and a fairly balanced effort. I’m sure the final mile hurt, but always cool to see the last mile as your fastest on the day. Zach and Ian, awesome teamwork out there. With a good final kick for each of you, lets try to shore up that middle mile just a bit in Spokane. Work together and chase some people down from mile 1 to mile 2 and then help each other run tough on that final mile!
VARSITY GIRLS - 3.1mi. No Team Score
And again :) a huge congrats to all on your first-ever high school XC races. Ella, great to see you get out strong and very smart in right about the spot we’d planned. To see you move steadily up from there (about 20th to 10th at the finish) was icing on the cake for your first-ever XC Invitational and only hints at many good things to come… and I can add that for everyone else in this race as well. Mia, Athena, Icel and Ava, wow, we are a tougher team then we’d even yet imagined! Mia, no worries. You managed some nerves, started the race, and ran great and under control. Mission accomplished for high school race no. 1. Patience. Athena, you are right that those 2mi. middle school XC race probably helped….and a ‘kick butt’ final mile second only to Sage. Still, composed and calm in the first 1/2 mile is always hard to do. Keep that up with some subtle adjustments as we move ahead. And Icel and Ava, more awesome teamwork! I love it when we can pair up like this and you will both do well to keep urging each other on. Icel has a little more XC experience, but your similar track times make for an excellent pair. There will be days/meets of course when you trade places back n fourth, but a first mile with less heat, and fewer hills (but run in a similar time) this week should translate into more life in your legs for the middle to end of the race.
VARSITY BOYS - 3.1mi. 190 pts. 8th place tie-breaker over Tonasket!
And finally, the high school boys. A few newcomers to the high school ranks here in Peter and Emerson, but otherwise a little more experience with the distance etc.. After losing Willy, and Josiah from last year’s 4th place in State team, we will see some great growth in this crew and no doubt discover a surprise contribution and performance or two by the season’s end. Ben, so solid! Tough, smart running, and a controlled performance on pure strength of summer training. Nothing crazy, but its working! A bit of a drop in that second mile but there may be less chance of that this week with maybe a few more runners near the front. Eli, strong as well, and know that everyone will benefit from the speed and turnover that comes a little later in the season. Still, as usual, you moved up super well through the middle to end of the race and it was impressive to see you cover that final gap to the next spot up in the final 500m. Emerson, a fine opening effort on a hot day on a slow course. Measure your improvements on how you feel during different parts of the race week to week - and we’ll start to find you runners from other teams that will be a good benchmark as well. Keep working on that tempo when you tire. In a few short weeks your excellent foundation of summer mileage will factor in more and more. Tim. Blast off! This was a perfect way for you to start the season. Very fluid running and good leadership in sticking with Peter and Geza. You had TONS of kick left for that final 100m. The group is good, but next week feel free to get away on your own even a little earlier. And Peter and Geza, our last awesome pairing for the weekend. Great teamwork. A plan that we’ll stick with for the coming race as well. Your opening pace of about 6:45 should also be great for the flatter and cooler day this Saturday and you will see a little less fall-off on mile 2, plus hold a little more strength in your legs for the final stretch. And finally, Carter, Cameron, and Cade, (AKA Triple C) we look forward to having you guys join the high school ranks as soon as you are ready. The more the merrier, and the season ahead should be tons of fun!