RACE COURSE: Liberty Bell campus, 3mi. Measured pretty accurately. One large and one smaller loop. Rolling and flat with quite a few tight turns on a mix of bumpy grass, hard-packed dirt, and trail. Mid-upper 50’s. Sunny, and quite a great day for racing!
OVERALL: Such a nice job of getting out on the home course and defending your status as the best teams at the meet. This is not a fast course but we ran 3mi XC PRs for literally everyone except for Aksel, who was legitimately hindered by the bee sting swelling in his left knee. Kudos as well for the nicely executed team warmups and preparation even in a distracting home atmosphere. And finally many thanks to those of you who helped with picking up cones and clean-up at the end of the meet. Another week of solid work ahead with team pictures (bring your jackets/uniforms!) on Thursday and a unique race in the Gorge Amphitheater next Saturday.
BOYS: 56 Finishers. Liberty Bell 24, Cashmere 54, Brewster 56, Manson 123
Will: 16:38, PR, 1st place. 1st Mile: 5:13, 2nd Mile: 10:58, Overall pace: 5:33
A new course record, and just quicker than Okanogan (which was likely a long 3mi) running solo most of the way. Sub-17 for the 4th week in a row and I can’t say enough about the consistency and poise that you are showing through this middle part of the season. Fun things to come ahead. Don’t expect Saturday to be fast - just put that out of your head - but do expect to race again with the front of the pack and to keep getting practice at picking your spots and on working hard to match your race with the course and the runners around you.
Graham: 17:17, PR, 4th place. 1st Mile: 5:23, 2nd Mile: 11:23, Overall pace: 5:46
Another solid and consistent race Graham. You looked a little more comfy in the first mile this week and you slowly stretched a lead over Carter and Isaiah with steady strength and a good challenge from Juan (Brewster) and the kid from Cashmere. A step faster too than your 3mi at Okanogan, and the home course really isn’t that fast. Big hills and some major strength running at our meet this weekend in Moses Lake. It should be just your style! Times might be slower, but there should be good competition to race with a few 4A schools from the Yakima area.
Carter: 17:38, PR, 5th place. 1st Mile: 5:23, 2nd Mile: 11:27, Overall pace: 5:53
Excellent job again Carter in pushing that first mile and in racing hard and all the way through to the finish. A first mile not quite as fast as Twilight, but a two mile split just 3 seconds slower than your entire race at Sehome. You are adapting to the stress. You are able to keep that tempo/speed running deeper into the race. Great job as well in getting your arms cranking with that kick to hold off the charging Isaiah monster. Some big hills into the finish at our Moses Lake race this weekend. Not a hill climb per se, but it should be right up your alley!
Isaiah: 17:39, PR, 6th place. 1st Mile: 5:24, 2nd Mile: 11:29, Overall pace: 5:53
A really nice race Isaiah and well done again (like Okanogan) in sticking with Graham and Carter in that opening 800m to launch yourself into the race. Another chance to practice that in a bigger field on Saturday in Moses Lake. Find those yellow uniforms. Run with the pack for as long as we can. Packing it up. Running with teammates. Keeping those time gaps at the end as close as humanly possible. That is what makes us one of the top three teams in the state for sure. Thank you as well for leading a good team warm up on Saturday and for helping out with the cones at the end. Another fun week ahead and then we get to race for State!
Aksel: 18:11, 8th place. 1st Mile: 5:30, 2nd Mile: 11:49, Overall pace: 6:04
A swollen knee and you still almost break 6 min pace for the race. Really tough racing Aksel and that kind of “no quit” mindset is what makes you a force to be reckoned with. Still a good workout effort and nothing to sneeze at. Moses Lake this weekend will be a different kind of gritty race, but even if times might be a little slower it will be awesome to have you right back in the thick of it with Graham, Carter and Isaiah.
Jackson: 18:18, PR, 9th place. 1st Mile: 5:40, 2nd Mile: 11:58, Overall pace: 6:06
Right in the relative ballpark of your Twilight performance, with a faster even first mile and some good solid racing in the middle parts of the course. Pretty great to see your two mile split some 10 seconds faster than your two mile race at Sehome, and you are getting stronger and more “in the mix” near the front of every race. Aksel was hurting a bit from the bee sting this week, but it was great to see you closing down that gap in the final mile. Just like freshman year, you still have many seconds to drop in the final few weeks of the year and keep looking forward to State where you can no doubt crack that 18 min mark with a similar kind of determined racing!
Tristan: 18:57, PR, 17th place. 1st Mile: 5:45, 2nd Mile: 12:19, Overall pace: 6:19
No comparison of course to the 3mi at Okanogan, except that once again you DID get out quick and quicker actually than even Twilight. As mentioned on Saturday, you didn’t break 19 until Districts last year, so you are on pace as it were for some new 5k PR’s in these next couple of weeks. The Saturday race at Moses Lake is going to be a knuckle down and race kind of day. Keep haunting your brother in that first mile. Keep finding people to race. Times will be irrelevant based on totally different conditions and a potentially tough course. Just focus on the racing and that mental part of the game.
Kyler: 20:10, PR, 22nd place. 1st Mile: 6:10, 2nd Mile: 13:14, Overall pace: 6:43
Right in that sweet spot again of a quicker first mile and then good tough racing over the second half of the course. Tristan led you out, but you returned the favor and pulled him along to his best race of the season. Cashmere’s top JV runner at Okanogan beat you by about 12 seconds… but on Saturday you turned the tables and beat him by 29. Racing. That’s what it’s about. And you are getting better and better at that as the experience grows. Great job Kyler and a fun one to look forward to at the Gorge this weekend -- plus the sub 20 minute 5k that is going to happen at Okanogan on October 29. GRRR!!!
Little T: 20:18, PR, 25th place. 1st Mile: 6:09, 2nd Mile: 13:20, Overall pace: 6:46
A great breakthrough race Tristan and it’s good to see you feeling better again after missing the Twilight meet last weekend. You got out quick and then did a great job of sticking close to Kyler in that second half. Your pace from Saturday would give you a 21:01 for 5k so breaking 21 and even 20:30 is a great goal to have for the end of the year on the fast grass at Okanogan!
Madison: 22:43, PR, 40th place. 1st Mile: 6:31, 2nd Mile: 14:43, Overall pace: 7:34
Almost three more minutes lopped off from the time in Okanogan. You are going out faster (by almost a minute over Okanogan) and finding more and more ability to hang with the pace. My guess is that your idea is something like 7:10 pace which would end up something like 22:16 for 5k. That would be an awesome goal for the end of the year. Just a little more conservation of energy in that first mile and then hopeful the ability to push a little deeper into the race. Nice work Madison, you are such a different racer in season number two!
Hunter: 28:07, PR, 52nd place. 1st Mile: 9:04, 2nd Mile: 19:25, Overall pace: 9:22
Yep. Called it! You found another gear in practice this last week and it immediately came into play for your Saturday race. A whole minute faster in the opening mile and you were able to race with that runner from Lake Roosevelt and get pulled along to a new 3mi PR a full 5 5 minutes faster than your time at Okanogan. Dropping huge chunks of time like that again will be tough, but you can strive for consistency and keep practicing that turnover and quicker arm drive in practice. Congrats on a breakthrough race for sure!
VARSITY GIRLS: 14 Finishers. 1st place. 15 points. All 6 runners in the top 8! Plus lots of appreciation for sharing your glitter with junior high!
Leki: 19:43, PR, 1st place. 1st Mile: 6:15, 2nd Mile: 13:00, Overall pace: 6:34 --
Sweet! A big 3mile PR, almost 45 seconds faster than you ran at Okanogan! Every week you are finding your racing rhythm and gaining confidence. Keep riding that wave. You did an excellent job giving a little extra push in the “pot” on the course before the 2 mile. You are always tough at that point of a race, and we should keep finding moments on courses at about that spot to give a little attention. It works well for you! Keep doing what you are doing -- we haven’t found your max yet.
Jori: 20:13, PR, 2nd place. 1st Mile: 6:16, 2nd Mile: 13:16, Overall pace: 6:44 --
It is so cool to see you just consistently producing such great races and PR’s to boot (this one by about 4 seconds on this course). Terrific job getting out good and hard (but reasonably) and hanging tough there in the middle when you had to run alone. You are so strong mentally and so race-experienced that you never panicked and you just kept pushing a good solid rhythm….until the end when you let loose with that fierce kick you have. Thanks, too, for being a thoughtful captain and helping everyone get warmed up and ready.
Dashe: 20:39, PR, 3rd place. 1st Mile: 6:17, 2nd Mile: 13:29, Overall pace: 6:53 --
I love to watch you race, Dashe! You are so “in” it -- focused and pushing. You did such an excellent job holding off any surges from Kaydence (Brewster) and then, wowza...you brought out a kick like I’ve not seen before. You got your arms into the game and it was so smooth and quick. This is a pretty awesome first-year high school season you are having -- and you’ll start feeling even better as we begin a taper in a few weeks!
Ayeanna: 22:49, PR, 6th place, 1st Mile: 7:01, 2nd Mile: 15:01, Overall pace: 7:36
From the moment the gun went off, I said to myself, well, Ayeanna’s going to have a good one. You looked so confident and comfortable and fast. Yes, you had to do all that work alone, but you are a senior and you showed you can handle that kind of mental test. You worked really hard on that second mile and it shows in your final time --which was a solid 25 seconds ahead of the last time you ran this course. You’re getting stronger every week. Tuck that in your pocket and bring it with you to each start line.
Sandra: 23:34, PR, 7th place, 1st Mile: 7:15, 2nd Mile: 15:3, Overall pace: 7:51 --
A full minute and a half faster than the 3 miles at Okanogan. Yes, you got out hard (40 seconds faster than Okanogan) and yes it produced a side stitch this time. But, you ran through it with awesome grit. And, it won’t always produce a side stitch. I know this race didn’t feel as easy or as good as some have, but you challenged yourself and you learned you can endure. It’s so great to have you racing on this team!
Zoe: 24:52, PR, 8th place. 1st Mile: 8:02, 2nd Mile: 16:46, Overall pace: 8:17 --
More than 4 minutes faster than your 3 mile at Okanogan. That’s so unbelievably cool! And, you knew you were having a breakthrough race and I love how that seemed to just inspire you to keep going and going. You got our hard (more than a minute faster at Okanogan) and you just let yourself race the runners around you. And it felt great -- right? So, this week, in a bigger field, let’s get you out into the middle of the mix and see what happens. You still have no idea what you are capable of.
