Liberty Bell XC: Liberty Bell Invite (MS)

Liberty Bell Invite – 10/7/2023

Course Length – 1.5 miles

General Notes – This is our home course! The course is not particularly fast, but across the board the team was putting on stellar performances. There aren't too many hills, and the footing is mostly dirt with some grass here and there. It wasn't too warm, but it was sunny during the racing. As a note, across the board there were some serious improvements over last year’s times for this meet, so really well done!

The Liberty Bell Girls won as a team with 21 points. Okanogan was 2nd with 58 points. There were 55 athletes and 4 scoring teams in the race.

The Liberty Bell Boys won with a score of 34. Tonasket was 2nd with a score of 53. There were 69 athletes and 5 scoring teams in the race.

Nina – One mile: 6:56. Finish: 10:33, 13th place. Average: 7:02.

I know you weren’t happy and wanted to place higher but I thought you raced extremely well. You ran a PR by 5 seconds compared to last year and you competed right to the finish. You held a good pace the entire course. You will be ready for league for sure.

Leona – One mile: 7:35. Finish: 11:43, 32nd place. Average: 7:48.

Nice race! It’s always fun to see you smiling throughout the race. Don’t be afraid to run your own race. At this point you have run a couple of races and continue to run strong workouts so go ahead and put it all out there. Keep up the good work!

Zoe – One mile: 7:36. Finish: 11:13, 20th place. Average: 7:28.

Wow! 1:07 faster than last year on our home course and a 47 second PR over 1.5 miles. You came through the mile well and then really hammered the last ½ mile passing at least 6 runners in the process. Keep up the good work and you will be ready for another great race at our league meet.

Ava – One mile: 7:21. Finish: 11:02, 19th place. Average: 7:21.

Perfect pacing! Your mile split is the same as your overall average pace. That’s impressive and seriously hard to do. In the late stages of the race try to connect with your teammates and let them pull you to the finish. Great job!

Maren – One mile: 7:11. Finish: 10:31, 10th place. Average: 7:00.

Wow, you had such a strong race! You looked in control the entire time and like a confident racer. You were able to significantly speed up the last half mile and pass a lot of people. Don’t be afraid to push yourself to go out a little faster the first mile. Nice job!

Karen – One mile: 6:26. Finish: 9:32, 2nd place. Average: 6:21.

What a fantastic race! You always do such a great job of pacing yourself, and this time is no exception. You actually got faster over that last half mile, which I think means you are competing more and that you really pushed yourself. I like that you are running with a pack (it makes racing easier and funner!) but also keeping your eyes further up ahead to catch people. Nice job!

Eldon – One mile: 7:43. Finish; 11:26, 44th place. Average: 7:37.

Way to run such a steady race! I liked your positive perspective on being nervous before the race. Being nervous is not a bad thing. You looked very relaxed the entire race and really picked up the pace at the end! Your average pace is faster than your mile time which shows you ran strong through the finish. Great job!

Crispin – One mile: 6:35. Finish: 9:57, 21st place. Average: 6:38.

A sub 10 minute race! Your pace looked steady and you looked strong the entire race. I think you will benefit from some more hills in our last two races where you can use your strength better than most runners. Keep up the effort in practice. I look forward to what you can do in our league finals.

Henry – One mile: 9:07. Finish: 14:19, 67th place. Average: 9:32.

Yea! Your first cross-country race! I know you were nervous about running but you truly looked good the entire race. You ran almost the entire way only taking a couple of short walks on the hills. Then you flew down the field to the finish! I think you might be a sprinter when track season starts. Keep up the effort this week. I was proud of you.

Enzo – One mile: 8:47. Finish: 13:21, 57th place. Average: 8:54.

A strong race despite the cramps you experienced. A good lesson learned about drinking too much water immediately before the race. Still, you looked steady and passed at least 3 runners in the last ½ mile. I think you will do even better on our next two courses that have more hills which plays to your strength.

Hudson – One mile: 6:19. Finish: 9:31, 16th place. Average: 6:20.

Great work Hudson! This was your most even paced race so far which means you are getting the hang out the distance. And you ran over 30 seconds faster on our course compared with the time trial. That’s awesome! Don’t get too caught up in the places, just keep working hard, having fun and running your race. You are having an awesome first xc season and I’m excited to see how you run in the last two races!

Bhavana – One mile: 9:07. Finish: 13:41, 46th place. Average: 9:07.

Wow! I’m so sorry you had that side ache but you still had a wonderful race. You kept a super, super consistent pace, even when you had to run by yourself for parts. I think you could think about driving your knees when you’re in the middle, more tiring parts of the race. But overall really nice! Plus, not only did your hip feel ok, but you also had a big PR! Great job!

Alex – One mile: 9:02. Finish: 13:33, 61st place. Average: 9:02.

Fabulous running! I’m so glad to hear your ankle is feeling better and that you felt good about your race. You ran a very even race, your first mile and your overall average are exactly the same, which is excellent. It means you didn’t go out too fast or too slow and you found the pace that pushed you but that you could maintain. Also! What a huge PR! Excellent work.

Roman – One mile: 8:29. Finish: 13:01, 54th place. Average: 8:40.

Yay! Congrats on your first XC race. You might have gone out a little fast, but that is ok, it’s tricky to figure out your pace. Even though you were often alone for sections, you did great! You stayed determined and focused and you looked pretty calm. A few nerves beforehand are totally normal and ok! They can even be good if you funnel them into race energy. Keep it up!

Chance – One mile: 6:54. Finish: 10:10, 26th place. Average: 6:46.

Wahoo! You were grooving out there! You were moving up and passing people throughout the whole race. And really picked it up over that last half mile. To me, that says you are ready to start even a little faster. You have really started to figure out racing and it’s fun to see. For perspective, you ran about 2 minutes faster than our home time trial. Amazing.