| Meet Info | Meet Notes and Details |
11th Hour Meet
Home
Girls
3rd/8 (5-2)
5-2 (.714)
Boys
4th/7 (3-3)
3-3 (.500)
| After getting word Wednesday afternoon that our meet scheduled for Terre Haute was cancelled, we scrambled to pull a meet together and ended up with a pretty competitive field. It was also a kick in the rear to get some things done with the course, that will make it MUCH better, for years to come. The team handled the switch beautifully. Many of the boys and girls both showed an ability to find the red line, without going over too early in the race. The result was a lot of really solid races that lay a foundation for the upcoming season.
GIRLS:
The girls were led by a solid group who took four of the spots from 10-20, to take third place in a competitive field. Paige led the way with a 10th place finish, running a lot of the race with Kaylee. The pair worked really well together, moving up after a smart, conservative start. I had them around 25-30th place at the 1K, and they really started picking girls off over the next three. The consistent work Paige has put in over the summer showed today though, as she had a little more juice at the end to gain a couple of extra spots during the final K. Kaylee took 14th and Celine was 17th, with both of them finishing about 20 seconds faster than the first meet last season, when the race day conditions were much more suited for faster times. Claire secured the 4th top 20 spot for our girls, and posted a time that was well ahead of what we laid out as a potential target. The final three girls today were all competing in their first 5K they had ever run, and will definitely be able to build on it and grow as runners moving forward. Bailey was pretty quick through the 2K, and then worked to maintain through the middle stages of the race. That is a tough spot to be in for any racer, but Bailey continued to fight through it and showed some toughness in her first race out. Holly and Karlee were also in a similar position to hold on, but rather than fade to the back, the two of them held on to finish ahead of 10 other girls, which should give them a bit of a boost as we get more experience.
BOYS:
The boys were led by a motivated Austin Haskett today. Running against more experienced runners, he never got rattled and never worried too much about a particular pace. Instead, he remained calm when the front two started to pull away, and just stayed in striking distance while the two of them battled. When the time was right, in the second half of the race, he made his move to the front and was able to secure the win. Being the first race of his sophomore season, he looked extremely composed and locked in. Alex held down our second spot today, holding onto 11th place after a pretty quick first half of the race. Now that the first race of his senior season under his belt, we can move forward with the progress that he has made over the previous three years. The next five boys came in within about 30 seconds of each other. That group was led by Zach in 31, Liam in 36, Cameron in 43, Zay in 48, and Logan in 50. Seeing them come in like that was a pretty cool thing to see, after watching it all unfold during the race. Zach held on during the middle stages and came back with a stronger final K. Liam and Zay showed a lot of poise for this being their first race at the high school level, and Zay's first 5K ever. Both of them showed a lot of control early in the race, and continued to pick up spots as the race wore on. One of the highlights was seeing Zay almost grinning, as he started to gain some confidence and momentum by passing other guys after the 2K mark. I thought Logan showed a great deal today. After making a huge improvement in his summer training, when compared to his freshman year, I got to see some signs that it is going to pay off for us. There wasa point in the race where the kid from last year would have settled back into a comfort zone, but this version refocused his effort and continued to push, even if it left him with little in the tank for the final K. That mental approach is a really positive sign for him. Denver finished up our teams efforts today, logging his first ever 5K. He came back with a strong final K, which includes a significant climb. He is going to be a great addition to this year's team, and just needs to get some racing experience at something beyond the 800 that he is used to in track, but he certainly has a solid starting point for his progression.
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Danville Hokem Karem
Girls
4th/13 (9-3)
14-5 (.737)
Boys
10th/18 (8-9)
11-12 (.478)
| Both teams were facing some interesting race day conditions. The girls started with some cool weather and overcast skies, only to end the race with the weather being considerably warmer than at their start time. Then they boys started their race with overcast skies, only to see s very solid downpour that came through for about legs 2-4. With the boys taking 10th (one place better than last year), and the girls taking 4th (no team score last season), this team is starting to figure out how to compete.
GIRLS:
This group of girls has been a positive, supportive group all summer, so it was really no surprise to see them working so well in this team format. Just about any time there was a gap from one themselves to another group, they closed the gap in the second half of the loop, giving their teammate a chance to track the next competitor down. Paige and Kaylee continued to show steady improvement, as our number 1 and 2. The pair finished their race two spots up from where they were at this meet last season. And where they were with their times, was within about 10 seconds per mile of their times here last year, which was run on a bond dry course. Celine and Claire are a pair of fighters, and their competitive spirit showed up big time for us today. One of the coolest moments of the meet was seeing Claire pop up over the hill on her final loop. She just bounced over the top of the hill and had a look on her face...the four girls in front of her didn't stand a chance. So far this summer we have felt we were strong through four, but weren't sure what the next two spots were going to be filled with. Bailey was very assertive today, and Mikaylay did an awesome job in her first meet back. With the pair of them running splits down near the 8 minute mark, it looks like they are both rounding into that solid 5-6 spot. Holly and Karlee also took big steps today, coming in right at or under the marks that we established prior to the meet. I loved the fact that the two of them were willing to risk it a little bit in their first loop. But even greater than that was the fact that they both held on and ran their race all they way through their final leg. Placing 4th in the field of 13 is no joke, and this group is starting to solidify as a whole unit.
BOYS:
The boys have had some signs of progress the past week, and today we saw that continue. Again, Haskett ran a heck of a set on his repeats, all down in the low 5's. Alex jumped back up there with him though, averaging right around the low 5:20's. This was more like the kind of fight from our top returning senior that we need to see as the season continues. Zach also turned in a strong performance today, leading Logan to help the pair average right at 6 minute miles for their set. The fact that Zach got out so quickly in his first mile was a really positive sign. Then to see him still engaged and actually racing during his final rep was definitely something that gives this team a boost. Zay and Liam took a really smart approach into their race, and ran very even splits across their laps. I believe the two of them are still scratching the surface with what they can do in this sport, at this level. But over the past two weeks we are seeing them already taking an approach to their races that shows a restraint that is not always evident with freshmen. As the two of them gain more confidence, we will see them starting to take it out a little earlier in the race, and start placing themselves in the mix to compete with kids who were well ahead of them at the start of this season. Denver ran the 2mi open race, as a way to get some more conditioning under his belt. He is still on a steep learning curve with this sport, and we are looking forward to his continued progress over the remaining weeks. |
Mustang Invitational
Girls
2nd/11 (9-1)
23-6 (.793)
Boys
4th/14 (10-3)
21-15 (.583)
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Our home invitational has grown pretty quickly in a few short years. Four years ago we started with 8 teams. Tonight we saw 14 teams toe the starting line, which makes for some competitive, exciting racing. Our kids did a great job holding their own in that large of a field.
GIRLS:
The girls continued building on their early-season successes with a strong showing tonight. It is starting to look like the strength of this team is in our pack. With just over 1 minute separating our 1-4, they are looking tough to beat in the early going of the season. Kaylee and Paige again led the girls with 5th and 6th place respectively. They were challenged prior to the race, to run with the top five the whole day. And like we have grown accustomed to, they rose to the challenge. Closely behind was Celine and Claire in 13th and 14th. It really is cool to see all of them coming into the finish chute so closely together. Bailey was our final scorer today, placing 42nd, which was solidly in the top half of the field. She is still so new to racing at this level, but it was interesting that even though she ran a slightly faster time than 10 days ago on this course, she felt like it was a bad race for her. Not that we want our kids to feel that way, but it is cool to see her recognize so early that she can do better, and her focus is not on her own personal time, so much as what she is going to do for this team. It was great to get Mikayla out for her first full 5K as well. Going into the meet she was pretty nervous, but she channeled that energy to surpass the individual targets that we laid out pre-race. Karlee was definitely feeling the heat today, but continued to grind out a run that placed her ahead of 7 other girls. Holly competed in the JV race tonight, and was able to surpass her time from the previous meet by almost three minutes. As she gets stronger, she is going to continue to see improvements on race day.
BOYS:
The boys took what could be a big step forward today, with all seven of our athletes showing positive signs of progress as runners. Austin Haskett came into today with this being the first race he has run at the high school level with a target clearly on his back. And boy, did he ever rise to that challenge. He led the race wire-to-wire, extending his lead every K. Running out front, by himself the whole race, he posted a blazing time of 16:48. That mark is the fastest any Mustang has run on this course, set a new meet record (by 44 seconds), and was the fourth fastest time ever run on this course. It is notable that the three fastest times were all posted by boys who ended up being legitimate contenders for all-state positions at the state meet. He is both hungry and focused, and keeps growing stronger each week it seems. This kid could be scary good, if he keeps his eye on the prize. Making a huge jump from just a few days ago, Alex ran arguably his best, most complete race of his four years. He was in position to compete at the first K, but didn't overextend himself. Instead he watched the race unfold, and found the right moment to strike, taking over the 2nd spot during the 4th K and then extended his lead during the final 2. It was a great thing to see him race so well, given the fact that we have started to see some more positive leadership from him in the past week or so. Also stepping up the past few days was Zach. He just looked like a different (more hungry and focused) runner early in the race, and never seemed to lose that mentality as the race wore on. He was tired for sure, but he competed much better than just a short time ago. Liam is just now figuring out the difference between the 3K at the junior high level and the 5K at this one. He shaved some more time today (quite a lot, actually), and was able to insert himself as an important scoring position. Denver rounded out our scoring runners today, dropping another 1 minute+ off of his time. Denver is going to only improve as he gets more experience actually racing the full 5K distance. |
Columbus Classic at Ceraland
Girls
2nd/15 (13-1)
36-7 (.837)
Boys
4th/16 (12-3)
33-18 (.647) |
GIRLS:
The girls continued their impressive season, with yet another pack effort today at Columbus. As we have seen for a few meets now, our 1-4 just stays really close to one another and that helps tremendously in these larger meets. We wanted to see Paige and Kaylee set the pace for them again, by getting out a little quicker than we had the previous few runs. Both were under target at the 1K, which put them in contention with some fast girls. Not only did they start together, but the long stretch run down the finish, saw them once again finish 5th and 6th. They were followed by Celine, who jumped up to the 8th position. Celine looked very assertive today, and ran with confidence. She posted her fastest time in a few years, and it was even on a course that was fast, but not blazing fast. Once again Claire was right on Celine's heels throughout most of the race, even though Celine had a bit more down the stretch. Her 20th place finish marks the second meet in a row that this group has put 1-4 in the top 20. But, it takes 5 to score, and today we saw Bailey take a pretty big step forward, towards being that solid fifth. After posting times in the 27-28 minute range in prior races, she dropped down to 25:39 today, which was good enough for 72nd position. Our girls know that we need to continue to see the gap from our #4 and #5 spot closing, and as they have all season they will come back each day with the effort that we will continue to see it develop. All the way down the line, the girls improved. Holly Richardson posted her first race under 30 minutes, covering the course in 29:06. Karlee Bland set a new PR as well, with a mark of 30:55, surpassing her previous best by two minutes
BOYS:
The boys race for us included PR's and season bests up and down the roster. But the biggest highlight of the day had to be Austin Haskett taking on the challenge of such elite competition. This was easily the most competitive field that he has faced this season, with six individuals ranked in the top 15 of their respective semi-states taking to the line. Watching a beautiful race unfold is really exciting to see. And Austin really did put together a beautiful race, against that level of competition. There were two constants throughout the 5000 meters. Curt Eckstein was in the lead (he is a favorite for winning the state meet), and Austin Haskett was competing for 2nd. Throughout the race, there were five or six different guys who would challenge Austin for that spot at various times. But each of those times, he came back and held his spot. Even as they raced down the final stretch, he had the ability to outkick his opponents. Just a smart, and gutsy race. Alex was again our second man across, with a much improved mark of 16:55. We know there is more there for Alex, and he is starting to get back to running how we know he is capable. That mark was a lot faster than he was at this point last season, even though last season we raced the super flat Martinsville course. Perhaps one of the most pleasant surprises of the day came from freshman Liam Nelson's race. After running in the 20 minute range for his first few meets, Liam burst out with an 18:22, good enough to place 32nd and be our #3 today. He just ran a race with no regard to time. He was on the attack for the entire race today, and was looking for people to pass the whole day. When we talk about just racing and letting the time take care of itself, this is what we mean. Not far behind Liam, was junior Zach Kovach, who posted his first time under 19 minutes in quite some time, as he continues to show signs of his progress returning. Also setting new PRs today were Zay Doering (19:50), Denver Aydelott (20:00), and Logan Koos (20:28). As this group continues to close up on our 2nd and 3rd spots, we will continue to see the team move up the ranks at these large meets. | Clay City Invitational
Girls
4th/7 (3-3)
39-10 (.796)
Boys
4th/9 (5-3)
38-21 (.644) | This meet is always a little tricky for us. There is good competition among the teams at this meet, but we also are trying to prepare for the meets towards the end of the season. With a chance to compete at Brown County coming up Saturday, we came into this one with an emphasis on developing some racing tactics within this fairly inexperienced group. We were also down a couple of guys, so we were looking for some things to take place with the guys who were typically a few spots back, but would be counted on for scoring today.
GIRLS:
The girls were set out with the goal of holding the 1-6 spot together through the first half of the race. This is where the inexperience of racing showed up a little bit, as the 5-6 runners seemed a little hesitant to actually run with the 1-4, even though the pace was set to hold them there. Once we saw that was not going to hold very long, our 1-4 had an important decision to make and then they moved up through the field as a group. Ending up in the 13-16 spots was an indication that they really did hold to the pack mentality even as the strategy needed to be altered a bit, mid race. Mikayla started to move and get aggressive as the race unfolded and ended up setting a PR.
BOYS:
The boys honestly struggled with the concept of holding that group together, and some of them ended up getting stuck in a middle area, where they were out too slow to be racing the right guys, but had to make some moves to try and keep the pack together, which took some of their kick away. Even as Austin raced with the front of the pack again, it was evident that he was never really hammering the pace, yet had some trouble leading the group as we had hoped. One bright spot though was to see Zach Kovach, mid race, being very active in trying to keep Zay, Denver, and Liam held together as a group. Though we expect big things when Alex and Cameron return, this was a meet where we really needed some other (younger) guys to step up. I fully expect that we will come back on both sides (boys and girls), with something that we can build on, and make this meet a learning experience that will pay off for us when we get into some bigger meets down the road.
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Eagle Classic At Brown County
Girls
5th/15 (10-4)
49-14 (.777)
Boys
No Team Score
(Boys were split between 3 races) |
GIRLS:
The theme of a tight pack for 1-4 continued today, as Kaylee, Paige, Celine and Claire once again competed well and worked with one another to finish within about 1 minute of each other. Celine had a particularly strong race, as she continues to inch closer to Paige and Kaylee. She has been a great leader for this year's team, and she is starting to show some signs of real progress as she continues through her senior season. The conditions were pretty muddy today, so the times are not totally reflective of how well that top group ran. Placing 8, 10, 15, and 21 in a meet this size will put this group in contention each week. As we have seen the past couple of weeks though, we are still looking for a consistent number 5 to close the gap. Bailey and Mikayla both put out a solid effort. We just need to see some racing down the stretch to see them both closing up on the front four.
BOYS:
Freshman/Sophomore Race:
Liam, Zay, and Logan were in this race today, looking to establish some familiarity with the course that we will be returning to at least once more (WIC) and hopefully a second time (Semi-State). Liam and Zay were out much more assertively today, and were racing with faster boys in the second half of the race, than they had been previously. This was Liam and Zay's first meet, where they did not have Zach and some other more experienced runners to really key off of, and I thought they handled that challenge really well.
Varsity Race:
Zach and Denver were in this race, and Zach continued to round back into shape. This was by far his most competitive meet he has put together this season. Signs have been showing of him starting to re-establish himself as the type of runner we hoped to see coming into the season. He is just showing a lot more spirit during the actual races now, and he is starting to move up the field from where he would have been just a few weeks ago. Denver got his first taste of cross country weather, and it did prove to be a challenge for him. However, he never checked out of the race, and got one like this under his belt. As he gets more experience with this race distance and gain more confidence in his speed, he will continue to improve.
Elite Race:
Austin was our only entrant in this race today, and he definitely showed that he belongs there. While the field around him shuffled around throughout the meet, Austin was in the top five the whole race. Even at a point where his 4th K started to drop off a bit, he came back with a strong final K, and had just enough to secure a top 5 spot . The nice thing about seeing him race like that today is that he is by no means "fresh". We are still training through these meets right now, and for him to still be up there is a positive sign. |
Crawford County Invitational
Girls
5th/21 (16-4)
65-18 (.783)
Boys
14/31 (17-13)
55-34 (.618) |
Today's meet is run a little bit different than most. The races are split as a Freshman/Sophomore race, and a Junior/Senior race, the the total times of your top 5 runners are added together to determine finishing place for the teams. While we have some individual results, and know how our kids fared in their races, we still do not have any full team results. I am eager to know for sure, because I believe our girls finished pretty high in the rankings today, and the boys held their own, even while still competing without Alex and Cameron.
GIRLS:
Freshman/Sophomore Race: Kaylee and Paige showed that there are different running styles and multiple ways to reach the same point. Kaylee used an aggressive start to put her in the top 10 right away, while Paige started more conservatively and moved up the field as the race wore on. Once again the pair yielded positive results and finished right with one another though, taking 6th and 7th place, with Kaylee holding a 4 second edge at the finish. Bailey also ran her most assertive race since Columbus, and ended up with arguably her strongest race of the season. Even though the time was a little slower than Columbus, this was a less "time friendly course" and she was engaged in the race.
Junior/Senior Race: Celine and Claire were pretty much attached at the hip during the full race today, and the pair worked up through the field the whole day. After being back around 25-30 spot for the first K, they ended up 14 and 15 respectively. In addition to the continuation of the great in-race teamwork we have seen all season, the pair continued to work on keeping the gap between them and our front two, at a minimum. But it takes 5 to score a meet, and Mikayla took a big step forward in asserting herself as that number 5 today. Her run was clearly her most competitive of the season, and she is definitely showing signs of being more comfortable working into racing form after an early summer setback. Her time of 26:01 was a huge PR, on a day when those were not the norm. Holly and Karlee also ran more competitively today, with Holly holding under 30 minutes again, and Karlee setting a new PR with a 30:17.
BOYS:
Freshman/Sophomore Race: Austin led our boys again, with an impressive "solo" run. He had a few kids who tried to hang during the first half mile or so, but by the 1K mark, he had opened up a 4-5 second lead. By the time they reached the Mile marker, he was already well ahead of the field and was off and running by himself. He continued to cruise, en route to a first place finish in a time of 16:31. The scary thing about that is that there was no one around him and he still pulled away to finish 45 seconds ahead of the second place finisher in his race. Liam continued to hold a position of importance for us. He was caught up in some traffic early, but rebounded once things opened up and worked back up to a respectable finish position. After running in the mid 18s already, he has started to welcome some of the additional pressure that comes with being a scoring runner. He is still a freshman and is still figuring out different aspects of racing at this level, so we like where he is headed, for sure. Zay ran his most competitive race of the season, ended up with a race that was not a long way off a PR, but was a much stronger racing effort.
Junior/Senior Race: Zach continued his recent steps back into the solid leader and racer that we believed he could be. After assuming a greater leadership role the previous three or four weeks, we are starting to see his racing trending upward. Not only was his time of 18:27 the fastest of the season, it was his second fastest ever, and was his 1K, 1mi, and 2mi in-race PR, an indication that he is starting to believe more and more in his ability. The bottom line today for him, was that he was more assertive at the start and ended up racing the last 4Ks of the race with people who he needs to be competing with, rather than sitting back and seeing them drift further away early in the race. Denver also set a new PR, with a race that saw him making moves that indicate a greater level of trust in his own ability.
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Dual Meet Vs.OV
Girls
1st (1-0)
66-18 (.786)
Boys
1st (1-0)
56-34 (.622)
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Both of our squads came into today with some different objectives. Both of our squads today put a great effort forward, en route to meeting those objectives.
GIRLS:
The girls were led by a more confident race by both Kaylee and Paige. We have seen them getting stronger as the season has progressed, and today was a chance to get out front and race with a really good runner (Brooke Hey, of OV). Kaylee went out and challenged her the entire race, with Paige just a step back. Celine continued her progress in her senior year on our course. She has run about 1minute faster, each of the races we've had here, since the 11th hour meet to kick off the season. She put herself in a position to be racing with the #2 from OV all the way to the finish line. Claire was right behind that pair, also improving on her previous times on our course. That closed out our top four scoring runners, with a 2-3-5-6 spot. Mikayla finished up our scoring with a race that showed yet another step in her progress. She is starting to race more, rather than running, as she gains more experience. The same could be said of Holly and Karlee. Both were much faster than any previous race on our course. Both were making actual racing moves during the race that is a sign of these girls starting to figure out how to actually race a 5K. The girls' effort secured them a 28-29 win tonight. And that was over a team that qualified for the Semi-State meet last year. We have now beaten them in a big meet (Columbus), and now in a dual meet. Though we know they are going to be fired up the next time we face them, at the county meet, we are starting to see more signs of this team starting to believe in their chance to take that next step.
BOYS:
The boys needed to use today to learn how to work with and for one another in a race setting. Objective complete. This was much better today, as our pack stuck with each other through the 3K. It was great to see the group talking to each other and encouraging each other to hold that pack together. Then when it was time to go after it during the final stretch of the race, they responded really well. Austin smoked the final 2000 meters, to finish first, in 18:43. Liam hammered his way to a 2nd place finish today, which should be a big boost for him. When it was time for him to go he looked like he had just been a wild dog on a leash, that just broke free. With in a hundred meters, Zach and Cam had taken the 3-4 spots, and Denver was sitting just behind the 5. Half a mile later, Denny had moved to the #5 spot and was never going to give that up. Finishing 1-5 secured a perfect score for the meet. Zay also ran his fastest time on our course this year, taking 7th. Zay is still learning how to run and race, and today that inexperience (trust in his ability) showed up a little bit. When he slipped back with pace during the 4th K, he shook that off and bounced back with a final K that was actually right on the pace he was running through the first 3. This is really a case of trust in his ability during those difficult moments in the middle of the race. Logan gutted out a strong start to the race, to keep himself in the pack with his teammates. He was feeling a tight hamstring that you could tell was an issue as the race wore on. But as with all the others, the major thing we wanted to see was him making that effort to stick in the pack.
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Ted Fox Memorial @ BNL
Girls
5th/16 (11-4)
77-22 (.777)
Boys
8th/20 (12-7)
68-41 (.624) |
Both squads were challenged today, to add another piece to their racing. We wanted to see a faster start today, and our whole group was much more confident in the start. Unfortunately, the unseasonably warm and humid day did not lend itself to holding those paces. But we saw our group continue to fight for positions and made some real progress towards our season long goals.
GIRLS:
The girls were once again led by the pack of our top four, who came in within one minute of each other. For that full minute at the finish line, our girls came in every 15 seconds. Kaylee, Paige, Celine, and Claire were all competing for spots between 19 and 31. Celine has started to find an extra gear the past couple of meets and is continuing to close up on our top two. As she gets ready for the final stretch of her senior season, she is gaining more confidence and racing with the kind of toughness that we have come to love over the past four years. Kaylee and Claire posted their fastest races this season, which was not an easy feat after such aggressive starts. Definitely a good sign for them both as they move towards WIC and state series. But the team score got a big boost today with Mikayla and Bailey both making the move to sub 26. Mikayla continues to gain more confidence in her racing ability, which really shows up in the second half of these races. Holly also PRed today, with yet another race that shows her finding the difference between running and racing. She is starting to do a much better job at competing with others as the race unfolds.
BOYS:
Austin was once again in the mix at the front of the pack. After a grueling challenge, he eventually finished third, just getting edged at the line. THis was not a race that he typically runs, but it was great to see him compete the way he did, and still come out with a PR to show for it. His time of 15:53 was his second time under 16, and just gives him more confidence to head down the stretch of the season. A major plus for the boys today was to see them actually working together during the race, even thought that was not a specific focus of this meet. The boys were able to find eachother in the crowd and help pull and push one another. Cam, Liam, and Zach were within 8 seconds of each other at the finish, while Zay and Denver both PRed again. The gap between those guys has started to shrink up, and that is a great sign, given where we were just a few short weeks ago. This 8th place finish could have easily turned into a 11th or 12th place, if the race was not executed like that. |
Monroe County Meet @ IU
Girls
4th/5 (1-3)
78-25 (.757)
Boys
3rd/5 (2-2)
70-43 (.619) |
We were glad to host this meet this season and we had some more really good things happening with our crew.
GIRLS: 6 of our 8 girls ran their fastest time on our home course, this season. More details to come.
BOYS: All 6 of our boys who ran tonight, posted their fastest times on our home course. Austin not only ran his fastest time on this course, but the fastest by any Edgewood Mustang. His mark of 16:32 is just 12 seconds off the overall course record, and he did it with a race that was really fun to watch unfold. Battling Drew Warren (BHSN) for the first 4000 meters, he just put so much pressure on when he made his move late in the race, and ended up opening up an 8 second gap by the time the two reached the finish line. |
Western Indiana Conference Championship @ Brown County
Girls
3rd/10 (7-2)
85-27 (.759)
Boys
5th/11 (6-4)
76-47 (.618) |
Today was one of the kinds of days when our sport reminds us that sometimes you just can't control what your opponent can do. But when you have done all you can, you just have to tip your hat to the competition. We had 7 boys and 8 girls competing today, and all 15 ran their fastest races on our home course. We are still seeing signs of improvement though, which is a good sign as we get ready for the state series, which begins next week.
GIRLS: The girls' pack was strong again today, with four in the top 20 and three earning All-Conference honors. Kaylee and Paige finished in 6th and 10th respectively, and we got a boost from a big race by Celine, who worked her way up to the 12th position. Kaylee was in the mix for a top 5 spot for the whole race and Paige worked her way back into the top 10 after finding herself a little bit back at the mile. About 1K into the race, Celine was somewhere around the 20th position, but seemed to find an extra gear that looked like a highly motivated and determined senior going through her final WIC race. I honestly was thinking she might pass a handful of girls that were ahead at that point to work into an All Conference spot, but to see her work all the way up to 11th was fun to watch. Finishing in 19th, Claire set a new personal best on our course, a sign that she is still getting faster as the season progresses. Our final four girls all ran new PRs today (not best times on this course, but their best times ever). That is a really tough thing to do as our course typically runs slower than the ones where most of our group has their PR races. Mikayla broke 25 minutes for the first time ever, and Bailey was in range of 25, running about 20 seconds faster than her previous best, back at the Columbus course which is considerably "faster". Holly continues to show signs of learning how to race. There were more spots in this race where you could see her competing for positions and making stronger racing moves. A highlight for our girls too, was Karlee Bland. After joining us this season with the idea of just keeping in shape for her senior swimming season, she decided to compete in more meets than we originally planned. After running a slowest time of over 36 minutes early in the season, today was her first time to break that 30minute barrier. She did it with plenty of room to spare, which came from an exciting push for the final 200 meters or so, finishing ahead of 11 girls in this race. We have loved having her with us this season. She has worked incredibly hard, and every meet out just kept learning how to tackle this new challenge she took on. Her race today is a reminder that one of the great things about this sport is that everyone goes out there with something to accomplish and some challenge to take on. It was great to see her break through that 30 minute barrier that she had been looking at for a few weeks.
BOYS: Austin continues to do some special things, as we start to near the final stretch of the season. Out by himself from the mile one, Austin stayed focused on the goal of establishing a new course record. The mark of 16:20.4 was set by Kyle Burks of Bloomington South, back in 2013. Austin came in at 16:20.5, just missing the overall course record, but securing a new Mustangs course record and a WIC individual title. As with our girls, all off our boys also ran their best times on our course, and we are also starting to see a solid pack starting to develop. Liam continued his strong freshman season, posting a mark of 19:00, and being just the third freshman across the finish line. He has made a lot of progress this season, and we are looking foward to seeing him set some new marks in the final weeks of our season. It was great to have Cameron running more like we know he is capable. Just 5 seconds back of Liam, Cameron is starting to show more signs of confidence in his racing as he now has a few meets under his belt since coming back from an injury. Zach stepped up as a leader a few weeks back, and that has also impacted his own running in a positive way. He has become a sort of steady centerpiece that the younger guys in this developing pack can look to during races. Just a few seconds back off him was Denver and Zay, then Logan. THe spread between our 2 to 7 spot was down to 1:11, which was the best that our team had done with that particular measure. |
IHSAA Sectionals @ BNL
Girls
3rd/10 (7-2)
92-29 (.742)
Boys
4th/11 (7-3)
83-50 (.624) |
Both teams advance to next week's Regional meet, and Austin Haskett wins the first individual championship for an Edgewood runner since Jeremy Swafford in 1992!
GIRLS: The girls ran very well today, building on their pack mentality successes of this season. Kaylee, Paige, Claire, and Celine were within 40 seconds of each other, while Mikayla and Bailey continued to improve and closed the gap between our 4 and 5 spots. Kaylee was the pacesetter for our girls as she has been most races. Her time of 21:04 was her fastest of the season in 15th place, and set the tone for the others. Paige was not far behind, grabbing the 16th spot. Claire had a bit of a breakout race today, setting a new PR of 21:31. She was very focused right from the gun and did an excellent job at expending her energy evenly throughout the full 5K. Celine was just 12 seconds back of Claire, just missing a top 20 spot (21), but turning in one of her better performances of the season. The girls were given a huge boost today, by Mikayla and Bailey who came in at 24:16 and 24:24 respectively, both setting new PRs. These two have just continued to grow as competitors and runners throughout the season. They are really finding that they can be faster than what they believed about seven or eight weeks ago. The girls race was capped off with a new PR by Holly as well. Her 28:22 was her best time of the season, and puts her another step closer to that next checkpoint.
BOYS: The highlight of the meet for us was seeing Austin race at the front for a Sectional championship. Not only was this a new PR, but he did it without having much to race against, as he was 30 seconds ahead of the 2nd place finisher. It is really most impressive to see him race at this time of year, because he is actually still getting faster. Even though he has had some success this season, he continues to stay hungry for more. Each week from this point on, he is going to be facing more and more competition and it will be exciting to see him working to beat surpass the marks that he has already established this year. The rest of the team showed some major progress in their ability to work togetehr, and it was totally needed today. We did have a couple of guys who did not run a particularly strong race (wasnt "bad" by any means...just didn't quite have the extra gear that we are growing more accustomed to seeing. ) The great sign of confidence from Cameron today was exciting to watch. He is gaining more confidence since his return from his injury and is set up to see some additional progress as we get ready for next weeks' meet. It was also important that as Zach and Liam fell back a little bit, Denver and Zay were right there, both of them having no hesitation to get in front of Zach when they saw him coming back to them. Zay in particular took a major step in his racing ability, by staying engaged in the race the whole time. He smashed is previous PR, and yet when he got to the finish, it appeared that he did have a little more left in the tank. He will see his times continue to drop as he learns how to extend himself a little more during the middle stages of the race. This was really why we had been trying to get that group to close up and work together, because early in the season this would have been a meet where everyone just settled back to stay behind the guy in front of them on our roster. Now that they are learning to work together, none of the five feel like all the pressure is all on them. Instead, this challenge is taken on by the whole group and as one guys struggles, he has three or four teammates right around him to help pick him up. To have our #2-6 all coming in less than a minute apart is evidence that this group is starting to figure out how to work together and they are gaining more confidence at the same time. Going into today's race without Alex there was a definite possibility that this might be their final meet of the season. It was great to see them all rise to that challenge and pick up some of the needed spots down the stretch to lock up that 4th place finish. |
IHSAA Regionals @ BNL
Girls
7th/10 (3-6)
95-35 (.731)
Boys
8th/10 (2-7)
85-57 (.599)
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Kaylee Meyer, Paige Abel, and Austin Haskett advance to Semi-State!! | IHSAA Semi-State @ Brown County
Girls
Boys
|
Haskett Advances to State Finals! Meyer and Abel conclude season with strong races!
Our two representatives on the girls side today were Paige Abel and Kaylee Meyer. All season long, these two have taken different approaches to their races, and come up with very similar results, usually finishing within about 10-15 seconds of one another. Today was the same story. Both were out quicker than last week, and put themselves in a race. The result was Kaylee running a new PR (20:44) and Paige running a season best time (20:54). We knew going into the meet that advancing past this point would take a pretty big drop. Being able to end their season with a strong race is always a plus and we hope that this is a good foundation for the upcoming spring.
Way back at the start of the summer, Austin came into things with a goal of making it to the state finals. As things have progressed, those goals have shifted a bit and he came into today's meet with a realistic goal of not only advancing to the state finals, but competing for the top postion. When the gun went off, he immediately put himself in the top 5, assuring that he was racing with the right level of competition. The first 2000 meters had a lot of movement around the top 10 postions, as guys were all fighting for that state finals trip. By about 3000 meters there was a group of 5 that started to pull away from the next pack a little bit, and Austin was among them. Holding right with the leaders through this point, helped position Austin in 3rd place with 2K to go. After a gap was opened up between the front two and himself from the 3K to about the 3500 mark, there was not much more widening of the gap. As he approached the final K, there was one competitor trying to make a move, but Austin still had enough in the tank to outkick him and hold that third spot.
| IHSAA State Finals @ Terre Haute
Girls
Boys
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HASKETT EARNS ALL-STATE HONORS WITH 18TH PLACE FINISH!!
What an incredible day it was, out at Terre Haute. As we have come to learn over the past months, Austin Haskett is a tough, tough kid. He has approached each race with a mature balance of confidence and humility. He is not afraid to put himself in the mix with more experienced runners, but he is tempered enough to not be drawn out of his own race. That approach set him up well today, by putting him far enough in the front pack that he was racing the second half of his 5K with high level competitors, yet left him with enough in the tank to make a really solid push during his final kilometer. I've been coaching for a few years now, and to see a sophomore approach a race that way is pretty special, and is a credit to him way more than his coaching!!
Through the early stages of the race he did as he always does and inserted himself into the more elite runners by the 1K mark. At that point he was towards the front of a group of about 35 runners who were within 8 or 9 seconds of each other, from about 3rd to 40th position. During the 2nd K, he settled into his pace, while a number of boys from that pack overextended themselves on a part of the course with a rather long, gradual climb. Seeing some of those guys pass him never rattled him though. He maintained a level head, and as they reached the 3 and 4K marks, some of those guys started to drift into the mid to high 3:20s/K pace, while his held at 3:18 and 3:21. During that stretch, he was gaining back some of those positions that were lost in the 2nd K. Then in the last couple of kilometers there were some runners ahead of him who had tried to hang too long with the front of the field, and started to drift into sight. This is a point when Austin is at his best. Like a shark that smells blood in the water, he focused in on each guy ahead of him and pushed through the pain that undoubtedly comes when you run that fast for that far. During his final 1-1.5K he gained another couple of positions and it became clear that he would not only be fighting for a medal (awarded to the top 25 finishers), but that he would be racing the final stretch for a top 20 position. Rounding the final curve, to make the quarter mile push up a gradual incline to the finish line, Austin dug down and found a way to drop his final K time back down to 3:18, which put him at the 15th fastest time over that span. Those final few spots he gained during that stretch were the icing on a delicious cake. Not only did he finish in a medal position, but he ran a time that was one of his best of the season, doing so on a course that is not typically thought of as a "PR type of course."
As a coach I get to spend a lot of time with these kids. And as I get to watch them race more (and see them put the work in during the weeks and months prior to racing), I really get a sense of how things are going as the race is unfolding, regardless of a time. I can see when they are engaged in a race mentally. I can see when they are pushing their limits or when they are settling in to hold just on the verge of them. I can see the fight that they have when they gain confidence in what they set out to do, as the end of the race draws near. All of those elements were on display today by Austin. That is why at the finish, even before looking at a time, I knew that it would be a thrilling "discussion" at the finish line...I use that term in quotes, because Austin is a pretty understated individual, and in our talks, he is usually pretty quiet! :) In all seriousness, when things don't play out the way that an athlete hopes they do, that discussion after a race can be difficult one. IF there is any lingering feeling about what they could have done better, or should have done instead, then we try to turn it into a learning experience. Even then, we are competitors and it never fully softens the blow to a competitor's nature to hear platitudes about giving best effort, or fighting the whole way. Perhaps selfishly, this was one of the easiest post-race conversations I have had with an athlete, because he went out and executed just about every portion of a race as well as we had planned. And to do it under the pressure of racing in the biggest meet of his life thus far, is not something to be dismissed.
Congratulations to Austin, for seeing the fruits of his labor be born on the biggest stage. We are excited with him and for him for what he has accomplished with this season. At the same time we are excited to see what the future holds for him and for this team as we continue to build our program into one that supports and challenges individuals in a way that brings about these kinds of celebratory moments!
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