| Meet Info | Meet Notes and Details |
Early Bird Meet
@ Terre Haute
BOYS
3/14
11-2 (.846)
GIRLS
3/12
9-2 (.818)
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Our boys and girls were ready to get to the racing season underway, after a teriffic summer of training. For some, this was their first 5K ever. For others, this was their first 5K after having legitimate training under their belt. Others still, this was a chance to build on previous years' work, and start positioning themselves for the long-haul of a full campaign. Top to bottom, we walked away from today with an overall positive feeling. Taking 3rd for both boys and girls in a meet this size is a good building block.
The boys race first this season, to match what the state series will be. We saw a familiar thing happen, with Austin Haskett running at a very high level. Taking the lead early, then just sticking around the top few positions, he was ready to make a move and separate at the finish for the win. Of course there are big goals for him this season, so it was great to see him start off the season with a win. Important to our team's aspirations this year will be the next group of varsity boys working and racing together. We saw that today with Cam (38), Zach (39), and Liam (41) coming through the finish within a second of each other. At some point during the race each one of the trio had a moment of difficulty, and had to use their training partners to keep them going. This was an excellent example of teammates working together mid-race, and is a reflection of the chemistry that has developed in the team this summer. The next group, led by Zay (who has started to take major steps in his second season) finished 85th, was also a tight group. Landon (113), Logan (117), Nathan (119) and Elliot (136) all established some solild marks to start the season. Zay was more than a minute faster than his first meet last season, Logan was two minutes faster than last time on this course, and the other three posted marks that they will work forward from the rest of the season. Dylan and Mike also showed some grit, in finishing their first ever 5K, and gained a little confidence that they know they can do it now, and we will work from there.
The girls had a fantastic showing, led by a pair of top 10 finishes by Annalyssa Crain (3) and Sarah Foster (6). Their races were the two fastest times posted by an Edgewood freshman athlete. Annalyssa posted a mark of 19:27, which is just 15 seconds off the school record, on a hot day in late August on a challenging course. Her consistent work throughout the summer definitely pays off on days like this. Sarah was also very strong in her first ever 5K, showing some grit by going out with the leaders early in the race. With the next three coming in within about a minute of eachother, the team scores were really solid. Kaylee (28) and Paige (31) were both ahead of the last time we ran this meet. Olivia (44) was really far ahead of what we have seen from a number 5 at this meet before. In fact even Mikayla our #6 today was better than we have even had with a #4 at this meet. The girls have showed a toughness all summer, have increased the intensity of their training, and got to see immediate results in the first meet of the season. It is going to be exciting to watch this group of athletes put it out there as the season unfolds.
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Danville Hokem Karem
BOYS
5/15
21-6 (.777)
GIRLS
1/13
21-2 (.913) | As the Mobley family welcomes a new addition, the boys and girls headed up to Danville to take care of business on the course. Mission accomplished! This is a 6x1mile relay race, with pairs of runners alternating miles, running 3 miles each. Getting reports throughout the race, I was able to follow the outstanding effort that our kids once again put on display. A full recap of the individual and team exploits will be posted here soon. But the summary is that the girls won the meet in convincing fashion, and the boys took a top 5 after placing 10th a year ago. Big improvements on both sides!
The boys were led by a strong outing from Junior standout Austin Haskett, and Senior Zach Kovach. The pair took third place, a jump of 3 spots from last year's top pair. That really was the common thread with the boys and girls both. Big improvement from last year, and the tone was set with these guys' start. Our second pair was Cam and Liam, finishing 22nd with our third coming in 39th (Zay and Nathan). That was up from 43rd and 52nd for those scoring pairs last year. We even had a 4th pair (Landon and Elliott) who took 53rd, which would have been as good as last year's scoring pairs. Mike and Dylan even set new PRs in a 2mile effort, with their run in the Open race. Top to bottom, great day for the boys and another step in the right direction.
The girls crushed it. Really no other way to put it. When six girls go out like that and perform to that level it is really hard to poke holes in it, and I wont even try today. Sarah and Annalyssa took on the challenge of running with the front of the pack, which turned into a challenge of running away from the front of the pack. Eventually winning by more than a minute, the pair literally ran away with the race. Not far back in the field though was Kaylee and Paige who improved their time from last year by more than 2 minutes and jumped up from 13th to 4th! Olivia and Bailey both fought from the gun and then showed a lot of grit to keep hammering from there. Their time of 40:06 was strong enough to place them 6th in a field of 52 pairs. The girls strong performance earned a dominant victory, and will surely bring an awareness outside of our own team, about the caliber of team this year's group is starting to develop into. This group is going to really grind each time out on the course, and the results of that mentality are starting to show. |
Mustang Invitational
BOYS
4/13
30-9 (.769)
GIRLS
1/13
33-2 (.943)
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The boys started the day off with a goal of being in contention for the win. In what shaped up to be a really competitive race, the Clay City boys had the strength of a team coming off a Semi-State berth last year and put them on top. Our boys had a solid outing but are still getting used to going into a meet with expectations that are elevated from a year ago. Virtually everyone ran faster than ever on this course, led by Austin who ran an incredible race to blast by the previous course record of 16:20. His run of 16:02 ran away from the field early, and secured yet another individual win, in a convincing fashion. The boys put out a solid effort, but there was just a little too much of a gap from our 1-2 and from our 2-5 today to get the win. We will continue to put in the work in the coming weeks and see the progress we have made be just a step in the process.
The girls really showed that they are starting to move into a different category. This point is illustrated by the fact that last year, we ran into Owen Valley a number of times, and each time they won, en route to their semi-state berth. Today, our girls won. But with Owen Valley in second place with 103 points, our girls notched only 26! It was an incredible performance, led by the freshman duo of Annalyssa Crain and Sarah Foster who took 1st and 2nd. Annalyssas time of 18:42 is a new school record and meet record. Kaylee took 6th and Olivia had a breaakout race, to place 10th. At any meet, when you put 4 in the top 10, you are really in control. Then when your 5th comes in 12th, you know it was a convincing win. It was great to see them race like that and defend their home course with such gusto. |
Columbus Classic at Ceraland
BOYS
4/17
43-12 (.782)
GIRLS
1/12
44-2 (.957)
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This was a big day for our boys and girls squads. The boys went first, and established a much more confident and tone early in the race. After trying to develop a better sense of establishing a starting position, the boys fought well today. Haskett set a tone by leading the race from the start and then extending his lead. He not only won the race by a lot, but he pushed the full 5K to break the school record of 15:25, with a finish of 15:18. Zach started out quick, and pulled the rest of the varsity pack with him,. The boys were all much quicker at the K today than they were in the prior weeks. This put all of them in a much better position to be racing during the second half of the race. Seeing Cam and Liam both get under the 18 minute mark was an important step for the team. Seeing Zay go Drop 40 seconds off his previous best time, to go 18:15 was also a huge step. He raced much more confidently and is starting to see himself running with Cam, Liam, and Zach more and more. The strengthening of that pack will be important as we move into the second half of the season. There were a lot of PRs today, and a new challenge will be to take this step and use it as a building block.
The girls' incredible run continues to pick up steam. Not to be outdone, Annalyssa went out to lead the race early, and pulled away from the field to establish a wide margin of victory, en route to a new school record of 18:19, surpassing her mark of 18:42 just a few days earlier. Sarah was our second today, as she went out fast and showed a lot of fight to end up with the third fastest time in school history. Kaylee also ran an impressive race, and is now knocking on the door of breaking 20minutes. Oliva and Paige came in within a second of one another, both moving under 21 and starting to move closer to that next mark of 20 minutes. Also impressing today was Baily, getting under 23 minutes by bringing more "fight". She (and some of our other runners) are just different when you see them in attack mode. Bailey had that today.
| Clay City Invitational
BOYS
3/9
49-14 (.777)
GIRLS
1/8
51-2 (.962)
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Both squads were working on some important aspects of racing today. The boys all competed better than a year ago at this meet, and placed third, in a close meet. With just 13 points separated the top three teams, and feeling like there were some things that are in our control, that we can do better, it is a positive step for sure. I thought Cam stood out a little bit today, as he was confident in his targeting of some guys who had finished ahead of him in prior years. He actually ended up with a PR for his second consecutive race, on a course that might not typically lend itself to that. The time was really a reflection of his mental approach to getting out and competing during the second half of a race. As mentioned before, a lot of boys were wel ahead of their marks (both time and place) from a year ago, so hopefully this can be a building block for the boys.
The girls had some work to do, with respect to tightening up our pack. As they have begun to get accustomed to winning and challenging other teams on a weekly basis, their expectations for the end-of-season meets has continued to evolve. We certainly understand that to be at our best, it will take the full team putting it together and racing with and for one another. Today was a perfect example of them trusting that process. I dont think it is too much of a stretch to say that I believe Annalyssa and Sarah could have competed to go 1-2 in the meet, as individuals. But their willingness to do some things in a race that will help their teammates develop as competitors, is what I was really proud of today. The effort resulted in a pack of red moving up the field as the race unfolded and securing a win with four of the top 10 spots, even if that was not THE main priority heading into the race. It is a positive sign to see that kind of teamwork and sacrifice. |
Eagle Classic At Brown County
BOYS
13/19 (AA Race)
55-26 (.679)
GIRLS
8/15 (Elite Race)
58-9 (.866)
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Big Day All Around For The Mustangs!
- Haskett Wins the Elite Race! Sets a new school record, and posts the fastest time on record in the state this year!
- Annalyssa Places Third In The Elite Race! Sets a new school record, and becomes only the second area runner ever to go sub-18minutes!
- Girls Team Places 8th in Elite Race! 1 under 18; 1 at 19; 1 under 20; 2 others inch closer to 20
The boys team was split up a little bit today, with Austin competing as an individual in the Elite Race, Four freshmen and sophomores competing in the Frosh/Soph race, and the rest competing in the Varsity Race (AA division for the first time).
The first race of the day was our Freshman and Sophomore race, which saw Keeran and Landon both set new PRs by a pretty good margin. For Keeran, he just started so late with us, and is still so new to this that we still dont really even know what he can do yet, but it looks like each week he is gaining more and more confidence and starting to push a little more each week. Landon looked like he had a bounce back race from Thursday, and started to get himself in position to be breaking into the 18s very soon.
The Elite Race was incredibly exciting to see unfold. Not content to simply be among the from runners, Austin took the lead at the gun and challenged the rest of the field to keep pace. In many races so far this year, the competition has just let him go when he moves, but this meet has such elite talent in the field that we knew to expect a different kind of race. Coming through the 2K mark, there were still 5 guys in contention for the win, but you could tell that the field was definitely starting to string out a bit. By the time it got to the 3K, that group was down to 3. Hakett would be competing with Matthew Shadler of Evansville Memorial, and Caleb Futter of Christian Academy of Indiana for the final 2,000 meters. What a thrilling 2K it would turn out to be. On a few different occasions, Schadler made a move to take the lead, but Haskett covered it each time. Futter is a tough racer and was hanging in there while the 1-2 were battling a step ahead. At the 4K mark those three were still neck and neck, with Austin still holding a slight advantage. As they approached the half mile to go mark, Schadler and Haskett began to surge, and Futter slipped out of the contention for the win. It was going to come down to a final push down the stretch, after the 90 degree turn towards the finish line tower. As they made the turn, Hasket moved and opened up a gap, only to see Shadler close. Hasket moved ahead again, but a gritty push by Schadler brought the two to the line in a photo finish, with Haskett edging out for the win. Schadler is already established as one of the top runners in the state and at this point I don't think any conversation on the topic is complete without Austin's name being included. Kudos to him for his hard work, and for his mental preparation that goes into an effort like that.
In the Girls Elite Race we saw some more incredible competition, with all 15 teams in the field having State Finals aspirations. As was expected, Annalyssa was in competition at the front of the pack. Never intimidated by a challenge, she found herself in 6th place as that pack crossed the 2K mark. When the favorite (Phoebe Bates of Carmel) began to pull ahead of that pack, Annalyssa and Margo Hornocker of Oak Hill were the only two from that pack who could sustain that move by the 3K, and it was down to a pack of 3. Over the final 2K, Bates extended her lead a bit, with Crain and Hornocker fighting for the runner-up spot. As the pair made the turn for the finish, the Oak Hill senior had just a bit more in the tank to pull 2nd, with Annalyssa finishing 3rd. Incredibly, Annalyssa crossed the finish just 17 minutes and 58 seconds after the gun went off at the start. This was 22 seconds faster than her previous best, and was only the second runner from the Bloomington area to ever break 18 minutes. Sarah also took a fast start and turned it into a new PR of 19-flat. Kaylee continues to shave time off, and found herself breaking into the 19s for the first time, and doing so it a big meet. That mark put Kaylee in position as the 5th fastest PR time on Edgewood's list, giving this squad 3 of the 6 to ever break 20. Also utilizing a fast start and a fast field to drop time was Paige, who ran a 20:31. That was her fastest this year, and just a couple of seconds off her time from the Regional meet her Freshman year. Bailey also had an outstanding race, beating her previous PR by more than 30 seconds to get down to 22:20.
The boys varsity race was a much stronger outing, and is a sign of things moving in the right direction. Cam set a PR for the 3rd meet in a row, getting down to 17:31, and taking Liam along for the ride, crossing in 17:41. With Zach setting a new PR of 18:09 he is now coming around to what we expected to see after having a strong summer. Nathan Bolin was our final scorer today and handled that pressure nicely, using it to spur him on to a new PR, as he continues to shave time off. He just started with us this year, and is beginning to figure out 5K racing a little more each week. Also notching a PR today was Logan Koos. After a minor setback a few weeks back, he has come back in and begun attacking his races with a little more confidence and we are now starting to see the times come down.
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Crawford County Invitational
BOYS
3/26
78-28 (.736)
GIRLS
2/21
77-10 (.885)
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Our boys and girls both showed up with a really good effort, on a hot day. This meet is run different than most we race. The freshmen and sophomores run one race, and juniors and seniors in a second race. The top five times of each team are combined from both races, and that determines the team placing.
The boys made a huge jump from this meet a year ago. After struggling here in 2016, this might be a meet where the guys start to meet more of the potential that we have believed is there. Jumping up to snag the 3rd position was possible because they came into the meet more prepared to fight and compete for a full race. On a day when only 6 guys in the entire field cracked the 18 minute mark, it was important to throw times out the window and look at how well we competed. On that mark we showed a lot more toughness as a group than we have seen at different points this season. Zay and Liam in particular went out more aggressively than we have seen at times, and were in stronger positions than we have seen in a couple of weeks. Landon also showed a lot of grit during the latter stages of his race. But this day was held by our upper classmen who had a real strong showing. Austin crusied to an overall win, beating the next person in his race by well over a minute. Cam had a huge jump from a year ago, coming in as the 4th Junior to cross the line, while Zach came in as the 14th Senior to cross the line. Both of those spots were up significantly from their positions in this race a year ago. This team is starting to find itself, at the right time of year. Having a strong showing as a team, with the 3rd place finish, it will be important to see us now start to build on it.
The girls went up against one of the top teams in the state today (5th ranked Noblesville). As we have come to see, our girls are a strong bunch. Annalyssa taking top overall honors and Sarah taking 2nd in the freshman race (4th overall), went a long way towards a 2nd place finish in the meet. Out to a quick start and competing with girls at the front, Sarah continues to put herself in a position to race fast competition in the latter stages of a race. Annalyssa looked very strong, making decisive moves and showing a great deal of racing maturity for any runner, let alone a freshman. When she moved, it was decisive and definitive. Tough, tough runner! Olivia also came back today and had a race to learn from. On a day that she saw as an off day, she placed 14th among all freshmen in the race. It was a cool thing to see her bounce back in the second half of the race, and end up with a day that most in the field would have been thrilled with. It just speaks to the high expectations that this group holds for themselves. However, a team is only as strong as all of it's members, and our junior group led by Kaylee and Paige really had an excellent outing. Both girls showed a great focus and a lot of fight to battle through a tough race in the Indiana late summer humidity. Finishing 3rd and 4th among Juniors, and within 10 seconds of each other, this duo continues to be a really important component to this team.
Bailey White also stepped up today, to snag 14th place among Juniors in the race. After finishing 62nd in her race last season, she jumped way up to snag the 20th spot in the Junior and Senior race. Her strong summer and early season training is starting so see her creep up into the back end of that top 5, which is an important development for our whole-team aspirations.
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Dual Meet Vs.OV
BOYS
1/2
79-28 (.738)
GIRLS
1/2
78-10 (.886)
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This was a more low key day for us as we were getting prepared for the BNL meet on Saturday. It was nice to be able to pull out a double win against our nearest rival though. Boys and girls both were out here to accomplish some things and learn a little bit about ourselves in the process.
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Ted Fox Memorial @ BNL
BOYS
6/16
89-33 (.730)
GIRLS
3/18
93-12 (.886)
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It was a hot and humid day for a meet. Even though we ran at 9:00 and 9:30, the sun was already up and posed a challenge to the competitors in the field.
The boys race was again paced by Haskett, who cruised to a win in 15:53, leading by 30 seconds on a day where he was not totally geared up. As he starts to set his sights on some things to accomplish towards the end of the season, this was a nice step. The boys as a whole have shown signs of improvement from where we stood last year and are aware that the trend has to continue if we are to accomplish the goals this group laid out at the start of the season. The boys have shown all season that they are a stronger team than a year ago, and today was more proof. Up to 6th place as a team (8th last year). Our 2-5 stepped up from last season to see that happen. Cam dropped almost a minute to move from 57th to 25th. Zach dropped 35 seconds to move up 19 spots to 42nd. Liam dropped 24 seconds to move up 16 spots to 43rd. Zay dropped 42 seconds to jump up 34 spots to 57th place. Logan and Nathan had a nice race as they pushed each other down the stretch. Both were pretty close to a PR on a day where there were not many to be had.
The girls put together a really strong race. Annalyssa was charged with holding off a quality runner (Abigail Little of Noblesville). With Little looking to pull closer to the elite level that Annalyssa has shown herself to be in, the difference was shown in the second half of the race. Annalyssa made a decisive move at about the halfway mark, and then would go on to open up a 20 second lead over the final 2K. It was impressive to see her handle that challenge coming off of a tough week of training, then racing in the heat. Sarah ran arguably her best race of the season. It was a smart start, and we saw a more complete race, with fewer lapses in racing (vs running). She continues to learn how to control pace and push at appropriate times, and she was able to secure a 4th place finish today after making smart moves early in the race, and then competing with the girls charging to close on her in the final K. Kaylee was out quick and held onto the pack for a little bit longer than we saw even a few weeks ago. On a hot day like this, the time was a pretty good one, but it was how much she had gained on that level of runner in the past four weeks that stood out. Paige is also closing in on that group a little more, and used strong moves as the race wore on to move back up the field, after drifting back for a minute early in the race. Showed som grit to fight back for sure. Olivia looked a little stronger today than last week, and was a good sign, though we do know there is more there. It will be important for us to see her continue to get back to where we know she can be. One standout was Bailey. Awesome day. Just a few seconds off her PR, on a day that there were not many to be had due to the heat, she was just much more competitive for the full race. She was engaged in the full race. The effort netted her the largest jump in position from last year. After going almost 26 minutes and placing 99th last year, she ran 22:33 today and jumped all the way up to 38th! Mikayla overcame some prerace uncertainty about some sore legs, and after a tough start, rebounded very well, actually ending up more than 90 seconds faster than last year and jumping up from 96th to 74th. Her time was also less than 20 seconds off her PR, which came on a flat course in cooler conditions. Finishing out our day was Holly's run in the JV race, and it was a full team effort with our girls all around the course cheering her on as she set a new PR of 27: 34, and puts that 27 minute mark within reach! |
Monroe County Meet @ IU
BOYS
3/5
91-35 (.722)
GIRLS
3/5
95-14 (.872) |
Boys and Girls both placed third, and looked stronger than a year ago.
Austin paced the boys race, winning convincingly while pushing to reach the 16 minute mark...he was 16:01. It was really a fantastic effort though, as he was out by himself, in the heat. For the 2nd year in a row, he took home that individual title of County Champion. Cameron ran a strong race as well. After fading lase season towards the end a little bit, he was ready to show that was not happening this season. His 18:09 was his fastest time on our course, by a pretty good margin. He continues to show that his confidence is gaining and he is starting to develop into a real real good runner. Liam and Zach were our #3 and 4 respectively. Liam ran a race that started to show him moving in the right direction again, after some mid season lulle. Zach was also int he mix there with Liam for a good chunk of the race, and took a step in the right direction from this past week. Zach has been such a great asset to our team chemistry and an important leader for us over his four years. It was difficult to see him be somewhat disappointed with the time and all that. But this sport is about teaching us to persevere and come back to keep building. Having some positives the past few days will give him something to build on during his prep for his 4th and final WIC meet this Saturday. Zay also ran his fastest time on our home course, with his time under 20minutes and moving up 14 spots from this meet last season. He is going to be a really important piece for the team down the stretch, and he showed a little more today of something to build on the next few meets. Landon had a nice race too, after kinda fading back the past couple. It was his best time on our course as well, even with less than ideal conditions.
The girls have continued to show a great deal of composure when they line up with really strong competitors, and that helped today, as two of the other top teams in the state were in the field of 5 teams competing. Our girls took off early and then fought to hold those spots as the North and South teams fought to get them back. Annalyssa challenged her own best time on the course, coming up just a few seconds short of it, but did so running by herself for most of the race, and also gearing up for a Saturday showdown with Emma Wilson. Sarah parlayed the fast start into a 4th place finish, securing that spot by holding off a late charge by a pack of some girls who wanted to sneak past. Kaylee held her position very well. After being out fast, she was in a fight with the #3 and 4 runners from North and South. This could be a big race for her, as she should now have the confidence to race with them in the coming weeks, during the state series. This was also the first time that Paige covered the 5K distance, coming in with the varsity runners from those two teams. While we focus more on what we do, than on other teams' runners, certainly there are two quality programs that are the measuring stick for XC performance in our area. And for our girls to be right there with them down the stretch should be taken as yet another sign of progress. Olivia also took some steps forward, finding a way to rebound and find a gear later in the race to get her legs turning again and start passing people. The decision to do that at the 2mile mark (instead of waiting until the finish chute) was the difference between her running the same time as at the Invite, and beating it by almost 30 seconds. It is exactly that mentality that we will need her to hold for a full 5000 meters when we get to the state series for our team to be at our best. Bailey also ran much faster today than at the Invite a few weeks ago. It is impressive that they were able to do it in the heat, after having such cooler weather during the early part of the season. I think this really sets our girls up well for the final month of the season. While Mikayla fought through a tough day, she posted a time that is way far ahead of where she was at this point last year. Holly actually ran her best race ever today, even though it was a few seconds off her PR. The course is tough and it was hot out, but she showed more focus and drive and belief in her own ability, and this will set her up well for next week at WIC.
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Western Indiana Conference Championship @ Cascade
BOYS
4/12
99-38 (.723)
GIRLS
1/12
106-14 (.883)
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AUSTIN WINS BOYS INDIVIDUAL TITLE! GIRLS WIN TEAM TITLE!
The boys knew they would be in for a tight race for the WIC title. Some years there is a clear favorite, but this year there were 5 teams that had a legitimate shot at winning. After going through some growing pains the past few weeks, the boys needed to step up to keep themselves in that conversation. Turning in their fastest times as a top 5 of the season, they did about as well as we could have hoped today. Austin pulled away at the gun and completely ran away with the individual title, winning by 40 seconds! Next in for the Mustangs was junior Cameron Banister, who put himself in the mix near the front early and held on for an ALL-WIC spot with a 9th place finish. Coming in at 17:09 with a big PR day for him could be big as we move to the state series. Zay had a breakout race for us today, as he started running with more confidence dropped 25 seconds of his previous PR to finish in 17:49, good for 19th. Breaking 18 is a big mental mark for some kids and to see Zay do it in a big meet was really impressive. Liam also held on to put our 4th guy under 18, coming in at 17:53, good for 22nd place. Zach also closed out his final WIC run with a PR of 18:04, good for 26th. To see all of the top 5 run like that, we knew it would be a tight race once the final scores were announced. But to see just 15 points separate the top 4 teams indicates the improvement that we have seen across the conference in recent years. Landon and Nathan rounded out the varsity boys, with a 19:29 (49th) and 19:41 (56th) respectively, in the field of 79 runners. Our JV boys also ran really well today as well. Keeran, Mike, and Dylan all set new PRs and Elliott and Logan were pretty close to theirs. All in all, we could not have asked for much more out of the boys today. Hopefully they understand this as an important stepping stone and use it to build momentum as we head to the state series next week.
The girls came into the meet as the heavy favorites for the team title and did not disappoint. This group has not shown any signs of letdown or patting themselves on the back, and a meet like today is proof that is continuing through to the postseason. For the girls, it all starts with Annalyssa at the front. She battled Greencastle's Emma Wilson for 2miles, before finally seeing Emma open up a lead in the final mile. Early in the season, I think it would have been a stretch to say that she would have pushed Emma so far into a race, but she has continued to grow and develop as the season unfolds and just positioned herself well for the state series. Running an incredible 17:52, which bumps her school record down another six seconds, she showed incredible focus. Next across for the girls was Kaylee, with a huge drop of 30+ seconds to run 19:21 and take the 3rd spot. She showed up focused and then put out her typical tough, gritty 5K that her teammates have come to expect. Sarah was next for us with a 5th place finish, with Paige less than a minute behind her for 8th, to give our girls four of the top 8 spots in the entire field. All four of those girls also earned All-WIC honors for their efforts. Olivia had a stronger race than the past couple of weeks, and saw her time get back down under 22 minutes. Important to note here, is that she did it before we get to our peaking period which will come in a couple more weeks. The girls' team hopes will depend on all 5 scoring runners being on their game once we get to the state series, so it was good to see Olivia take a step towards that today. Bailey came in our 6th spot today, continuing her season-long improvement with a huge PR, going under 22 minutes for the first time ever. She is a tough girl and we have seen flashes for the past year, but today was the first time I have seen her race a full 5000 meters and should be a good springboard heading into the state series. Mikayla also PRed today with a 23:09, placing43rd in the field of 64 runners. The momentum carried through to our solo JV runner, senior Holly Richardson, who was looking to break 27minutes in what was expected to be her final race in an Edgewood uniform. She ran with a focus today that put her in position to meet her goal at the 1K, then held through the 2K, then the 3K, and kept right on rolling. With her teammates bouncing all over the course to cheer her on, she came across the line in 25:46, completely obliterating her previous PR and that 27 minute mark in the process.
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IHSAA Sectionals @ BNL
BOYS
4/12
107-41 (.723)
GIRLS
3/12
115-16 (.878)
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BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS MOVE ON TO REGIONAL!
HASKETT AND CRAIN WIN INDIVIDUAL TITLES!
After some more mild temperatures during most of the season, the trend of warm Saturdays continued this weekend. The boys took off with the gun, having no assurance that they would have anything beyond this meet left in our 2017 season. But they built on what we saw last week (at WIC) and was able to compete well enough to not only advance, but snuck into the 4th place spot. We also have some areas where we can still get better, so our work is cut out for us this week if we want to compete well at Regional. Austin crusied to the win, running the full race by himself, coming in at 15:37. That time on this course with the heat is simply incredible. He has an ability to push himself like few athletes are capable and this will set him up well for the rest of the state series. Cam showed up pretty strong today as well, running one of his fastest races of the season, but still recognizing that he can be further ahead in the pack than he ended up today. Nice race...even better if he can build on it next week. For the second week in a row, Zay has jumped into our 3rd spot by simply competing well. He really seems to be running his best races at the right time and that gives the rest of the team a boost. Liam was no far behind, placing 34th, in 18:37. Since he has been working on some different portions of his races the past few weeks, it is going to be fun to see him go into Regional with a chance to run his type of race again. Landon and Logan were the 5-6 spots for us today, coming in 54th and 56th position. Nathan fought through the start and just struggled in the later stages. All three of those spots are going to be important for next week, and they have the chance to run their style of race at Regional after working on some different things the past couple of weeks. All in all, the boys ran well yet know there is more there and we are looking forward to facing that challenge next week!
The girls race was dominated by Annalyssa at the front, as North's Grace Williams hung in for about the first half before Crain broke it open in the second half. She is just running with a lot of confidence right now, and really understands how to put together a complete race. Sarah had a bit of a bounceback race, as she put herself in the mix towards the second pack, breaking up the purple of South and gold of North. After seeing some of those girls pull away earlier in the year, Sara is starting to see that gap closing between her and the girls at the front of those teams. Not far behind her was Kaylee, who has also started to see herself competing with girls who were pretty far ahead in some races early in the season. She continues her late season surge towards upper ranks, placing 13th. Paige was our fourth girl in the top 20, taking 18th place. With Olivia resting this week, Bailey was called on to go into the race expecting to be our fifth scorer today. After such a breakout race at WIC, she struggled a bit today but this is really just a sign of where the expectation level of this group of girls has gone. Last year at this meet Bailey ran 24:24 which was a PR at the time, and good for 44th place. Today, on a day she felt like she struggled, she ran 23:47 and was 27th place. It will be exciting to see her get a chance to get back at it next Saturday. Mikalya also had a strong race, coming in 23:09, continuing her season long trend of running faster and placing higher than where she was a year ago. Holly ran in our 7th spot today, fighting through a tough day, and finishing out her Eddgewood XC competitions by placing 66th, which was higher than where she placed here last year.
The girls were expected to advance today, and they did what they needed to. They are continuing to keep their focus on improving this week to just position themselves for some big things in another couple of weeks. Kudos to them for keeping a good sense of perspective about their season long goals and taking appropriate steps along the way.
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IHSAA Regionals @ BNL
BOYS
6/10
111-46 (.707)
GIRLS
3/10
122-18 (.871)
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GIRLS TEAM MOVES ON TO SEMI-STATE!!
HASKETT AND CRAIN INDIVIDUAL REGIONAL CHAMPS!
BANISTER ON TO SEMI-STATE!
Today was a big day for the kids in our program, even if it had a touch of some heartbreak (as the State Series often has). The last time Edgewood had a Regional champion was 1990 (Greg Hottell), and there has never been a Mustang win the girls' race. Today we saw both of those things take place as Austin and Annalyssa won convincingly. Our girls team also advances to the Semi-State meet next week, with a solid 3rd place finish, behind two teams ranked 10th and 11th in the state. The boys were just seven points shy of advancing as a team, though we will have junior Cameron Banister moving on to go to the line next week with Austin.
BOYS
Austin has been working towards being in a good position heading towards the State Finals and today was simply a step in that process, as he took to the course intent on working on some different parts of his race. He executed his plan very well, and then was far enough ahead to continue on to the individual win. Cameron was our second guy to cross the finish line today, turning in a solid performance that continues to build on his improvement this season. Last year he was 60th at this meet, and today he jumped up to 21st position by dropping more than a minute off of his 2016 effort. Sophomore Liam Nelson also had a pretty solid bounce-back race today. After placing 34th at last week's Sectional meet, he finished 34th today in a field that was significantly tougher competition. This was an important thing for him as he had seen some struggle towards the end of the season, and to end with a strong race will be good for him and for the team as we look to next season. Zay has been an important piece to the boys' improvement this season, as he started to get some experience racing a 5K. He never ran in junior high and came to us last year as a raw freshman with potential. This season he had a much better summer, learned some of the finer points of racing, and saw dramatic improvement all season long. Last year he was 73rd in this meet. One a day that he ran OK, but not the best that we have seem him race, he still moved up to the 50th spot. That is not a knock on Zay at all, rather it is simply an indication as to how much he raised his level for us this season. We will definitely be excited to see him come back with more experience and guns blazing next season. Our final three guys were in a tough spot today, facing the pressure of needing to score well for us, with senior (and regular top 5 runner) Zach Kovach still out of the country on an educational trip to Spain. (That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I encouraged him to take). Today, the inexperience of racing at this level just seemed to be a little too much for Landon, Nathan, and Logan. All three have done some great things for our team this year. Landon came in as a freshman and challenged for varsity positions all season long. He had some ups and downs, but stuck with it and gained some experience that is going to be important for him and our team going into the future. Nathan came out for the first time this year as a junior, from a sprinting background in Track. After starting his season with times well over 21 minutes, he was able to get down to the mid 19s and establish a foundation for some big things to come next season. Logan also worked his times down into the mid 19s this year and had this experience of being on the cusp of taking that next step as a team. All of the guys who competed today will be coming back next season, and this experience is going to be one that we will build on to continue the progress as a program.
GIRLS
The girls are continuing their fantastic season by continuing to work to improve every week we take to the course. Annalyssa broke open the race after the first mile, and worked the portions of her race that will set her up for her upcoming races. It is incredible to see her race. She has such focus and drive, that even if she is out front by herself (as she has often been) she continues to punish the ground with every step. She has certainly earned this Regional title, but continues to keep her eyes fixed on positioning herself for the state finals in a couple of weeks. Sarah came into today's race with a game plan to improve from her Sectional race. She executed that plan to perfection and turned in arguably her best performance of the season. She just seemed to be more confident today, and more in control of her entire race. As we have gone through the season, she has continued to develop that ability to put together a full 5K race. It is huge for our girls that we saw her do that today since we get to our biggest challenge next week at Semi State. Kaylee was our third across the finish today. As she finished she immediately turned her attention to what she feels she could have done better. That was actually pretty cool to see her respond that way. Her improvement this year has been so dramatic that when she runs a minute faster this year than last, and went from 30th to 16th this year but still knows that there is more there. Going to be fun to see her get back at it this week and come back firing next week! After a little bit of struggle last week, Paige took a step forward by grabbing the 24th spot today to help the team advance. She was 27th last year and advanced as an individual. Coming up to the meet where she had her strongest race last season, the girls will be counting on her to build on today and fight her way up the field at Semi-State. The same could be said for Olivia, who was back in action today after resting during last week's Sectional race. Getting a chance to see the race last week from a different perspective and get some needed freshening up of the legs, seemed to have some positive effect. She was more competitive today than we have seen at points, but she also was able to identify specific portions of the today's race that she will improve on at next week's Semi-State race. The biggest year to year jump for our girls was Bailey. Motivated by a slightly down week at Sectional, Bailey was much more focused today and came through in 23:00, good for the 43rd spot...last year at this meet she was over 26:00 and 82nd place!! She has seen big improvements this year and is closing up on our normal top 5 that is going to add some important depth for us over the next couple of weeks. Mikayla was our final girl competing today and had one of those races that took some digging to keep going. Really seemed like the fall break week and some travel during that time just took a little bounce off the step. Even with that, she finished just a few spots off of where she was last year at this race, which was a breakout race for her at that point in her racing. It will be great to get back to the normal routine this week as we get ready for next weeks Semi-State in Brown County.
| IHSAA Semi-State @ Brown County
BOYS
GIRLS
6/20
136-23 (.855)
| HASKETT ADVANCES TO STATE FINALS FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!
GIRLS TEAM ADVANCES FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2008!
We had two boys toe the line at today's meet, Austin Haskett and Cameron Banister. After spending the better part of two months out in front with significant leads each week, we knew that today's meet would be a challenge. In a rematch from the Eagle Classic back in September, the top three finishers at that race were all gunning for the win this week. It was down to a four man race before the 1K mark, with Austin leading the way. During the 2nd K, Caleb Futter of Christian Academy made a strong move to the front, and Austin and Elliot Schadler (Evansville Memorial) settled in behind him. As they approached the half way mark it was down to a three man race going into the second loop. Futter continued to push from the front, with Haskett still battling with Schadler. The trio continued to push to the 3K mark, then the 4K. Down the stretch the other two just had a bit more left to close it out, and Austin finished 3rd. Tough race, but Austin is a tough kid who had set out with the State Finals as the primary goal, and today will go a long way toward helping prepare him for that race. As he has done for three seasons now, he just keeps coming back with a focus on the task at hand and works to improve. Heading back to the state finals next week, he is in a prime position to build on last year's All-State performance.
Cameron came into this meet, after not really envisioning being here at the start of the season. As he progressed through the season though, he started to see this shaping up as a legitimate possibility. Cameron ran a solid race, not letting the moment or the size of the meet overwhelm him. His effort landed him his second fastest time ever, and the experience laid some important building blocks for him to use to improve next year.
The girls knew that today had the potential to be a big day, with a shot at advancing as a team on the line. We knew that we were in a good position to advance. We also knew that the girls would have to run well to make it happen, and they did not disappoint. Annalyssa led the way, as she Sarah and Kaylee all made strong moves early in the race to get into the mix around the front of the field before settling in for the long fight that would ensue. After overcoming some difficult positioning challenges during the start of the race, Annalysss was battling at the front with Barr-Reeve's Natalie Graeber for a good chunk of the race. As the two dueled, a smart move by a quality senior competitor late in the race saw North's Grace Williams take the lead and hold on for the win with Crain coming in the runner up spot. Being the competitor that Annalyssa is, I know this one stings a bit. But as I have seen since June, win or lose she comes back on Monday ready to begin the next steps in the process. She has a great sense of perspective and maturity with her approach to her racing, that I really see with the other girls on the team too. That process has served her well and will once again be her key to continuing to improve for one more week.
Sarah and Kaylee were both battling right around the top 20 range for most of the race. Finding something inside themselves for the the final 600 meters, the two made a move on some girls that were just ahead, picking of a couple more competitors in the process. For Foster it was a great result to come in here as a freshman, go out that fast, and then have the mental toughness to hang in there and continue to grind it out. Previously her best mark was 19:00, and she just went 18:47 today good enough to earn her a spot on the podium (17th). Coming into the year we talked about working through the season to improve on Kaylee's previous season where she finished in 20:44 (75th place). As she has worked this season she has really put herself in a new category, and came in today in 21st place with a time of 18:59. Her feat really was incredible to see, knowing that the school record at the start of the season was 19:12, and we just had three girls go under that in the same race. Paige was also looking to build on last season's experience running in this meet, where she finished 83rd in 20:53. After seeing her trust her speed a little more in the past few weeks, she continued that today. Her fast start, combined with the decision early in the race that she was staying with the pace, saw her come through the two mile mark faster than she had ever run a 2mile, by about 18 seconds. As she continued to fight and work for spots during the second half of the race, she saw her finish time of 20:08 set a new PR, and jump her up to 63rd . Those top four performances were key for the girls' chances at advancement. But as we knew from prior years, it takes 5 to score. Bailey and Olivia knew that one of them would have to step up. Bailey continued her season long trend of continual improvement, racing with a lot of focus in the biggest race of her career to come to the finish line faster than she ever has, and getting under 22 minutes for the second time in the past few weeks.
Admittedly, Olivia faced one of those races that tests a runners determination to keep grinding, even when it seems like things aren't clicking. The experience gained at this level of competition is going to be important in her continued development as an important member of the team going into next week. Mikayla had a nice bounce back race, dropping almost a minute from her time at last week's Regional meet. For our lone senior competing today, it is exciting that her leadership this season has helped position the girls for a chance to do something that our school has not seen for a long time.
Though I thought we had a good chance at advancing, that moment during the awards ceremony as they call the list of teams, from last to first, and they had not announced our name by the time they got to the final advancing position was a great moment for these girls. They set out in June with a goal of having the opportunity to go into the State Finals as a team and compete. Knowing this group as well as I do, this is an exciting time for them, but they know the season is not done. We have one more week to come back and finish the 22 week process that was started in June.
Check our Facebook page (Mustang Track-xc) where our awesome parents and supporters have posted lots of updates and photos of our incredible season, and for updates leading up to the state finals in Terre Haute.
| IHSAA State Finals @ Terre Haute
BOYS
GIRLS
20/24
140-42 (.769) |
ALL-STATE HONORS FOR HASKETT AND CRAIN!
GIRLS TEAM FINISHES 20TH!
Austin capped an incredible season, by building on his experience from 2016 to improving at pretty much every step, including at our state's biggest meet. The race was fast during the first K, and Austin put himself right in the mix early, coming through the K as one of 16 guys who went out between 2:49-2:51. As some others fell off that pace, Austin was in a group of 12 guys still in the hunt at the 2K. As the pace quickened during the 3rd K, he covered the moves to keep himself in the pack of 7 or 8 who were still hanging in with the leader. The 4th K was a crucial one, as the front few started to pull ahead, Austin was in a position to still close out and fight for a top 10 finish during the last one. As he rounded to final curve for the long stretch to the finish, he continued to turn and battled all the way. His 8th place finish matches the highest finish ever by a Mustang boy and up 10 spots from his sophomore season. To see his name called that late in the awards ceremony is certainly something to proud of, and he is truly in an elite group of athletes. Congratulations to Austin!
Annalyssa came into the meet as freshman, but did race like a typical one. As with the boys race, the first K was one that put some pressure on the field, seeing nearly 40 runners come through under 3:25! At this point, some people who had been accustomed to being at the front, might have a bit of panic set it when there are suddenly 25 or 30 girls ahead. However, this one maintained her composure, settled into a good rhythm, and started moving through the field. Running the fastest 2nd K of the entire field, she moved right up into the mix with the top 10 runners. The next two Ks saw that pack stretch out a bit as the eventual winner (Greencastle's Emma Wilson) started to push the pace again. Crain covered the moves of the experienced and talented runners she was competing with, and came off the final turn with a top ten spot secured and fighting for even more. At the line she was the 6th fastest to cover the course, and the top freshman by 16 places! She has been consistently near the front in every meet this season, and to her race today was reflective of that. Her 2-5Ks were among the most consistent of the entire field. Never getting out of her own race, and at the same time never letting the race get away from her showed a lot of mental strength. We are definitely proud of that effort!
The other Mustang girls came to compete today too! Sarah ran an outstanding race, particularly in the second half. Even with a fast start (3:28), she was still pretty far back in the firld, because of the sheer number of girls who pushed early. As Annalyssa did with her 2nd K, Sarah started turning it on during the 4th, to post one of the fastest 4K splits in the field. At that point she was on the hunt and picking girls off, carrying that momentum all the way to the line. Her run in 19:04 brought her to the line in 50th place, and just the 5th Freshman across the line! She has certainly started to see things click at the right time, running some of her best races at the biggest moments, and today was a prime example of that. Kaylee was our third across today, coming in 19:49, good for 124th. The 20 minute mark was something she was looking at coming into the season, and has gone way past that, and even put one together on a challenging course, in a big moment. She put a fast start out and then found a solid pace, holding within 3-4 seconds per K for the final 4, including a push at the finish as she was battling with about 6 girls down the stretch. Paige found herself battling with some familiar faces as there were three of Bloomington South's runners within a few spots on either side of her. For her first time in this meet, having the experienced runners who she has raced with all season, helped pull her along. Her finish today saw her fight through the long stretch off of the final curve, and come in 189. Oliva was the final scoring runner for us, coming in under 22 minutes. The experience that she gained is going to be important for the team's future goals. The same could be said for Bailey. For her and Mikayla to be having the chance to run in the meet today, is something that would have seemed next to impossible just a year ago. This team has really worked together all season long, and to see her teamates standing at the finish line reeling her in, was a fun way to send off our lone senior that was competing for us today.
Overall, the excitement of that atmosphere could get the better of some kids. I thought all of the girls and Austin handled the whole week and the whole day extremely well. They stayed humble, maintained their focus on preparing to go compete well, and then brought it home with a final race that will give us a huge block to build on for next season. Congratulations to this awesome group of young adults, on a job well done.
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