This will be a very quick set of race notes because it's the first Tuesday night of the school year. I'm tired. So is your son.
Tonight's race was a solid season opener for Saline. There are a lot of new faces in the varsity race, and dealing with the pressure and emotions of stepping into that role can be a lot. Those guys are handling it like champs! We speak about physical and mental aspects of being an athlete. These guys have both.
Truman's win is a big deal because winning a race is always a big deal. That's a rule.
On top of Truman's individual win, there were plenty of other varsity highlights including LaRusso's first sub-17 race, Szalay's all-time performance, and a total of three returning runners with all-time PRs.
Another rule is that it's always nice to get a team win. Getting the trophy in the varsity race and also sweeping the reserve race is how we hope to start things off.Â
And to finish off things for tonight, I'll highlight that we had fourteen guys finish their first 5k for Saline High School! It means something to wear that jersey.
At Wednesday's practice we will talk about OPs and a few other highlights. For now, it's good to rest knowing our first competition is under our belts.
The results from the varsity race were split into two divisions for scoring, and in the large-school division, Saline picked up 9 of the top 10 spots.
In the Reserve race, Tommy Endres led a Saline-sweep that ran 19 places deep! Ryan Steben's late-race charge earned him a sub-19:00 debut and nearly got him the win. All-time PRs were very rare for returning runners in the reserve race, so special congrats to Patterson, Sieh, and Hornberger on their new marks.