For the past twenty+ years, the time trial location has migrated. In the early 2000s, it started and finished at the bowling alley, running through the industrial park and around the rec center in a 1.5 mile out-and-back. Around 2010, it moved to the central campus of Saline Area Schools, circling Campus Loop 1.5 times. Around 2015, construction at Heritage School forced us to try a loop on the campus of the high school, but it was a complicated loop that was mostly confusing for athletes, coaches, and parents; it returned to the central campus the year after.

In 2024, after successfully hosting SEC Jamboree #2 on our new home course in 2023, the coaches and athletes opted to move the trial to the high school campus course. The simple one-mile loop provides plenty of opportunities for spectators to catch the action. That's good for the sport. 

The athletes seem to be fine with it too. It might not be scenic, but they enjoy the support they find every step of the race.

After the 2023 SEC Jamboree, there was a bit of noise about how our coure had to be short. Coach Ditri and I lengthened the course for 2024, but now it seems to be long. How long? Who cares. Just like in 2023, it's about 5000 meters, just like every other XC course in Michigan.

I was recently asked something along the lines of "How does not having senior front runner affect team dynamics?"

Saman answered that question pretty well on Friday when he led from wire to wire. I'm proud of the work he's put in to transition from a sprinter to a fantastic distance runner for us.

Friday's time trial might be his first-ever win in cross country.

Say hello to Collin Eckermann and Carlos Basulto. If you're talking about Saline XC this fall, you'll need those names.

In 2023, they were our 9th and 22nd fastest runners.

They finished 2-3 in Friday's trial, with the sophomore Basulto using an incredible last 1000m to nearly take down senior Eckermann.

This photo was taken about 1200m into the race, and at that point, they were 4th through 8th place and separated by less than a second. Not long after this picture was taken, stuff went sideways and the pack disappeared.

With some more work from coaches and the boys, they'll spend more of the race together and Saline will bring home mitten-shaped trophies.

There's also a lot of youth in this picture. The heart of our varsity is mostly sophomores, and helping all of these underclassmen learn about racing while under the microscope is a huge focus of the coaching staff. It is constant.

Archie Patterson trains with our secondary group, but he raced so well he landed in the middle of our varsity squad, so that earns him the pictured B-Group Champ jersey.

Archie has looked very strong recently, and with his great effort on Friday, he gets to take home the jersey for a year and write his name on there for the future champs to enjoy.

The next morning, he was the Donut Death Dash champion. It was a great 12 hours to be Archie Patterson!

This picture captures a string of kids that showed some impressive athleticism on Friday night. Not all of them had stellar races, but individually, they showed:

• balance and the ability to think about a bad race analytically, just not emotionally

• patience

• coachability