Going back at least a decade, Saline has prepared for a big run at the end of September in Ella Sharp Park. A combination of all of the Summer and early Fall miles finally hitting the gas tank and a turn of the season bringing much more enjoyable temps for athletes and spectators alike, we receive our Jackson "Blessing". This was perhaps the biggest blessing we've received as a team at that particular meet as 43 athletes either PR'd or set Season Bests. That is not a type-o, 43!! I was in France last week and I was up late reading live results from the Friday meet and I pulled out my phone again in the afternoon to eagerly await varsity results from my beach chair on the French Riviera. What I read on the screen was as beautiful as what lie before me in the Mediterranean Sea. 

I have referred to WVH as a metronome in practice for a year. He is always willing to lead his group in workouts and hit the exact paces asked for. He hasn't always seen this translate into the times he wanted on the course, but he's never given up and continued to put in the work day after day. An impressive 17:23 for a 4th place overall in the Friday races was his fastest time in a full year. I absolutely love seeing him return to top form and I think his best is yet to come!

While courses and conditions may vary, in this sport we have specific barriers that start to reclassify what level of runner one is once they have dipped under. For every minute mark under 20 minutes, it requires a serious amount of training and speed to keep progressing. Here are some numbers to show you how incredible this team is right now:
32 runners total under 20 minutes
7 athletes in the 18s
7 athletes in the 17s
7 athletes in the 16s
1 athlete just 5 seconds away from being in the 14s

15:05.0 for 5,000 meters. That is 3.12 miles at a staggering 4:51 minutes per mile. For our more car inclined readers, that's over 12 miles per hour for his entire race...on foot. For any athlete, breaking 5 minutes in the mile is a big deal. For Jake Szalay, it's just "5k pace". On Saturday, Jake became the 2nd fastest Hornet in PROGRAM HISTORY. I'll keep this write up short, because I sense a bigger barrier being broken soon 👀

If I highlighted every single runner who had a massive PR at Jackson, this write up would go on forever. So, instead, here is a list of Hornets who PR'd by 1 minute or MORE last weekend.
Will Schmidt 18:00.84 (previous 19:21)
Greyson Hoag 18:01.79 (previous 19:00.7)
Joey Stovcsik 19:20.24 (previous 20:43)
William LeCompte 19:25.79 (previous 20:37)
Oliver Patterson 20:51.57 (previous 22:05)
Andrew LeCompte 21:35.63 (previous 23:12)
Jacob Hughes 22:05.81 (previous 23:21)
Agam Singh 23:11.58 (previous 24:20)
Max Li 25:40.83 (previous 27:34)
Zachary Rouman 26:06.44 (previous 27:19)