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Overall Race Recap - A typical Michigan weather day
We officially opened our season at the Milan Puddle Jumper. We were allowed to run 12 runners in the varsity race so we took full advantage of that opportunity. As is the usual in Michigan, the weather changed significantly from a hot, humid and sunny first race to a rainy and obviously overcast 2nd race. At the end, we all met under the rainbow to celebrate the varsity victory with 17 points and the open race where the first 18 places in the race all went to Saline.
Laney Alig had a very gutsy race and was in a battle with the girl who finished in 2nd place in the race (she was in the division 2 results so not reflected in our race). With about 1k to go, Laney did a nice job of pushing the pace to play to her strengths and ended up holding off the other runner despite her very strong kick. Corynn Gady, Mackenzie Sellenraad, Kate Munson, Lily Schlack and Grace Oberski also had strong performances. Grace Roth came in with a race plan that she executed well. One thing important to note about the varsity race is that they ran the course differently than intended. The lead cart turned down the inner loop on the second loop instead of going the full perimeter – they did the finish loop in the middle of the race. We often talk about the fact that something may go wrong and you just have to roll with it – all 12 of the Saline runners in this race did a nice job of adjusting. At the end, it was still a 5k so not that big of a deal.
In the open race, it was a totally different day. We went from sunny, hot and humid during the first race to overcast and raining most of the 2nd race. Again, things happen and the team did a great job adjusting to the change in the weather. During that race, Rebecca Rummel did what Rebecca does really well and ran a solid race, winning the open race, with very even pacing. Rebecca is a very consistent runner who has been working hard over the last few years and is starting to really come into her own.
Jill Hayes, Mara McClellan and Neva Rognes also had stellar races – they work very hard and that hard work will be paying off in our upcoming races. This trio continues to be outstanding teammates. Their hard work is emulated by the runners around them.
Sienna Trier made some very nice mid race adjustments and was not far off her all time PR. She brings a very positive energy to our team and is doing a fantastic job of leading by example.
I’ve had occasion to talk about senior Grace Youngs a lot this year because she continues to improve. Of all our returning athletes, she was the only person who PR’d this week – she ran faster than she did at our three mile time trial and that is mostly on the road. Grace will continue to do a lot of great things this year
We had a pleasant surprise from Ishani Deswal, a first year runner. She has been on vacation the last 2 week so we were not sure of her training. She ran a great race and I think you will be seeing a lot from her in the next few years.
Overall, Coaches Harrison, Lagerquist and I are very pleased with how the team ran in their first race of the season. There were some nerves (mostly from this first year head coach) but everyone survived the day and gained some confidence in the process. We made sure to celebrate our victory as a team, which is a common theme for this season. During our first meeting with the captains, they expressed a strong desire to be one team. That extends beyond the girls program to the boys program as well. Coach Spina and I were remarking the other day about how supportive the teams are of one another and synergy that exists within the program. Laney does a great job of talking about our team philosophy in her interview with the Saline Post as does Truman Johnson in his interview.
We will have a split squad on 9/9/2023 with some of our athletes traveling to Bath and the majority of the team going to Rambling Rock at the always enjoyable Willow MetroPark.
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