Home, 9/1/21
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The Youth Movement of Kendra, Maddy, and Jessi Heading to the Mile.
With yet another “hurricane” looming and starting to make it’s presence felt, the MV boys and girls took to the course for the first home meet of the year, and the first meet of 2021 for the girls.
With DII favorites Hanover, up-and-comers Bow, as well as Lebanon and Plymouth in attendance, the meet looked to be an early season indicator of fitness. The team responded, with most of the returning girls running faster than at the first meet from a year ago - which was held almost a month later.
How the race played out - Early on, the race segmented into several groups. Leading the first group was Sophia, closely matched by Mia Dube of Bow. Over the first two miles they were never separated by more than a foot, until over the final mile Mia was able to move away for the win. Sophia stayed strong for second, over a minute and a half ahead of third. Not too far back Samantha was in and out of the larger part of the lead pack, and by the end was able to run away from most of her group to finish a fantastic 5th. The youth contingent of Kendra, Maddie, and Jessi were the next group on the trail, and while Kendra slid back a little over the final mile it was a sign of great things to come. Maddy would go on to place third on the team, followed by Jessi in 4th, just ahead of veteran runner Victoria, who was ever-present just behind the 9th-grade group. Performing well on Senior Day was senior Liz, with a time well-ahead of lst year’s mark. Anna and Alyssa were the next to cross, each also a minute or more better than a year ago. Wrapping up the racing for MV were two more 9th-graders, Sofia and Juliana, who were almost caught at the line by a hard-charging Taylor. Post-race, Liz awarded the season’s first “Awesome Award” to Jessi, for a fantastic first-ever race!
All in all, it was a great race by everyone, and a superb way to start the season! — Coach Irving
After the weirdest team cheer coach Walker had ever been a part of (1,2,3… acorn?), the boys set off on their home course for the first time this season. The absence of our top runner proved to be extra motivation for the team to prove themselves. Right from the gun, Oliver made the courageous decision to lead the Pride and stick with the top pack of runners. Though he dropped from the leaders slightly, he continued to push and secured the top spot for the team in a fantastic performance. This race exemplified the enormous growth Oliver has had as a runner in the past two seasons. Not far behind him, a solid pack of Ryan, Marshall and Mychal stayed in close contact throughout the entire race. The boys worked together from start to finish, executing a beautiful team-racing strategy. In the end, Ryan and Marshall sprinted together to the finish once again with Ryan just barely snagging the victory for the second time. Only seconds behind them was freshman Mychal Reynolds in another HUGE PR and an extremely impressive showing for the rookie. Rounding out the top 5 was Trevor in a solid showing, despite his claims that he isn’t in good shape. Also, Trevor was the first recipient of the Walker award due to his race-day attitude being slightly more positive than last weekend. Next for the Pride was freshman Gage who ran the biggest PR of the day (3 minutes!!) and looked strong around every winding turn of the MVXC course. Closing it out for the boys was freshman Silas who set his first (legal) personal record with a fantastic run. After this successful first home meet for the Pride boys, confidence levels are on the rise and we are hungry for more! —- Coach John
