Sanborn "shorty", 9/29/21
/
Blood, sweat, and no tears, that was the theme of Wednesday’s race at Sanborn. An unusual occurrence, racing a course that we have never been to! Known for being flat and very fast due to it’s short (3.0) nature, the weather cooperated fully and the runners were given free rein to crank it out.
With boys and girls running a combined race, Sophia took advantage of the quicker pacers and ran to a huge win - with a converted time well under 20 minutes, earning her the AWESOME award! Samantha was next, nursing a little injury but still running well. Following in 3rd and 4th for MV was Maddi and “Monday Kendra-dra” (the fast version). Working together throughout the entire race they picked off girls from other teams one-by-one. If they run this quick at Thetford then the seed 4 race had better look out! Violet continued her comeback from illness with a strong 5th for the Pride…covered in dirt! Apparently she got distracted by a random fisherman in the woods (?) and did not see the root in front of her. From the looks of it she navigated a survival roll and popped right back up again. Nothing but smiles at the finish line! Not too long after Jessi ran across the finish, and while she wasn’t still chatting up a storm like she was at the mile mark (something about how there were SO many roots and she hadn’t even tripped yet!), she was still full of her usual positive energy. Alyssa, Liz, and Victoria soon followed in a group, with Alyssa one-upping Violet in the bloody runner category. Apparently Alyssa didn’t need a fisherman to distract her, or even a root. She went down on the road section! How??? Anyhow, BOTH knees dripping blood and STILL she was laughing and smiling! It takes more than a literal knock-down to knock our girls down! Following the pack of three was Emmaleigh, with a crazy fast effort (and no falls). Next across in a solid time was Anna, followed by Lydia (almost under 30!) and Taylor, to complete the racing on the (perfect) day.
A flat course, great weather, and Thetford on the horizon. Upon arrival to the center of Kingston, it was clear that the boys would have a great opportunity to run some fast times. Though the course was about 0.1 miles short, Coach Walker had a conversion calculator ready to boost everyone’s confidence. As the boys and girls of MVXC sprinted down the starting straightaway together, the top boys began executing their pack-running strategy immediately with Sophia joining their effort. In one of the best team performances of the season, the boys continued to run as a cohesive unit for the entire race. Finally, as they made their way down the long finishing straightaway, the boys focused on catching as many non-MV jerseys as possible. Mark was the first to power to the finish line, leading the army of MV runners that followed. Only a few seconds behind him, Marshall & Oliver (and Sophia) pushed each other to another set of solid performances. To finish out the top 5 was Ryan and Trevor in a side-by-side finish. After the conversion from 3-mile to 5k, all 5 of the MV boys broke 20 minutes which also earned them a 2nd place finish out of 4 schools!! Continuing with the great performances, Mychal finished 6th for MV in a nice (converted) PR. Silas closed out the top 7, earning the final varsity spot with a huge (converted) PR. Finishing it off for the Pride were Elijah Raycraft in his best time of the season, and Aiden Angus with his signature kick down the straightaway.