A Race by the River

As a team the goal is always to be running our best when it matters most. Regionals is the first stop on the post-season tour, and our venue was Empire Park in Hampton. We knew it was be a replay of the conference meet with the majority of the teams from the SPC. The first goal is always to advance on, and then its to build momentum for next week’s Sectional. For this day it was mission accomplished.

The conditions were great for fast running, perfect weather, great course and strong competition. Paul De Avila led the way with a 12^th place finished and a 2 second PR. Paul ran a very aggressive first two miles and then hung on for the 3^rd mile as he battled in to the finish. Next in was our pack of 3 that worked together for the majority of the race, Aaron Wyckoff, Mike Forbear and Cam Mulyk. Aaron continues his hot streak of running well as he finished second for our team and a nice 12 second PR. Mike Forbear did not feel his best but knew what he had to do for his team and stayed with Aaron and fed off the power of the pack. Cam Mulyk stayed with those guys for just over 2 and a half miles and finished strong to break 16 for the first time. The top 4 guys all finished within 20 seconds of each other, the power of the pack was felt upfront. Next in was Alex Rojo leading the young guns, Tyler Schick and Harlan Matson. Alex ran a solid race as he moved up a few places late to help the team effort, and Tyler stayed close in tow to finish with a 12 second PR. Harlan Matson missed two months of racing and made his return last week at Conference, he had to shake off the cobwebs at SPC, and today was nearly a minute faster than last week, a good sign that things are heading in the right direction for Harlan.

Overall 4^th as a team with a team average of 15:55. We know next week will be a battle, but we are ready for the chance to compete in Quincy with a shot at qualifying for state on the line.