50th Annual Wildcat Invitational

Running on your home course is always an honor. The Wildcat Invitational gives us that chance each year. Today we were greeted with a sunny, warm, cloudless day to put our best foot forward on our home course.

The girls were missing a few athletes over the course of the day so it was time to step up for some. Six girls ran season best times on the day. In the frosh/soph race an injury forced Sylvia Magemeneas to the sideline mid-race and that meant the rest of the team had to step up. Lydia Velazquez and Alyssa Link did just that, both running big season best times to finish as the top two Wildcats in that race. Following them in was Kayla DeFano who also ran a season best time. Isabelle Reyes used a new race tactic, trying to build into the pace throughout and it paid off with a season best by nearly a minute as well. It was a very strong race from the young lady Wildcats.

The varsity girls saw a strong second half of the race from Hannah Kilday who crossed the mile mark in 20^th place and moved up very well the last two miles to run a season best and finish as a medal winner in 12 place. Bridget Kemp and Alexis Pacholski were next in using energy from each other to fight the entire way. Carrie Kraft and Allison Behounek stayed close the whole race as well to round out the scoring with Allison really pressing the pace in the last mile to run a season best and nearly a lifetime best.

The varsity girls finished 6^th place out of 18 team, on a day when the team was missing two key scorers that can be a result that is a step in the right direction as the season progresses.

The boys got the day going with an aggressive pack that went straight to the front in the frosh/soph boys race. Ubaldo Rodriguez made it 2 for 2 with lifetime PRs this week with a 5^th place finish and a new PR. Ubaldo was followed by two more PR setting medal winners in Luke Adair and Tyler Weir, both broke into the 18s for the first time. Brogan Terry and Stephen Cameron finished up the scoring for the Wildcats with two season bests as well. Freshman Troy Henschen got in the PR action, running a lifetime best as a result of an incredibly aggressive first mile.

The varsity guys employed the same strategy from Tuesday with a strong pack of 4 up from. This time it was Arnold Arce’s turn to take the led, as he finished first for the Cats in 13^th place and ran a lifetime best of 16:49. He was followed by 3 medal winners in Tyler Schick, Harlan Matson and Tanner Torri. A 20 second split from Arnold to Tanner was a big part of why the Wildcats finished 3^rd overall.

The open race saw 4 Wildcats come away with medals, Asher Bradley ran a season best time and finished 3^rd overall. Richie Ruane was 4^th, Luke Konow was 10^th and Colin Elder was 14^th.

On a day when not everyone felt their best on the course physically, the team showed some serious mental toughness to stay engaged with the pace of the race and pushed through the discomfort to learn about their limits. This is something that will pay dividends as the season progresses.

Next up for the Wildcats is Wednesday night Senior Night!