Arriving at the course on Friday, we did our run-through and some striders and then participated in the pre-race activities. The t-shirt exchange was a lot of fun and some "interesting" shirts were traded for. Taylor Boyer ended up winning our team vote for best shirt and got an PVXC zip-up jacket for her efforts. Much props also goes out to Abel for getting a beanie for Coach Holt (we won't mention those that let Coach Roberts down). Then Paul got to meet 4-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman - and almost got his hat.
Next four of the boys ran in the Open I race. And again ran very well. For much of the race, Colton, Abel, Paul and Matt were in a very tight pack. Eventually they finished with a spread of about 20 seconds with Abel in the lead and placing 62nd overall in 16:28.
Our last race of the day was the Championship Boys race with Michael, Byron and Casey. Again each guy ran well. Casey ran a strong 16:44, Byron raced extremely well and turned in a top 5 PV time all-time with a 16:06 and 104th place finish. And Mikey!... Mike put himself in the lead pack from the very beginning and as the leaders started to string the race out he went with them and was in 3rd place until about 600 meters to go. Michael eventually finished an amazing, yet heartbreaking 10th - just off of a national qualifying place. His 10th place finish was the highest ranking ever for a Panther runner and a new school record by nearly 30 seconds! Now we set our sights on the final race of the season down at FootLocker in two weeks.
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