Mid-September Update

Many great things are happening for our program and we want to cover them all!
Dixie All-Comers:  The strength of our program was really shown at the Dixie All-Comers on the first Tuesday in September, held at Bloomington Hills North Park.  With most teams from the region running their Varsity squads, our JV harriers held their own.  As usual, the Youngsters got us off to a great start placing many of the top 15 spots.  The girls race saw Sylvia and Addi in a battle at the front of the pack.  Sylvia's great race came down to a kick finish and she placed 2nd in a field of Varsity runners and helped the girls place 2nd at the meet - next to Cedar's Varsity.  The boys also placed well with our #11+ runners as we took 3rd to Cedar and Dixie's Varsities with Carson Horspool taking over the race 1 mile in and claiming the victory.
Pine View Time Trial #3:  In our 3rd, and final, Time Trial held the next Tues (also at BHNP), we saw continued growth from the team.  The boys were led to another team record, placing 10 under 11:00 and 5 under 10:35 on the difficult 2 mile course - with Nick Hill leading the team with a course record 10:15.  The girls also saw a strong run placing 7 under 12:45 led by Meskerem Stucki in 12:10.
Murray Invitational:  Our next big meet was the Murray Invite - held at Murray City Park on Fri, 9/11.  This was a new course from the old Murray Invite where we have had a lot of success in the past.  Even with the new course, the results were similar.  Our team had a great showing at Murray and many runners shined.  The Varsity boys were paced by Nick Hill (12th place finisher) to a 4th place finish.  The Varsity girls did the boys one better and finished 3rd to national top ten teams American Fork and Davis.  A strong front pack of Caroline Clements (17th), Rylee Holt (18th), Josie Bushar (25th), and Jacey Finch (26th) contributed greatly to the team success.  In the Fresh/Soph races (both boys and girls), Panthers finished 1,2,5 to help the teams take 2nd.  On the boys side the results went Alex Hill, Carson Horspool, and Logan Hall.  For the girls: Sylvia Brown, Addi Baker, and Brianna Loya.  In the Open races, Megan Finch placed well and Paul Gaona and Skylar Abel were medalists.
Duel in the Desert:  Just this Tuesday, we held our duel with DH.  Again, without our top 10 runners - on boys and girls - our JV athletes ran very well.  Megan Finch and Seanne Smith led the girls with a 1-2 finish that led to a team victory.  The boys also ran solid against DH's full JV and placed two of the top 6 and 7 of the next 11.
Athletes of the Week:  From these weeks, we have some catching up to do on Athletes of the Week.
Maycee Hayes - This is Maycee's 2nd AotW honor this year.  She is a great example of what an XC athlete is.  She works extremelly hard, has seen her times improve greatly, and has a contagiously great attitude.
Corbin Paxman - Corbin also has the type of attitude that influences everyone around him for the positive.  With this great personality, Corbin has combined the dedication and commitment that have drop his time significantly.
Carson Horspool - Carson has set himself up as one of the runners to be watch next year by the great season he has had this year.  His commitment to the program and his own running are paying huge dividends as he sees his times and places improve greatly.
Kaylee Benson - Kaylee is a new athlete to our program this year and has brought a great personality and work ethic with her.  Kaylee has seen huge improvements from the summer to the mid-season.  And is a great example of working with those around her to improve the whole team.