October 26, 2017
Declan is returning to state. And he’s bringing some friends!
First up on this blustery day was our girls varsity. Margo ran very well to finish in 4th place, qualifying individually for the state championship! Izzy ran her best time on this section course to finish 19th. Emily, in just her third varsity race, earned a personal best by over a minute. Katie wasn’t far behind. Sarah ran her best time on this section course. Skylar and Ana wrapped things up for the girls. With their efforts, the girls team finished 6th, their best finish in many years!
Next up was our boys varsity. Declan had some company early, but turned on the jets the second half of the race to build a significant lead, winning by over 20 seconds. Tanner ran his personal best to finish 14th. Henry S. was close behind, tying his personal best (run on a much flatter course). Matt ran his best race of a frustrating year to finish 22nd. Isak was just a few seconds behind as the all important 5th runner. Henry P. ran not far off his personal best, as did Sumner. For their efforts, the boys team finished 2nd, qualifying for the state championship!
Our JV runners finished things up for us. Peter ran just seconds off his personal best. Evan ran well. Dylan ran his best race of the season. Aneesh ran his best race of the year. Henry ran his personal best in just his second 5000 meter race. Louis was just seconds behind in his first 5000 meter race.
Emily W. ran her personal best by about 30 seconds, despite having to run around a stray dog (bad owner!). Izzy G. ran her personal best time. And Mari eclipsed her personal best by just a second.
I am so proud of your efforts today. This was a tough day to run, with temperatures dropping into the mid-40s by the end of the JV race, and strong winds to suck the warmth right out of you. But you stayed focused and ran very well.
Margo ran a splendid race to become our first girl to qualify for state since Kristen Bourne in 2008. Our boys team executed their race plan to perfection, being patient early, while everyone else went out fast. You earned this trip to state as a team. Congratulations!
Complete results for the girls varsity and the boys varsity are available from Gopher State Events.
