For the first two weeks of practice, we have been working hard to run with teammates and not go off on our own. The boys' team really grabbed hold of that idea as they ran in two packs of 4. The first loop, the boys worked to focus on pushing each other and then I told them to race each other the second loop and they fought hard. If they ran last year, each guy did substantially better today than they did then. Benjamin Myron was a standout as he dropped a couple minutes from his 5k PR from last season as he only ran a couple JV/varsity races. Now, he was fighting to be the top runner on the team. That drive is going to help himself as well as the rest of the team. 

Micah Fossell and Dylan Johnson were also big surprises. Micah didn't run last year, but he looks similar to how he ran two years ago. They both pushed their respective pack and looked like they were getting more comfortable as the race went on.

On the girls' team, they also worked to run with their partners, but on the second loop spread out some. Lauren Thoennes put on a lot of summer miles and she almost set a personal best for her 5k times (1 sec. off).  Ashley Paulson has been battling a knee issue, but looked tough today.

There were some pleasant surprises on Junior High. Lexi Bitzan won the girls race and looked amazing doing so. Rita Fossell also set herself a new PR over last season by a healthy amount.

The guys' Junior High team was led by Nathan Brethorst who took 5th. He looked strong throughout the entire race. Landyn Johnson ran a solid race for his first time and shows a lot of promise for future runs. 

Overall, it was a great baseline for the season to help us set some goals and we can push ourselves this year.