Heading into Freeport, the team needed a shot of confidence. If the cold winds and snow showers on Saturday didn’t wake us up, then perhaps it will be the fact that our 2014 defeated the 2013 version on team time, and in 40 degrees less comfort.
Kintz and Park managed to hang with the experienced veterans who returned to this meet, netting 5th and 7th respectively. Park was a :44 PR on the course. In just his 2nd career race, Kintz is in the 15’s Club. Wow.
We knew we needed to get the work done with runners between 10 and 25 in order to seal a trophy winning performance. Reger, Kuipers and Walker were :16 apart, completing a 67 second pack split, and nailing down 2nd for the team. Pushing up the scores of the rest were Lesak and Spaetzel. Lesak mile pace was :23 faster than at ACC a week ago. It takes time, but he’s winning that Battle of 6!
French ran a :15 PR on the course, and Kurz was strong in reserve as well, :07 faster on mile pace than at ACC. Smith made the top half of all finishers with :20 better mile pace. Moses raced valiantly and will continue to improve. Kasap was nearly 2:00 faster than last week at ACC in far worse conditions. Gingrich and Wolfe were :13 apart, with stronger runs and Kyle Osborne continues to shine, with a :05 stronger mile pace than a week ago.
On the FS side, the team title was won as much up front as it was from the excellent pack running from the middle. While it takes 5 to score, the whole frosh soph team should feel great ownership in the team title. While Kantola, Messina, and Webster earned pretzels, Nosek notched an individual medal. The team was challenged with racing 10 seconds or less from the next teammate. Heiser, Wojak, Nance, Wells, Girolamo, Wilk and O’Sullivan all raced within :45 of one another, sealing the team win and making a great checkerboard statement. Cole Rutter had runners to battle the whole way, and raced 3:45 faster than a week ago at ACC.
Despite the huge swing in temperatures between last weekend and today, the team’s temperature is getting warmer. We’ve not yet hit our stride as a full unit, but we’re certainly looking to get some fresh legs, stronger aerobic capacity, and more wins in the Battle of 6.
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