We had a pretty good feeling that times would be slow on the Elburn Woods course, given the heavy rainfall from the night before. We had no idea our team would step up to run such big PR’s and compete so well in a field that included Top 10 ranked teams. We knew we would be in a battle just to have a chance at a trophy, and the team gave their best effort of the season.
Our varsity boys moved up 8 team places from 2014 to capture 6th behind a stellar Top 10 finish from Richtman (:98 PR). Our seniors came out and gave a huge effort to help lead the way to a high team finish. Racing his first time at the Woods, Kintz rocked a 14th place finish in a strong field of individual runners. Spaetzel ran a career PR by :27 to net a ribbon (26th overall). Will Kuipers put notched a career PR on the course in 17:45 (:44 PR) as our #4, and Zach Kurz stepped up to fill our #5 slot with a :59 PR to close our scoring. Kainrath defeated 37 other scoring runners in his Elburn Woods debut, and Kantola set a :26 PR on the wet, muddy course.
Our Frosh Soph team has excelled this season, and were up against some deep and talented programs. They narrowly missed 4th and outlasted East Aurora by a single point to bring home a 5th place trophy. Sam Webster captured a place on the podium, running 7th overall with a :94 PR. Nosek (21st, :95 PR) and Wielgos (27th) earned ribbons while gaining valuable experiences or racing amid big packs. Heiser crushed his PR by 3:00, Girolamo raced very strong in his first turn on the Woods course. Purcell net at huge PR at Elburn, with Lodwig and Nemec putting up strong races on the longer course. Kyle Orczykowski continues to improve, moving up the depth chart racing a great mile pace on a far more challenging course. Wells had another PR effort (:26) while our freshmen contingent of Klingensmith, Babula, Jablonski and Petrik are making strides to learn and grow in every race. Petrik managed to run :32 faster than his time a week ago in Peoria!
Messina was very aggressive in the opening mile and earned a 25th place ribbon and a :28 PR. French earned his first award of the season, placing 31st. Gale narrowly eclipsed Wojak at the finish, with David running a :56 PR on the course. Smith also is credited with a :95 PR while Gingrich put up a 3:45 improvement over his ‘14 time. Osborne surged past two runners in the last mile to have a season best mile pace. An awesome effort with slow course conditions!
Very special thanks to our KXC Families for their efforts with hosting this invitational on the grounds of Elburn Woods. We appreciate all the families who braved the shuttle bus, those who helped set up, watched key flags in the race, respectfully communicated with other guests who came to the meet, and those who tore down the course after the meet concluded. Your coaches are so grateful for your help, commitment, and perseverance. Great role models for your children. One day, they will give back to their own children's programs because they see how you step up to the challenge as well.
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