We traveled up to North Carolina, (using our new Asics bags we won from the Embry-Riddle meet, obviously) to compete in the Great American XC festival. To me and majority of the team, this is our favorite course. Although there is a long, gradual up hill that you must run twice, the rolling hills along the back of the course lead for fast times. We all enjoyed the cool weather and PRing, as well as visiting the college campuses of Duke and NC State.
The very next week we were traveling again, this time to Tallahassee for Pre-States at FSU. After Great American, this is now my second favorite course. It also has rolling hills and great terrain.We got watch the collegiate runners compete the night before our race, which was very cool. The next morning after the gun went off and all our girls crossed the line, we were excited to learn that we had placed fourth in the elite race! The boys team also placed second in the "silver" race. This significantly moved us up in the 4A rankings, which only added to the glory. Also, HUGE congratulations to Megan for breaking the 20 minute barrier for the first time!
These final two meets are where the team work has really stepped up. Last weekend we tackled Mt. Dora's hills on the toughest course we run on all season. Together we battled sugar sand and pushed up every hill, until we had placed all five of our scoring runners in the top 10, bringing home the Varsity Girls trophy. I can't even begin to say how thankful I am to have such a strong and supportive team at meets like this. Varsity boys also took runner up, and JV boys & girls earned first place!
Finally, a bittersweet, but successful day this morning at Metros. The air was cool, the course flat, and the turns were sharp. However, we are extremely proud to say that both varsity and JV for boys and girls brought home wins! For our awesome JV, this was their last meet of the season, many the last race of their high school careers. I hope everyone enjoyed every aspect of the season, (yes, even mile repeats) because it only made us stronger in the end. Take the experiences you learned from racing, and never forget how strong you are.
As for the varsity teams, we are only just getting started.
