On a day that started cool before getting hot in a hurry – and on a day that featured amps and stages and hay bales and things you don't normally associate with a cross country meet – it was also a day that featured some impressive running from Coach
Meg Mavity and her Running Bears at the Wingfoot Invitational at Sam Smith Park in Cartersville.
The electric atmosphere and personality-filled course that drew thousands to the event also provided plenty of energy for the 34 competitors in the HIES lineup, as the Bears competed in four races – boys' varsity, girls' varsity, boys' JV and girls' JV – with the boys lining up first.
Out of those seven, it was
Harris Bradford who put together yet another good race, completing the 3.1-mile course in 16:37, good for 31st out of almost 200 runners.
The next two cracked the 20-minute mark, with
Daniel Hill running a 19:16 and
Bobby Spencer returning to the 19s with a 19:41.
Brayden Briles – who started the season as a hobby before apparently realizing he's pretty good at this – continued his improvement with a 20:50, while
Matthew George rounded out the Bears' top five scoring with a 21:08.
Gavin Campos (21:37) and
Harrison Evans (22:04) also contributed.
In the varsity girls race – in which five Bears competed – you could have practically thrown a net over our first three runners, as they came in close together in the mid-to-high 23-minute range.
Edie Coil led the way for HIES, with
Beatrice Jones and
Laney Kate Miller coming in literally a half-step apart to give her great support.
It was much the same for our No. 4 and No. 5 girls, as good friends
Jackie Sullivan and
Mae Stibbs remained close together on the course and hit the finish line just one second apart.
Moving to the JV girls, eight Bears took to the course, with
Sloane Hodgson – also a track star – leading the way. Behind her, in order of finish, were Ivana Castellenos-Mora,
Sasha Thompson,
Emma Boeschen,
Alice Poe,
Eliana Gerbi,
Adrianna Smith and
Lily Miller.
HIES then emptied its bench in the boys' JV race, with
Thomas Stotts,
Lucas Chong,
Teddy Hawkins,
Connor Jaax,
Nicholas Busch, Fernando Notario,
Liam Silhan,
Chase Warbington,
Daniel Rachelson,
Tyler Tio, Martin Jose Hernandez,
Finn Bergmann and
Cam Cobb finishing it all up.
Some props are necessary here, too.
Sports information duo Taylor Mills and Patrick Ammons were out shooting photos and video – though pictures of runners sweating through a 5K aren't always the prettiest things in the world.
It was also a day of unity, as the Middle School raced later, allowing the entire program to stake its claim in the non-Olympic Village.
Looking ahead, our Bears get to sleep in next Saturday, as they won't leave South Campus until 5:30 a.m. (lol)
The Bears will compete in the Darlington Invitational before taking a much-needed break the following week – Homecoming Week.
Finish lines: Homecoming weekend may not provide much rest, but it should provide plenty of off-the-course energy when our alumni return, along with a rivalry football game on Baker Field.
Then comes October.
HI will have an overnight in Huntsville on Oct. 16-17 before fine-tuning for Sectionals, scheduled for Oct. 31 – also at Darlington.
For now, though, 34 runners experienced the amps and stages, and hay bales and things – and did what needed to be done.
Not a bad Saturday.
