What’s up IXC Fans! It’s Championship season, Nationals is this week, but before we talk about that, we need to talk about Regionals! We were fortunate enough to host it at our home course, the legendary Arboretum, hill and all. Before we talk about our runners, we need to shout out our Home Meet Coordinator, Mikey Smart, who worked harder than anyone else to put this race together and sort out the last-minute problems and challenges with running a totally new course. The 6k ended up being short, and the 8k ended up being long, but between the two the correct distance was run. Overall, both the Men and the Women’s teams took second place and qualified for Nationals, see you in Shelbyville!
First up for the women was freshman Joy Dudley, running for second place overall with a 22:27. Senior star Diane Makovic came in right behind Joy with a 22:38 for third overall! Third for our own women was Suhani Peramanu, who felt good and enjoyed the race running 23:48. Carlin Hass battled her opponents in the last few meters to run 23:55! Emma Bergmann made her IXC season debut, smiling her way to 23:58! Claire Caisello came through in 24:05 with more in the tank, watch out for her at Nationals! Bridget Brokaw finished strong with 24:36! Noel Brindise, wise beyond her years, ran 24:53! Anna Jablonski ran 25:13 on a hilly course, but her pace was consistent with what she had been running on flat courses! Sophia Stierwalt and Annika Luthe ran 25:46 and 26:12 respectively, sticking together as a freshman duo throughout the tough middle miles. Lia Tondeva was close behind in 26:25! Alyson Ficca ran her first race of the season after coming off an injury, she felt no pain and ran 26:29! Erin Minor kicked hard at the end to pass a competitor, running 27:23! Moira McKee ran 28:09 and was smiling throughout! Reiss Christensen came through the finish grinning, running 29:24 and running a 60+ second PR (even adjusted for the short course)! Jennifer Ruiz ran strong with a 30:24! Kathleen Keough ran a solid 31:15 and looked strong on the hills! Anna Winnicki got through the line in 32:23! And last but certainly not least were sisters Elizabeth and Allison Kokal, who competed with each other to the line, running 33:09 and 33:20!
And now onto the men’s race! The course was a bit long (about 0.3 miles long, in fact), so take the times with a grain of salt. Ethan Forsell was first up with 27:37! Percy Moser. Charismatic as always, was second with 27:54. Our wonderful coach John Wiser came in at 28:09, he didn’t let the long course phase him. Adam Gorcyca came up with a 28:10, a proud win for pizzaheads all around. Easton Rosen was up next, running 28:13 and smiling for the camera whenever he passed by! Kavin Prashaad earned the “most photogenic runner” award, he managed to look smooth in every photo taken of him finishing in 28:19. Spencer Nelson showed that he’s not ready to retire just yet, running 28:22! James Stanley was up next, running 28:42 after a few days off due to illness. Freshman Alex Herrera was behind James, with a 28:51. 15hunna, (also known by his government name Nolan Enright), got across the line in 28:58. Track webmaster Adam Lupatkin was up next in 29:35, a strong run for an already strong season! 800m specialist Thomas Harmon came through at 29:40! Braden Cardamone felt great running a 30:34, opening with the smoothest 5:40 of his life. Aidan Markiewicz worked well with Braden, running 30:34.01. Future Clubhaus member Brendan Graven ran a 30:42, PRing through 5 miles! Andres Lopez ran a 31:12 having the goal of breaking 30:00 in the 8k, that definitely happened through 5 miles! Miles Maloney was close behind with a 31:15. Spencer Kinsey had a great race running 31:32 on a long course, his workouts have been better and better so keep an eye out for him at Nationals! Kyle Kenmotsu came out to show out, running 31:38! Lukas Tichota had a great run, running 32:02 for his last race this season, and looking forward to track! We’ll miss you at Nationals! President Cadyn Grafton wanted to run about 6:0X pace, and he accomplished that with a 32:15! Treasurer Quinn Born was right behind Cadyn running 32:16, a strong showing for the D-CHI duo. Aidan Farrel ran a 34:43, a strong season PR through 8k! Henry Hornbrook rocked a Burger King crown and came through in 35:25! Andrew Stevenson, smiling for the camera, ran 35:32! Jose Oceguenda-Zuniga looked great running a 35:49! Gabe Benson had a great season best, running 36:12 and going under 35 through 8k! And last but not least was mid distance recruit Denver Soekawan with a 40:12!
Despite the dubious course lengths, folks were still pleased at their efforts, and spirits were high as this was our home course. Nationals is just around the corner, the course is fast, and the hay is in the barn, so stay tuned for some speedy results this weekend!
Photos Link!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P1BRjYCkkQUcYW9B8
Results Link!