2nd Meet Down! I hope everyone had a wonderful time at the Purdue meet, and I hope you now have a wonderful time reading about it. Luckily, our meet day started off later than the Grizzly invite did, leaving at 5:45 am instead of 5:00. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I know the extra sleep was very appreciated. After a quick car ride, we arrived… to the parking lot. The lot was surprisingly far away from the course, so we had a lot of walking to do. Eventually, we all made it, set up the tent, and prepared for the races ahead of us. And by prepared for the races, I mean everyone got in line for a porta-potty.
However, now it was almost time for the Women’s race. Our Women warmed up, threw on their bibs, laced up their spikes or shoes, and made their way to the line. The only problem was that we had no idea what box number our team was in! Our team must be lucky because they guessed right and didn’t need to move at the very last minute (forshawdowing for later). Finally, the gun went off, and the race was on its way. To say this was an easy race would be a lie. As the race started, the sun escaped from the clouds, making it very hot. As the saying goes, that every midwestern dad and Coach Ethan knows, it’s not the heat that gets you, it’s the humidity. Unfortunately, it was also very humid. That, mixed with the hilly terrain, made this a rough one. But our first finisher, Aubrey Chaney, didn’t care about how difficult the day was and won the race in a time of 23:17! Another runner finishing in the top 10 was Evelyn Rowan with a 6th place finish and a time of 24:57. Unfortunately, just missing the top 10, but still having an amazing race, was Lenny Sterirtt, finishing in a swift time of 25:59. Quickly following Lenny was Samantha Anderson. Sam ran a quick 26:14, beating out a Purdue runner trying to catch her. Our first freshman to finish was Anika Lovisa with an amazing time of 26:40. Next up was a ferocious pack of determined runners, with the first being Emma Bergmann, finishing in 26:45. Right behind her was Fatima Siddiqui with a quick time of 27:01. Following Fatima was Sennah Rashidian, quickly finishing her race in 27:17. After Sennah we had a bunch of runners finishing almost back to back. This huge group started with Charlotte Kroll and Annika Luthe finishing one after the other in 27:26 and 26:32. Following them was Anna Zlactic, breaking up a pack of Purdue runners and earning a fantastic time of 27:40. Quickly following behind was the fantastic duo of Lia Tondeva and Dana Reed, finishing in 28:10 and 28:19. Claire Siebert had a great race, finishing in 28:46. The next racer was Alessandra Woods who finished her first 8k with a fast time of 29:13. Jennifer Ruiz and Danuta Carvalho had a great run together finishing together in 29:38 and 29:40. Kiley Senall was the next finisher making sure to stay under 31 by finishing in 30:57. Mira Bhimani had a wonderful run finishing in 31:39, almost exactly 8:30 pace! Margaret Walsh was our final racer, rounding out the team with a time of 37:16. Our Women’s team had an amazing day with some great racing. Overall, they finished in 2nd place. Unfortunately, the Women were slightly disappointed, but not because of their racing, but because the men forgot to bring any of their stuff from the line back to camp. So they had to walk all the way back to the start line to retrieve their gear.
Now it was time for the Men’s race. After a spontaneous warmup where everyone seemed to be running different distances at different times, in different directions, the team suited up and prepared for the upcoming race. Luckily, the women came back to the start line to grab their stuff at the perfect moment, being able to cheer the men off for the start. The gun went off, and our men started running. After lots of hills in the grueling heat, Percy Moser was the first to finish with a time of 26:29, taking 2nd place overall. It must have been a great day for our racers because we had 4 more runners finish in the top 10! Next was Coach Ethan Forsell, finishing with a 27:07. Not far behind was Max Henige, who his finished his first race this season in 27:16. Albert Szewczyk and Jeremy Perez rounded out the top 10, finishing together at 27:39 and 27:42. Quickly following them was the one and only Simon Hildy, racing a quick 27:49, and securing our team score by beating out three purdue runners behind him. After Simon, we had a big pack of Illinois runners, who continuously switched places throughout the race, starting with Jensen Bidmead, who ran a time of 28:16. After Jensen, James Stanley, and Maxwell Maloney finished with times of 28:19 and 28:25. Rounding out this big pack was the freshman, Everett Sinson, who finished in a swift time of 28:32. The Alex Duo of Alex Herrera and Alex Demas finished next. Herrera finished first with a time of 28:58, beating out Demas’ time of 29:17. It looks like Herrera was able to prove why he should be called Alex 1. Right behind the Alex Duo was Walter Chang, racing a quick 29:19. Dakota Amar was able to keep under the 30 minute mark by racing a 29:57. Kyle McCoskey and Jonah Diehl battled it out till the very end with Kyle barley making it out on top with a time of 30:55. Jonah still had a great race with a time of 30:57. Brendan Graven and Marcus Finley were the next finishers racing fantastic times of 31:41 and 32:02. Next to cross the line was Evan Kemph who ran a swift time of 32:24. Alan Gu was next racing an amzing and aestheticly pleasing 32:32. Max Boughner, Cole Payne, and Ryland O Hanlon finished one after another with Max leading. They ran a 32:49, 32:55, and Ryland finished the pack with a 33:12. Also, I want to take this time to give a huge Shoutout to Ryland’s parents. They flew out to watch us race and even brought snacks for the team! Aidan Farrell closed out the meet for us, ending the day with a 34:02. Overall, the Men’s team took first place, finally beating out Purdue after years of taking 2nd.
After the meet, the cars split up to all find places to eat around Lafayette. Many Cars were disappointed that the wait at Triple XXX, a famous burger and root beer joint, was around 30 minutes. Ultimately, everyone found somewhere to eat where they didn’t have to wait in a long queue. It turned out to be a nice race day with both teams running and placing well.
See you next meet,
Maxwell Maloney