It is officially championship season! This past week, the team competed at the NIRCA XC Great Plains Regional. Last year, both the men’s and women’s teams finished second, and they were looking to repeat that same success. This year, the meet was held at the Gans Creek XC course, which held the NCAA DI National Championships just last year. This course is in Missouri, so the trip involved an overnight stay in a Holiday Inn, which was maybe the nicest hotel the club has ever stayed at (long gone are the days of the Knights Inn).
Before checking into the hotel, though, the cars got dinner. Many cars got Tex-Mex food in downtown Columbia on a recommendation of Max Maloney. Perhaps he was inspired to make the recommendation when driving through Mexico, Missouri. After arriving at the hotel, a short team meeting was held in one of the rooms to set the tone for the races the following day. After that, some went back to their rooms, while others went to the main lobby to play cards or do homework. Everyone made sure to get to sleep early, though, so we could wake up early the next morning.
The first race of the day was the women’s race, with a start time of 9:00 AM. The course was picturesque cross country. A long straightaway of soft grass veered left and around, doubling back and circling a lake. Then the course ascended slightly and turned to the right, winding around until returning to the start line, marking one lap. Every one thousand meters, there was a billboard straddling the course that would state the time (although they were not turned on for our races). The edges of the course were accented with a wooden fence, bushes, and trees. The course was molded out of the landscape and was form with the small rolling hills of the countryside. A slight fog hung low with a small amount of dew present on the grass. Far off in the distance, a hot air balloon traversed the cloudless, blue sky. As the start time approached, the sun slowly peeked above the trees, showering the course with light and warmth and signaling that today was a beautiful day to run.
The women finished the last of their strides and were called to the line. The gun went off, and they flew down the first straightaway. First to cross the line, in fourth place, was Violet Schnizlein, with a time of 22:58. Violet stated that she pushed very hard in the first mile, which helped her build good momentum for the rest of the race. Next was Allison Behounek in a time of 23:23 for sixth place. When asked about her race, Allison described it as “good—no notes.” Right behind her was Lenny Sterritt for seventh place in a time of 23:30, which is impressive because she was also writing speeches in her head in the second half. Caitlin Thomas was next, running a time of 24:56 for seventeenth. Her race must’ve been indescribable because I asked her multiple times how her race went, but she always wanted more time to think. Following her, in a time of 26:01, was Annika Luthe. Annika was very happy to PR for the first time since freshman year and also to take home the women’s second place trophy. Next, in a “PR adjacent” performance was Anna Zlatic in 26:17. Not far behind Anna was Jennifer Ruiz in a time of 26:40. Jennifer really enjoyed her race and was happy to PR.
Dana Reed also had a great race. Dana ran a 40 second PR with her time of 27:02, and she felt like she was racing the whole time! Next up, in 28:07, was Jocelyn Cielo-Grande. This was Jocelyn’s first race of the season, and she felt it went really well. Greta Snyder was after, finishing in a time of 28:24, and she also felt her race went really well. Lauren Frake also ran a great race. She was another runner to PR on her way to a time of 28:55, where she thoroughly enjoyed the weather. Not far behind her was Haley McCune in a time of 29:06, which is the first time she’s broken 30! Next, in a time of 30:48, was Kiley Senall, who surely was repeating, in her own head, the line from Henry V, “Once more unto the breach, my dear friends” throughout the race (and not a slightly different variation!). Another member of the team to PR was Kyariane Joseph, who ran a time of 32:16. Maggie Walsh was the closer for the women, making her season debut in 32:44!
After cheering the women’s team, the men’s team got ready. First to cross the line was Coach Max Maloney in 26:43 for ninth place. Max was very happy with his race as he was able to keep pushing himself throughout and continuously felt strong. Right behind him, for tenth, was Braden Stillmaker in a time of 26:46. Braden thoroughly enjoyed racing back on Gans Creek, but he was sad to see the cones out again. Shortly after, Alex Demas finished in twelfth and a time of 26:50. Alex was not happy with his race, but the post meet Culver’s did cheer him up a bit. Only one second later, Jeremy Perez crossed the line in 26:51 for thirteenth. Jeremy described his race as “magically delicious.” Alex Herrera was next, in a time of 27:01 for sixteenth place, and he was very happy to get back to form and race on such a beautiful course. Jack Wilkinson, who ran 27:11 for seventeenth place, felt similarly. Jack was happy to be able to race quickly on such a fast course. Keith Solberg, who ran 27:25, was finally happy with a race, and he stated that he felt good the whole way, earning a massive PR.
After Keith was Gunnar Sulzen in a time of 27:27. Gunnar was glad to have his family visit and put his face on a sign (sadly not pictured). Fellow freshman Ben Hoffman ran a time of 28:06, who was glad to work with Walter and Brendan. Walter Chang was next, running a time of 28:11. Walter decided not to stick with his plan of keeping it easy despite what he was saying at the start line. Perhaps he was fueled by all the food he ate the previous day. Close behind was President Brendan Graven in a time of 28:12. Unfortunately, Brendan could not yell at Kyle McCoskey this race, but he enjoyed yelling at Walter and Ben instead. Next, in 28:39, was Ronin Borgson. Ronin was overall very happy with his race, especially since it was his IXC debut. Marcus Finley, saddened to not run sub 23, still ran 28:48 for a PR. Maybe, if he had worn the Jordans (or the sweatpants he Doordashed), he would have ran his goal time. Not far behind was Eric Ramirez with a time of 28:52. Eric felt that he built momentum well on the downhills and held it well on the flats. Following, in 28:57, was Morgan Frederick, who was very glad to PR, so his PR is no longer from Hershey, PA.
IXC’s longest standing member, Gabriel Inojosa, was next. Gabe ran 29:02, and he stated that “the old dog still knows a few tricks.” Close behind was Jonah Diehl, finishing in a time of 29:07. Jonah felt he went out too fast, which impacted his ability to kick, but he still ran a PR. Next was myself, Max Boughner, in a time of29:20. Personally, I’m very happy with this time, and I attribute the entirety of my performance to Glenn Hadcock, who paced me the majority of the race. After, Jerome Graessle finished in a time of 29:23. Jerome felt he didn’t pace the race well, but I’m sure that if the race was at night, his midnight running routine would’ve trained him well. Glenn Hadcock was not far behind with a time of 29:27. Glenn stated that he was worried about losing me while pacing, so he always tried to stay in front of me (which I greatly appreciated!). Close behind was Adam Wilson with a time of 29:36. Adam was happy with his time, especially since he broke thirty for the first time. Rounding out the sub thirty club was Joe Gabriel in 29:49. Joe had a good race, and nothing else notable happened.
Ryland O’Hanlon was next, with a time of 30:15. Ryland was very happy with his time since he was able to PR by over two minutes. Iñigo Serrano was also very happy with his improvement to a 30:39. Behind him was Ryan Wilson in a time of 31:17, who had a massive PR of three minutes. Not much later, Ryan Taylor crossed the line in 32:10. He also ran a PR, and he split a faster 5k here than in the Grizzly Invite at the beginning of the season. Close behind, running 32:16, was Austin Stevenson. Austin said he felt really smooth while racing and was happy to improve a lot from last week. Brian Allison, who ran 32:52,also felt he had a good race, and he enjoyed the perfect weather. Next was Miles Moomaw in a time of 33:19. Miles was happy because he thinks he ran a PR. After Miles, Tryggve Vilaseca finished his race in 36:16. Tryggve was very happy with his race as it was much faster than he thought and it was a big improvement. Alex Clunan rounded out the amazing performance from the men’s team with his time of 42:22. Alex was very happy with his race because he ran a PR by over four minutes!
Both teams finished second overall, which was an incredible performance, and many people ran PRs! Normally, this is the part of the write up where I describe whatever controversy the team managed to embroil itself in. However, I can confidently state that the team had no controversies this meet. Yes, that is right, there were no controversies at all. After the awards ceremony, the team packed up and headed to the nearest Culver’s, to the chagrin of some but to the joy of others (myself included). Unfortunately, while we finished second at the meet, we finished last in the race to Culver’s. Almost all of our competitors seemed to have been saving their kick for this moment whereas we left it all out on the course. After eating food and commenting on Strava, we all started the drive home, retracing our steps through Missouri and Illinois all the way until we were at the Armory again.
Photos link: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1zP8hTmygSVKzgSSvMKqkx1XczFuKrdsV