Melayna ran in her second XC meet of the season this past Saturday as the team traveled up to Chesterton for the Larry James Invite. They were allowed 10 varsity runners for this race and since she finished 12th for our team last weekend, she would run in the JV race for this meet. The weather was absolutely amazing with almost perfect temps for running and Melayna was really hyped and ready to go. When we got there, our varsity girls were doing their run-outs and it was easy to spot the JV girls along the side of the course. They were in their bright shirts -- couldn't miss them if you tried. LOL I found Melayna and hugged her and gave her a high five. Then Noel and I went over to find a good spot to watch the races.
Our varsity girls had a great showing. A couple of them ran new PR's and the team finished 3rd overall, missing 2nd place by just one point. It was a good confidence booster for our girls as they head into conference season next week.
About an hour later, the JV girls headed to the line and took their spots. (You can see the top of Melayna's head at the front of the pack in this picture. She said she forgot that it was cross country and started to get down into a track start. LOL
No matter what sport she thought that she was running, she went out quick and got established up near the front of the pack right from the beginning of the race. (In this picture below, she's wearing all black and bright yellow spikes...about seven or eight girls back). I think she was running in about 11th place overall at this point as there were three or four girls already a good distance in front.
One of our other runners went out front right from the beginning and was running all by herself for most of the race. She would eventually win the JV race with a really great time of 21:29 and most likely with that time, she secured herself a spot permanently on the varsity team and possibly into the post season. Great job to Aubrey! You represented our Lady Tigers well.
A short while later, we saw Melayna come around the curve. She was the 2nd runner from our team and probably running in the 20th spot overall. She looked really strong though and it looked like she would be able to pass a couple more runners who weren't that far ahead of her.
After we watched a couple of her teammates pass us in the same spot, Noel and I turned and headed back towards the middle of the course so we could watch them pass by again at the 3k mark. At that point, I counted and saw that she was running 18th as she had overtaken the two runners right in front of her and once again, she had another runner in her line of sight that I thought she was gaining on.
As soon as she ran out of sight, I turned around one more time and headed towards the finish line. I could see the clock from where I was standing and then when I saw her come up at the base of the hill, I turned to see what her time was. I knew that she was heading for a new PR if she could remain the same pace, but the course ended at the top of a small hill and maybe she wouldn't have enough energy to keep the pace and finish strong. No need to worry about that this time... she looked up and saw the clock and it's almost like she kicked it into a higher gear. She really lengthened her stride for the last 300 yards or so and finished in 17th place overall with a brand new lifetime PR of 23:17!!
She was SO excited with her time and she said that she was happy that she was able to keep pushing through for the whole race. 'Definitely a great day for her and that makes us happy for her as well!
Congratulations Lady Tigers on a great day. There is a lot of season left and I'm excited to see how far you girls will go in the weeks ahead.
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The Lady Tigers put out this post on IG on Monday morning. Melayna was one of nine new PR's on the day for the varsity and JV runners.
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Sidenote: the race was held at a community park, so Nolan was able to play on the playground and meet several new "friends" while the teams were competing. That made for a great day for him as well!
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