At the beginning of the season, Hockinson Middle School, the Hornets, had a swarm five boys strong that had been painfully stinging our Panthers the first few meets of the season. At Hood River, Sam Lewis finished just in front of their fifth runner. They looked unbeatable, as Sam was our solid second runner. At our last home meet of the year, Sam ran the race of his life, nearly matching his time on the much faster Nike course. This placed him fourth in the race, nipping the second Hockinson runner at the line, and only 3 seconds behind their first runner. His highly elevated performance, along with the support of some fine efforts from teammates, put the Panthers within a few points of this very fine team.
Even when it doesn't quite feel right. And, as Brooklyn Bausch found out, you just might experience some unexpected success. Brooklyn struggled through Monday's workout. She ran as hard as she was expected to, but the times fell short of expectations. She was a bit discouraged. Come Wednesday, race day, she proved she benefited immensely from the previously mentioned workout. Her time of 22:17 on a "Black Course" nearly matched her “Orange Course” Personal Record set last year at the League Meet. Shortly after she found out her time, the truth came straight from her mouth: "I just ran the race of my life!" Well, that is true for now, but we anticipate even better from her this next month!