Last week, there was a reward for the first Panther boy wearing a black Future Varsity uniform to cross the finish line - it was getting upgraded to the flaming orange Varsity Uniform. That incentive was not voiced for the race at Hood River Valley. Derek Lawton did not realize that his improving his position on the team from 16th to 13th during this meet would warrant receiving that same upgrade! On what is quite possibly the slowest course we will run on this year, Derek was only 36 seconds off his PR on a fast Orange Course last week; most of the team ran between one and two minutes slower than that race. He is now on target for breaking 20 minutes this season as he is starting to realize his potential as a Future Varsity Panther!
There were five boxes of freshly picked pears from the Diamond Fruit company waiting for runners as they crossed the finish line. Amelia was not only the first runner wearing orange to reach that destination, she was the first high school runner to do so - IN RECORD TIME! She dominated the field by winning by nearly a full minute over a field of accomplished runners. Her time of 20:12 crushed the course record set in this race last year. A side note that makes her effort more impressive is that the course was actually lengthened and the trails were muddy this year. When it comes down to it, we all know that the pears, as delicious as they are, were less of an incentive than her own love for running and her DESIRE TO BE GREAT!