It is the first 3 miles of a 5K that concerns Evan Hoff. Being a sprinter, Evan knows how to 'Kick it in', but he was probably thinking 'Why in the world do I run for three full miles prior to starting to sprint?' Evan made it look like he knew what he was doing in his first XC race, being the first Panther across the line in the Future Varsity Boy's race. He thoroughly enjoyed the mud pit and apparently passed several runners in the remaining two miles to follow. Evan placed 34th of the 95 runners in his race, easily making the upper half, and nearly cracking the upper third. We are looking forward to watching Evan improve throughout the course of the season, an eventually become a varsity contender.
Courtney Owens was in 11th place for most of the last mile. Even though she knew awards went to the top 10, and after dropping to 12th, she conjured up a surge of energy to edge an opponent for 11th. A bit disappointed knowing she was just a few more steps from the next girl, she still had a respectable attitude, but we knew she was not as happy as she wanted to be. An hour later, she found out that one of the girls in front of her did not count, thus moving her up into the top 10, where she earned the honor of standing on the podium and receiving her personal award of a bouquet of flowers. These flowers, as do most, were a great way to turn a girl's sadness to happiness, and bring a huge smile to Courtney's face.