Ridgefield hosted a fabulously festive Cross Country meet. With a hospitality table second to none and many spectators cheering on both sides, it was hard to find any cheering that was louder than that for the last two guys on the course that day. Our Spencer Perkins had passed the opposing Spudder during the middle of the race. Coming into the finishing loop, the opponent, who was about twice Spencer's size, made a move to chase him down. Focused on the finish line, Spencer resorted to his best running form and gradually pulled away as they rounded the last corner. His effort was rewarded with cheering from both sides and the Panther side was super proud to be cheering for the one that out-kicked the Goliath on the other side.
Last year, Tanalee Newton was running 1.5 mile races for Skyridge. This year, she was discouraged about her times because our Middle School program has been racing 3,000 meters. She had been consistently around 19 minutes. Her best time at 3000 meters had been 18:56.5. Then her big chance to run on a fast course at Nike, and she came down with a bug that kept her out of the race. Determined to "post a good time" she stepped on Ridgefield's slower course and shocked the XC racing world with a 3 plus minute PR, running 15:54.0. That is an amazing one full minute per Kilometer. WOW! She now looks to be ready to join the rest of the Panther Pack that has proven to be one of the deepest MS Girls XC teams around.