Today was the day for everyone to get a sense for where we all currently stand in the OK Gold. The main players were in place, but not exactly the order in which I thought they might be. Ottawa Hills (OH) showed early that they are the force to be reckoned with, but Forest Hills Eastern (FHE) and South Christian (SC) are not to be taken lightly. With the separation of points between the top four teams  being 50, 61, 74, and 82 respectively, I believe each of our conference meets will be an “Any given Sunday” situation. 

Today Ottawa Hills certainly looked to really be in control, but we were very much in the mix and ultimately finished 2nd overall, with Ava Crews (19:37) finishing 4th, only 10 seconds behind a very strong FHE girl, who she battled through the whole race. 

Our freshmen sensations Elli Harmon (21:05), and Meghan Skidmore (21:15 - PR) were significant factors as well, finishing in 9th and 11th respectively. These are outstanding performances that make a big difference for our team.

Mady Kietzman (21:58) who continues to be in the fold finished in a strong 18th place, followed closely behind in 19th, by another one of our fantastic freshmen, Peyton Hardy (22:12).

Senior leader Holly Velting (22:24) bounced back from her last race to get closer to her potential and was an important presence for us out on the course.

Rounding out our top seven today was freshman Aliana McCrumb (23:22) who ran wonderfully and is still discovering what she is capable of doing.

The battle for the seventh spot on our team continues with great efforts by freshman Carmen Reynolds (23:26) and Megan Schuurmans (23:37) nearby.

Additional solid performances were had by freshman Hailey Lee (24:11), freshman Avery Hagemann (24:13), senior Kate Powers (25:19), freshman Raylee Preston (26:25), senior Laine Hinton (29:02), and sophomore Lucy Teunessen (30:29).

This was a fantastic finish for us today and I’m excited about it, but with the conference as tight as it is, we can’t take anything for granted. Regardless, I saw our girls out there giving what they had on the day for each other (like they always do). 

After the race there were some smiles, but it was evident that they are still looking for more. They are hard workers who don’t back down from the pain of exertion when running hard. They will keep working and competing. It’s who they are and there is more to come. I love this team and feel privileged to be a part of their journey.