Hamilton Cross Country: Section 1 Championship Meet

Hamilton 2014 XC regular season ends

7 runners qualify for State Meet in Potsdam

Class D runners up

Bowdoin Park:
It was a typical November day at Bowdoin, cold, windy and grey. It is quite likely that this might be our last time running here. Much as I dislike the long ride to get there, it is the park I associate with our championship performances. Jacey's, Robin's and Jason's individual titles and the girls team title in 2011 are memories that I will never forget, and they warmed my heart a little as I walked the course on this cloudy raw morning. The team however was focused on the present and not the past, they spent most of the morning huddled in the walled tent trying to stay warm. Girls Class D was the first race of the day, and it featured as usual, Hamilton and Haldane. No championships for us today, we are after all in a rebuilding phase, but we had some solid performances. Mikayla was the first Lady Raider to punch a ticket to Potsdam. Rachel, and Gabby followed, with each one posting their best 5K time ever. Naomi was our fourth finisher and Lily also PRd to take the last state qualifying spot. Alana and Erin finished out of the money, but that didn't stop both ladies from also recording their fastest times for 5 kilometers. You can't do better than your best and when you end the season with a PR, well that's just about a perfect finish.
It was the guys who really stole the show today. We still haven't won a plaque, but we might be getting a little closer. Steveen was our top finisher today covering the 5Kin 20:13 a PR. Aden was next across the line with a 20:39 for his fastest time ever on the Bowdoin course. Ryan, who is really developing into a fine runner PRd with a 22:02, not fast enough to qualify for states this year, but his time may come next November.

Ryan running strong

Jonathon followed, turning in his 3rd PR in as many Saturdays. He shaved his 5K time down from 29:44 at the beginning of the season to 23:11. Luciano was our number five guy today putting up a 23:58 PR. Lowell and James finished out of the scoring today, but also ran tough races on this cold November day.
What was really impressive was how much our boys team has improved since last year. At the 2013 Sectional Meet our top 5 average time was 25:36, and our spread between #1 and #5 was seven minutes and ten seconds. This year our average time finishing time was 22:01 and our spread was 3:44. That's a tremendous improvement, and it didn't come at the top. That was our #2 -5 spots getting faster and closing the gap.

Boys' team's best year ever at Bowdoin

We lose Aden and Steveen next year, but the rest of the guys are showing that they're ready to step up and lead the team. When you end the season thinking about how much better you're going to be next year, that's pretty nice.
Stay tuned for a report from the State Meet next week.