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Run The Plank Champions!

September 11, 2018

Hello HXC Community,

Sorry for the delay of this week’s email, but I was waiting to get the “Run the Plank” results before I put it out. What a day Saturday was! We’ve won “Run the Plank” the last two years, but each year is a new challenge as we graduate a class and welcome a new one. Each grade and gender stepped up, and when the results were called, we had won our third straight “Run the Plank” championship!

First up were our 6th graders. Getting their first taste of a Saturday invite, the 6th graders came out and showed that the future of HXC running is in good hands! The girls claimed 1st place and were led by Jackie 2nd place (12:37), Baylee 5th place (13:31), Natalie 6th place (13:34), Kaylynn 7th place (14:00), Avery 12th place (14:30), Daniela 14th place (14:32), Anahi 16th place (14:35), Isabella 17th place (14:42), Sara 19th place (14:53), Claire 20th place (15:01), Abby 23rd place (15:14), and Lillian 29th place (16:13). The boys overwhelmed the field in finishing 1st place overall. Boys were led by Dominick 1st place (11:37), David 3rd place (12:41), Nicky 6th place (13:10), Aden 9th place (13:56), Kyden 15th place (14:57), and Jorge 33rd place (18:32).

Next up were our 7th graders. Our 7th grade girls might be our most improved group from last year. A year ago, they finished 3rd in this meet, but with greatly improved runners and an influx of new talent, the girls improved on last year’s finish to win the 7th grade girls division! Girls were led by Olivia 1st place (11:18), Isabella 3rd place (12:42), Kendall 5th place (13:000, Sara 15th place (14:32), and Gianna 18th place (14:57). The boys also performed well while placing 2nd to a very talented Plank team. In one of the best races of the day, Twin 2 (Devon) 1st place (11:19) edged out Twin 1 (Ayden) 2nd place (11:20) to get his first win of the season! Following our 1-2 punch was Emilio 16th place (13:42), Kyle 22nd place (14:14), Matt 26th place (14:38), Nolan 37th place (15:31), Eric 45th place (16:48), and Gabriel 42nd place (18:42).

Last up were our 8th graders! Our captains did an outstanding job in helping get our younger runners get prepared for their races and now it was their time to shine! Our 8th grade girls have been a talented group since they were in 6th grade, but they’ve been behind two very talented classes the last few years. Since we began this summer, I could see that the girls were hungry to show what they were capable of, and they came out and made a statement! The girls had 3 in the top 5 and cruised to a victory. They were led by Tori 2nd place (12:08), Kenzy 3rd place (12:33), Lizzie 6th place (12:40), Grace 10th place (13:16), Amanda 11th place (13:17), and Salma 22nd place (15:27). The 8th grade boys only have 6 runners, so we have absolutely no margin of error in that division. They came out and competed well with PR’s down line to finish 2nd place to Plank. Boys were led by Aryan 3rd place (11:37), Lucas 12th place (12:06), Quinn 14th place (12:15), Tommy 20th place (13:11), Colton 25th place (13:46), Andrew 27th place (13:56), and Jacob 40th place (15:56).

Overall, it was a great day! Every athlete contributed, and every athlete should be proud of how they competed! It was awesome to see so many teammates stick around to the very end and cheer on their teammates who earned awards! Elite teammates are “Always we and never me” and watching the majority of the team collect the overall team trophy at the end was very rewarding! This upcoming week is Troy week! With 64 teams and almost 3,000 runners competing Troy is one of largest XC meets in the nation! Most of the top teams throughout the state will be there, and each division is loaded with great runners. It’s one of the more unique experiences of the season. All athletes will need to be at Herget at 7:00 as we will leave ASAP to go and get set up. Also, Friday’s them will be “Halloween in September.” Athletes are encouraged to wear a costume that they can run two easy miles in. Halloween in September is always one of the season’s highlights! Finally, please mark your calendar that on September 20^th, we will be have our fundraiser at Potbelly Sandwiches located at 1720 N. Orchard Rd. Aurora, Il 60506. Potbelly will be donating 25% of all proceeds between 5:00-8:00 to our cross country team if you show the flyer while ordering. I have flyers attached to our Troy info sheet, and we will also be putting them electronically on Facebook (Herget Athletics) and Twitter (RUNHXC). A no cook Thursday and helping the team is a real win win! Please help spread the word to friends, family, neighbors, etc.!! Thanks again to all the parents for the continued support! It was great to see all those cameras out as we hoisted the trophy on Saturday!! #runhxc #beelite