With two meets in the books, the CHS girls’ and boys’ cross country teams are already showing signs of a strong season. At their most recent meet this past Wednesday, Concord hosted 11 schools. By the end of the night, the girls secured a second-place finish, and the boys claimed fourth.
For the girls, Haley Stimer was the first Concord runner to come through the finish line, placing eighth with a time of 22:57. Following closely behind her were freshmen Audrey Pyle in 10th and Cece Barrett in 13th. Audrey Rinehart completed the pack in 14th place. Freshman Olivia Chadwell was another standout freshman, who ran 24:17 to finish 18th in her first high school race. Teammates Mya Barrett (19th) and Braelynn Thorrez (22nd) followed her. Thorrez had the largest improvement of the team, dropping her personal best by more than three minutes. Hannah Ryan was the team’s final runner, crossing the line in 38th. With seven medalists, the girls earned second place.
Audrey Pyle made her debut this season on the high school team, seeming to be a large asset. She explains that she has spent all summer training: “I went to summer running club when I could and trained on my own to build endurance for moving from two- to three-mile races.” This hard work has paid off in her last two meets, despite pushback during the races. Pyle shares that her knee has been bothering her, but she has worked to have a positive mindset. This helped her push through the pain to be a top runner. At her next meet, her goals are to place in the top 10 and get an all-time PR.
Another freshman, Braelynn Thorrez, also had an incredible race. Dropping any amount of time off of a PR as a runner is difficult, so this much of a drop is astounding. Thorrez shares that her mindset was a big part of what helped her do this. She had a much more positive mindset, which helped her stay focused on achieving this goal. She explains what she did to push herself: “I stayed focused on my goals to medal and PR instead of concentrating on the pain.” Moving forward, her goals include being one of the top seven runners on the team, which will allow her to contribute to the team and qualify for the state meet.
Despite missing a few key runners, the boys still managed to finish strong in fourth place. Paul Herendeen led Concord in 8th, with Maddox Hutchinson just seconds behind him, placing 10th. Keaton Smith earned the team’s final medal in 25th place. Jase Herendeen, Finn Hutchinson, and Brandon Watkins all finished with immense improvement to their previous scores. Zane Jason cut his PR from 22:45 to 22:32 to place 42nd. Finishing his first-ever 5K was freshman James Jordan, with a promising time.
A week earlier, the team ran at Pittsford: the girls dominated with six runners in the top eight, placing first through fifth. The boys ran well, also taking second overall. This performance, paired with Wednesday’s results, is looking towards a strong season ahead for both groups of runners.
Coach Charlene Pyle is thrilled with the results from these races. She is certain that if they keep their performance consistent, they can win big, saying, “My goals would be for them to win their conference and place well enough at regionals to make it to the state meet. These are big goals, and I have every reason to believe that they can achieve these goals, but each one of them has to want it enough to make it happen.” Other than their performances, she is proud of how they are working together as a team. Coach Pyle explains that the girls stayed together while running the race, encouraging each other along the way. This is crucial in pushing each other to be better and improving times. Overall, she is truly enjoying coaching the athletes and looks forward to seeing them grow throughout the rest of the season.
Next up is the Springport Invitational today, with similar competition to their previous meet. They are expecting to place even better in this meet, with the addition of a few missing runners. Later this month, they will race in their first jamboree, with both teams simulated to place second.
Maddox Hutchinson is one of the senior team captains this year. He is thrilled for the season with high hopes for how they will do. So far, he shares that he is proud of how they are doing: “We went down nine minutes as a team from the first meet to our second, which is really impressive.” He feels that encouragement from each other is a large part of their success. Hutchinson says they talk about expectations before the race, and they push each other throughout while running in a pack. Overall, he is excited to finish his last season out strong.
If the early results are any indication, Concord cross country is in for a successful season. With a mix of new faces and experienced leaders, the team is looking to make a mark. Come support them as they push for success in the next few weeks!
