This is the toughest transition in the Cross Country year. Conditioning is fun to get back into the routine. The beginning of the season is full of adrenaline for the 1st meet and it’s almost impossible not to perform well. The end of the season is the push for the postseason. But midseason, you’re not really racing for anything. You’re just putting in the most miles and speed workouts, runners have all year and it doesn’t count towards the postseason. That’s why when you look at Jonathan Alder’s Cross Country program, most people will be surprised at what you see.

The Pioneers had two circles around the Galion Cross Country Festival on their calendars. They wanted to perform as well as they could on September 17. They docked miles from the week, made speed workouts a little bit easier, and made the week more fun. At the end of the day, the  results showed that it all payed off.

The high school boys were first to run Saturday, and after 7 hours of waiting, they finally got to race. Freshman Luke Malone was the first finisher for the boys running a 17:26. Freshman Gavin Frick followed running a 17:39. These times were both good enough for PR’s. Freshmen Zach Hicks and Michael Gray followed the two running an 18:41 and 19:07 respectively. Sophomore Jordan Herrick improved his time dramatically running a 19:41. Sophomore Jacob Koenig and Junior Cole Schrock finished running a 20:53 and a 21:46. Senior David Urban ran in the division 2/3 race and finished with a 26:01. The Jonathan Alder boys placed 15 out of 19 teams.

Senior Aziza Ayoub came into the race looking to get redemption against State Championship frontrunner, Sydnee Mangette. The first mile looked good for Ayoub who led the the race running her first mile in a 5:56 but after that fatigue set in. Ayoub followed her great first mile with a 6:22 and her final mile was a 6:23. Ayoub finished the race placing 5th running a 19:20, a Jonathan Alder school record.

Sophomore Ashlyn McDaniels finished next for the girls pacing 45th running a 21:49. McDaniels looks forward to the George Rogers Invitational. McDaniels stated this week, “I have my overall PR at George Rogers, and I seem to really perform well on the hills. I’m definitely looking forward to the hills”.
Freshman Jenna Keiffer crossed the finish line next running a 24:38. Freshman Jordan Gall followed running a 25:27. Sophomore Lauryn Saxour crossed next 26:36, dropping 3 minutes and 36 seconds on her time from last week. Rachel Berry finished next running a 27:15. The program looks ahead to the biggest test of the year, George Rogers on September 24.