Cadet Classic

It was unfortunate that the weather conditions soured enough prior to the 4x800m relay, to scare the Webster teams away. Corning set a meet record, winning in 8:08, and Hilton and Thomas both ran 8:20, and with Brighton at 8:27, it would have been a lot of fun to be in the mix.

Prior to that, there were some very nice performances. For the girls, Becka opened the meet with a 9:13 in the Steeple. Anneliese had a PR in the 1500, running 5:21.

The boys efforts all started in the Steeplechase, with Kenny just missing the 11-minute barrier while holding off a Mendon opponent. Joe knocked some time off his last effort, leaping his way to 12:13, while Afro Thunder struggled a bit.

The 800m was setup as an invitational race, with the last heat limited to just the top 8 seeds. Running in the penultimate heat, Vanzo almost cracked the top 8 - his 2:02.32 was just 0.07 seconds out. Nico never found that extra gear, but finished in 2:06. Then in the last heat, AJ waited in 8th place just a little too long and the leaders broke away with just over 300m to go. But AJ finished with a solid 2:01.98 and a better idea of what it's like to race with the big boys.

In the 3200m run, Nate, along with Jared and Cole from Thomas, felt dissed, by not being accepted into the Premier heat. Running as a tight pack, they came thru the mile in 5:04, before slowing slightly. The final 400 was very quick, with Nate putting up a 70, to finish with a negative-split 10:07, Jared's closing 68 was even better, while Cole was unable to muster better than a 76. Only 8 of the 15 runners in the Premier heat managed to beat Nate.

Finally, Nico returned for the 1600m and ran a solid second event in 4:50, with Whitty following him almost the whole way to a 4:53 PR.

Special kudos to former Distance Runner, AB, who rode out the storm to stick around for the 400 IH, while everyone else was looking for the bus, and finished 2nd in 58.26.

Next up is Penfield on Wednesday. We know all about Greg Redfield, Class AA Champion in XC (and 10th at State), but what else do they have? Find out tomorrow.