East Peoria meet, wind, mud and all

What a weird introduction!
Yesterday, the Potters got a chance to set records. They set records for how many different stalks of corn they could run around in approximately 16-30 minutes. By my count, the record was set by Adam Geier, who successfully circumnavigated 1,342,759 stalks of corn. And his record was also tied by every other Potter on the team! They're all winners!

This was a chance to preview the Sectional course, and despite East Peoria High School's attempt to hide their course under a blanket of unharvested corn, corn that will probably be gone come Sectional time, the Potters were still able to discern the white lines, flags, and little signs to find their way. And there is also a rumor that some of them got splashed with mud puddles. And that certain East Peoria runners were tap dancing in the puddles in an attempt to contaminate the Potter team.

And now, after two of the most random, absurd paragraphs in the history of mankind, I will summarize these races.

The Girls Race
The girls knew going in that this race was going to be a tough one, as the East Peoria girls team is one of the top AA teams in the state. Nevertheless the Potters raced tough and showed well. On a windy day, after leading the first half mile, Ashley Pribble held onto a second place finish to Jane Who-Done-It of East Peoria. She was followed by a large pack of East Peoria runners chased closely by Grace Jankowski. Macaela Bennett ran 3rd for the Lady Potters, with Hannah Behle and Caitlin Pribble scoring 4th and 5th. The varsity squad was closed out by Nicole Lockwood and Ashley Coon.

I believe most (or all) of the top 7 was clear of 23 minutes. The ladies are rounding into shape as a team, as they are bringing their average down and closing that gap from their 2nd runner to their 5th and 7th. It will be great to see these ladies at their best in the Mid-Illini, Regional, and hopefully Sectional meets. Some Potters who shall remain unnamed, but whose names rhyme with Schmicaela Fennett, ran with their spikes untied.

The Boys Race
The boys were driving on three wheels yesterday as they were without regular #2 man Nick Piper and #7/8 guy Alex Stowers. Both athletes have minor injuries, and I believe are taking the necessary rest, and are expecting to be back in racing form shortly. Nevertheless, the remaining Potters stepped up, and showed East Peoria that even a Potter team running at about 74.325% can take one of the best teams in the area all the way to the line.

The race started as a conservative affair for the first mile or so, and then up front it turned into a battle of Joe Zeller vs. Hugh Gill and Kevin Eades. This was followed by Dale Domnick matching EPs third runner (Gonzales?) and Austin Bradford running with their 4th (Cortez?), followed closely by Nathan Smith. After this was EPs 5th and 6th runners, running near Dan Getz, and followed by Andrew Young.

The battle up front dwindled to Zeller vs. Eades, with Zeller running a smart race, and finishing a close second. Dale Domnick, meanwhile, in a worthy effort to make up for his injured teammates, handily dispatched his opponent and even caught and passed Gill in the final half mile to place 3rd. East Peoria took the next three spots, followed closely by Dan Getz, who closed strongly. Dan is showing a consistent ability to close well, and that his recent appearances in the Potter top 5 were not flukes.

Dan made a valiant effort effort to catch EPs 4th man, but alas the gap was simply too large. He was followed closely to the chute by not just one, but two Potters in Nathan Smith and Austin Bradford. Next around the turn onto the road were EPs 5th and 6th runners, with a determined Andrew Young 20 meters back. Those of us observing knew that if Andrew could beat those two athletes, the team contest would be close, within a few points. Andrew delivered, eating his opponents up down the gravel road, passing them as they made the last sweeping turn, and then putting even more distance on them as he closed the finishing straight. Nick Steffen came in as the 7th Potter.

Andrews efforts put the Potters close, as they only lost 27-29 by my math. All it would have taken would be for one Potter to have caught one more Raider, and the score would have been 28-28, which the Potters would have won on the 6th man. While this may be very frustrating, it's a good sign to be that close when you're missing your #2 man. With Pipes in the mix, they would have won handily. Once again, maybe frustrating, but it's a good sign for the Sectional. Both teams will improve by the Sectional, but Morton stands to improve more from this race. This was our first true look at one of the key competitors in the sectional and it was a good one. We now know that Morton can take them. It won't be easy, they can't get complacent about it. But they can do it.

Awards
It's time for some awards, which we haven't been doing enough of lately. If you're new to the blog, or need a refresher, see this to get a summary of what the awards are all about.

The Rocky Award - Dale Domnick. Dale did a great job of stepping up yesterday, and closing down on Hugh Gill and beating him was an unexpected bonus for the Potters and a decisive move in keeping the race as close it was. I haven't seen the splits, but I would not be at all surprised if he had the fastest 3rd mile of any athlete in the race.

Jack-o-Lantern Award - Macaela Bennett. This wasn't so much a facial expression, as the definition of the award states, but more of an excited exclamation that is true to the spirit of the award. As she ran past Coach Zehr and I a little past the half mile mark, she was just kind of staring in our direction and I was bewildered as to why, until she just blurted out that her shoe was untied. Something about the way that transpired was rather humorous and award-worthy.

Metronome - Dan Getz. I haven't seen splits yet, but I have a feeling Dan's seemingly fantastic close was the result of yet another well paced Getz race. I used to feel good about teaching Dave to pace races better than I ever did....now I know that it's just how the Getzii roll, and I did nothing special.

Punisher/Photo Finish - Andrew Young. Andrew has raced with determination in all of the past few races, and yesterday he delivered in the final stretch in a way that deserves both awards. His battle to defeat the two Raiders was easily the most exciting finish of the race, and was necessary in keeping the team race as close as it was.

Morale Rooster - Lydia Nace. This award is actually given retroactively for her excitement on Saturday at the Peoria Central Invitational. Sadly, in our excitement to video blog, Dave and I completely forgot any awards. Saturday, Lydia was probably more excited than I've ever seen anyone at a cross country race, shouting things along the lines of, 'is this not the best day ever?!?!' You have no idea the excitement that preceded this picture. Though you can't see Lydia's face in it, I think Andrew and Dales' faces give pretty decent evidence of her enthusiasm.

Next Up
Next up, the Potters go camping someplace in Indiana, Dave listens to classical music, Nathan writes something about eagles at midnight, and I punish myself for 26 miles before consuming loads of Chicago pizza. After that, upon the Potters return, the Mid-Illini meet is next Friday evening at Detweiller Park.