Cross country improves, personal records broken

ATHOL — The Badgers cross-country team competed on Sept. 11 at the Timberlake Invitational held at the Farragut State Park.

According to head coach Tyler Warner, there were concerns about the smoke, but the rain made ideal race conditions for all participants the day before the race.

“The dust was tamped down, the conditions were cooler than the rest of the week, and this made for some really good racing conditions,” Warner said.

The race was a full 5K or 3.1-mile course on natural surfaces in the Scotts Field section of Farragut State Park.

Girls junior varsity started the first race at 9 a.m., with all in attendance taking a moment of silence to recognize the 20th anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Warner said the girls performed well. Sydney Beckle, a freshman, finished fourth overall and led the junior varsity squad to a fifth-place finish.

Junior Leah Moellmer also had a good day finishing in 13th place, with both times good for personal records.

Jaden Byars and Trina Johnson also ran PRs in that race, and Elizabeth Bourassa had a season’s best time.

In the boys junior varsity race, Ian Williams had a PR of 25:09.

“Ian has continued to improve and I wouldn't be surprised if he starts making some varsity appearances soon,” Warner said.

Camille Ussher and Ceci Roemer led the girls varsity team, and Warner commented that some of the newer girls on the team still needed time and experience.

"Still, Ussher and Roemer already have a lot of that, so I'd rather see them get pushed by good competition at a big race like this one," he added.

Roemer posted a time of 22:58, and Ussher had a personal best, improving by nearly 20 seconds to post a time of 20:07.

“It was also sort of noteworthy that Ussher's bib number was 911 on a day when she posted her first PR in 2 years,” Warner said.

Connor Alexander led the boys varsity race again, finishing in 13th place with a season-best time.

“We had to wait a long time for the next Badger to come in at 80th place, which was Levi Bonnell in his first race of the season,” Warner said.

According to Warner, other new runners continued to improve against solid competition but have room for improvement.

The boys finished third overall in comparison to other Intermountain League teams. Couer d’Alene Charter finished first, beating Timberlake narrowly.

“We've certainly been helped by the return of Levi Bonnell, but we have one more horse in the stable who will be eligible for the home meet next week. I expect he could swing things in our favor once he's ready,” Warner said.

Warner notes that every week, he sees improvement from the athletes. Again, beating personal records, but is “cautiously optimistic” about the continued success of the teams.

The Badgers Invitational is Saturday, Sept. 18, at Mendenhall Stadium. The first race starts at 9 a.m.