Lake County Invite @ Waukegan Sports Park

Only our seniors had experience at Waukegan Sports Park before this meet, and I know that this course can be intimidating, but our crew handled their business SO WELL today. As has been the trend, the weather was outstanding--cool, sunny, and beautiful for racing! Our Varsity crew of eight was up first, and I was impressed!. This is a tricky course to watch, so I caught our bees at the mile by the foot bridge.  Rachel was out well in the top ten looking up and assertive. I loved the body language! Arwen and Alivia were only steps behind in the 30s looking strong and ready to climb. April and Juju were working in tandem in the 50s, looking powerful together! Janelly was our next bee, pushing off the bridge and working up to a pack of Mundelein girls. Sofie was close behind, looking locked in!  And Eva was near a pack of Grayslake North girls that I recognized from last week. She looked assertive as she headed to the hill.  Let's talk about that climb: it's no joke, forcing you to be honest at the point in the race where the adrenaline has worn off and few fans offer their cheers to keep you awake. I pushed up to the top of the switchbacks to see how our bees did. Alivia and April seemed to have the most assertive climbs--they both moved up significantly and kept that energy as they started the switchbacks. I was stoked to watch EVERYONE work the downhills with authority. Not only did our crew push off the turns and work hard to pass or maintain, everyone looked connected to the race! At the bridge, I was happy to watch everyone push for the "alleged" last 800 meters (I've heard some debate about how that last stretch feels). I didn't make it back for kicks, but Tolliver shared that everyone looked great! The outcome? Rachel's even and focused race earned her All-Lake County honors. Alivia & April's mid-race focus allowed them to move up significantly in the race. By my count, Alivia caught at least eight runners, and April caught at least seven. Quick shout out to April--she was only two seconds away from her LPR (Sterling last October). To be that far ahead this year is exciting! Way to go, April! Juju had a strong race, too, later revealing that she didn't find the course to be too tough at all! Arwen felt the effects of her illness in the later half of the race, but she fought through it in a gritty second-half effort to round out our scoring 5. Janelle, Sofie, and Eva were our pushers, doing a great job of embracing the Varsity race and helping our team! We ended in 10th place out of 13 complete teams. I like competing at Lake County to see what other potential Regional rivals have. I'm not worried about the team points this early in the season--I know that adding Norah back to our mix and continuing to grow as a team will help us tremendously! This group set the tone for the evening, and I'm proud of every effort!

The rest of our crew raced with the guys in the very big Open Race. At the starting line, I was proud of our positive energy. Before the gun, I darted to the mile to catch our bees coming out of the soccer fields. Fernanda was our first bee over the bridge, looking strong but alone. I encouraged her to catch the next pack, and she zoomed ahead to make a connection to the competition. Celene was our #2 in the race, working to pass a Libertyville pack. Celene has come SO FAR since track season! Her confidence in her summer miles is definitely showing in each race. Nathaly T. was our next runner, looking like her gritty self, weaving through a big pack. Cynthia was close behind, sporting her new shoes and looking assertive! Carla was close behind, working up to her sis. Cici was only steps behind Carla, looking open and ready to attack the hill. Since doing rehab for her back during track, her form has looked SO GOOD. Yaritza was pulling on Cici's power, working up to her with POWER. Charisma came through next looking so strong in her first three-mile race! Divonalynn and Kailey were steps behind, working to keep Charisma's strength in sight.  These two were also in their 3-mile debut! 

After the mile, our Varsity squad scrambled up the hill to cheer on the switchbacks. What struck me most about our racers was how responsive they were in the switchbacks. Every time we encouraged them to take 5 hard down the hill or on a turn, our bees turned it ON! It's hard to single anyone out in this section, because to a woman, our crew was WORKING the downhills. It was so cool to watch! Fernanda and Charisma moved up considerably in the race during this section, making moves on the competition. Again, I didn't see kicks, but Tolliver promised that they finishes were fire! Shout out to Yaritza who ran a LIFETIME PR on this tricky course. After running a sweet PR the previous week at Deerfield, she dropped another 34 seconds! You all ran this course--you know how significant this drop is. Congrats, Yaritza! 

Overall, it looks like the course was about 60 seconds slower than Deerfield. The hills and the abundance of turns combine to make for slower times. What I am excited about is the fact that we simply raced hard and didn't let the clock be the goal. If we can keep that mindset all season, I will be one proud coach! Way to go, bees!