Two minutes is all it takes to drive three miles in a car. Typically those two minutes pass by without a thought about the distance, but, when it comes to cross country, those three miles can be the most important three miles of one’s life.
As the Regional Meet was fast approaching, the Blue Valley Southwest cross country team had to put in a lot of miles and lots of time to prepare.
“I trained every day and did my best in practice and I have been praying about Regionals for a long time,” senior Kieran Fasenmyer said. “A few nights before the race I visualized to prepare my mind for what I wanted to accomplish.”
On Oct. 23 the Blue Valley Southwest cross country team went to Basehor-Lynwood to determine who would determine who got the opportunity to go to State the following week.
After their 30 minute warm up and drills the girls lined up at the starting line for their 4K (2.5 mile) race. The gun sounded, and they were off.
“The whole time, I was just thinking this is my last chance I can’t let it go now,” senior Gabby Burriss said. “That’s what got me through it and every time I felt like slowing down I pushed myself harder because of that.”
Burriss ended up finishing in 18th place with a time of 16:23, which was her personal record (pr) for the season. Fasenmyer came in 14th place and junior Maleigh Pagenkopf placed 8th with a time of 15:34. These three individuals qualified for State. The girls team, as a whole, was two points away from qualifying for State which is a momentous jump from the 25 points they were behind the following week at EKL.
“The girls did amazing,” Burriss said. “A lot of people were disappointed because we were so close to taking the team to state but personally I’m very proud. Last year the idea of taking the team to state was out of the question. To have improved this much in a year is phenomenal and I have no doubt that we’ll meet that goal next year.”
On the guys’ side sophomore Carson Buel placed 19th with a time of 18:17 which qualified him for State as well.
The team had a very successful day and will be continuing with their endeavors on Sat Oct. 29 at Rim Rock in Lawrence, KS.
As the Regional Meet was fast approaching, the Blue Valley Southwest cross country team had to put in a lot of miles and lots of time to prepare.
“I trained every day and did my best in practice and I have been praying about Regionals for a long time,” senior Kieran Fasenmyer said. “A few nights before the race I visualized to prepare my mind for what I wanted to accomplish.”
On Oct. 23 the Blue Valley Southwest cross country team went to Basehor-Lynwood to determine who would determine who got the opportunity to go to State the following week.
After their 30 minute warm up and drills the girls lined up at the starting line for their 4K (2.5 mile) race. The gun sounded, and they were off.
“The whole time, I was just thinking this is my last chance I can’t let it go now,” senior Gabby Burriss said. “That’s what got me through it and every time I felt like slowing down I pushed myself harder because of that.”
Burriss ended up finishing in 18th place with a time of 16:23, which was her personal record (pr) for the season. Fasenmyer came in 14th place and junior Maleigh Pagenkopf placed 8th with a time of 15:34. These three individuals qualified for State. The girls team, as a whole, was two points away from qualifying for State which is a momentous jump from the 25 points they were behind the following week at EKL.
“The girls did amazing,” Burriss said. “A lot of people were disappointed because we were so close to taking the team to state but personally I’m very proud. Last year the idea of taking the team to state was out of the question. To have improved this much in a year is phenomenal and I have no doubt that we’ll meet that goal next year.”
On the guys’ side sophomore Carson Buel placed 19th with a time of 18:17 which qualified him for State as well.
The team had a very successful day and will be continuing with their endeavors on Sat Oct. 29 at Rim Rock in Lawrence, KS.
