Cross Country is a sport that teaches life lessons, how to push yourself to the limit, reliance on teamwork for success, and how to overcome the hurdles that fate throws at you. Albemarle's Saturday victory in the Colonial Division of the FUMA Invitational reflects that these young men have learned and can apply all that Coach Male has taught.
The day was not conducive to stellar times. Hotter than expected, and recent rains made for a sloppy track in the wooded portion of the course. In keeping with the focus to peak in November, Buz had the boys running back to back workouts Wednesday and Thursday practices, almost ensuring fatigue on raceday. The boys were told to wear their trainers instead of spikes for this competition. The lead pack was even instructed to hold back for the first two miles of the course. Chris Springer, the #3 finisher at the Cup, was taking the ACTs for college, and missed the meet.
Adam placed 7th overall, Ryan 14th, Ben 25th, Aaron 44th and Keith 46th, for a team total of 136. Second place, Douglas Freeman, had 140, and defending Champion Trinity, was third with 141 points. The slim margin between first and third is remarkable in such a large field of competitors. In fact, the average time for Albemarle was slower than the other two top teams, but XC is decided on points, not on time. It was a collabrative effort that brought victory for Albemarle, but the efforts of one stood out to his teammates. Keith, the last scorer, passed six or seven runners in the final meters to the finish, enabling at least a ten point swing in our favor. His teammate remarked, "We all ran hard, but Keith gave us the victory". It is all about life lessons - overcome the hurdles, work together as a team, and push yourself to the limit.
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