Christian Carter was honored as Small Class Boys All Metro Cross Country First Team by the Greater Kansas City Cross Country Coaches Association. The event was held at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in the auditorium. Christian's mother and grandfather were in attendance along with Micaela and Marilyn Lynch. |
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Senior, Christian Carter, will be recognized at a banquet on Sunday, November 24, 2013 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School among other Kansas City area runners for his successes. He is one of 11 small class boys (classes 1-3) being recognized as 1st Team and another 11 will be recognized with Honorable Mentions. The girls in small classes will have 10 in each. Also recognized will be large class (class 4) boys and girls. The Greater Kansas City Cross Country Coaches Association will be honoring runners from Kansas and Missouri separately , but at the same banquet.
Athletes and their families attended the season-ending banquet at the high school commons. A slideshow of pictures from throughout the season played in the background while athletes and their families filled their plates with potluck food... and the food was very good! After dinner, the athletes were recognized for their achievements during the 2013 season and the seniors were also recognized for their Cross Country careers at the high school. A program was made available with quite a bit of historical data, but only a limited number of copies were printed. If anybody would like additional copies, they are available to download below. There are three separate downloads because page 3 had to be made in landscape format, whereas the rest was in portrait format. To download the files, click the "Download File" below for each. ![]()
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![]() After the student-athletes had a heartfelt send-off from students, staff, and administration at the high school Friday, the crew was on their way to Jefferson City. For Christian Carter and Micaela Lynch, it would be their first time to State and the last race of their high school career. For Dani Pair, it would be her first time to State, but we hope it is the first of four trips for this freshman. Three team members - Brent Shelor, Katelen Moerschel, and Autumn Summers - tagged along for the ride and to support their peers. Upon arriving to Jefferson City, we checked into our hotel, rested up for about an hour, and changed into running clothes before heading to the course. When we made it to the course, the students jogged some of the course. For me personally, I felt the urge to run the course myself. I started off before they did, though they weren't too far behind me throughout. While waiting for them at the finish line, I was notified that they had aborted their course jog to help set up the team camp. The day ended with pasta and pizza at Kate and Ally's. We ate outside because all the tables were either taken or reserved inside. It was a small restaurant and the food wasn't too bad. Then, the kids went for a relaxing swim in the hotel's heated indoor pool. Finally, it was off to bed. We would get to sleep in a little due to the noon start of the first Class 3 race for boys. Class 3 girls were scheduled for 1:05 in the afternoon. In the morning, everyone ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel. We were on our way to the course for the races. This year would be different than last year when my wife was granted her wish of having the school mascot uniform to wear in support of the team. As it turned out, she was quite the attraction for adults, teens, and young kids alike. In fact, she may have been the most photographed mascot at State. Noon was closing in. Christian began focusing on his race. The weather was perfect for bystanders, but a little warm for those racing. The high was supposed to be in the low 60's, but it made it up into the 70's and the heat was taking its toll on runners of races prior to the first Class 3 race. Christian would be starting from box 13 near the center of the starting line. It had to be the best starting box for Excelsior Springs in recent memory. The starting gun was shot and the race was on. Christian knows it is important to jump out in front quickly in order not to get boxed in. At the first mile, he was in 15th place with a time of 5:02.95. This was a very good sign early on, because his first mile for the personal record time he ran at Conference was right at 5:00 and the Capital City race on this same course earlier in the season was 5:23.4. At the second mile, Christian fell back to 19th place, but his time of 10:30.03 was on pace to beat his personal record time. Also, one of the strategies was to accelerate between the flat terrain of the first and second miles before getting to the hills of the third mile. At the third mile marker which is situated near the beginning of an uphill slope towards the finish, he was in 16th place at 16:06.42. He passed one more runner before reaching the finish line placing him at 15th of 166 runners with a time of 16:42.50, a personal record! What a way to end a high school career! Not only was he All-State for finishing within the top 25, but he did it in fashion with his best time to date. A half an hour later, Micaela and Dani were preparing for their race. Their starting box was number 13 which, coincidentally, was right next to the Smithville team's box. Former Tiger, Josie Wilkerson, now with Smithville was about to run her fourth and final State Championship race, too. Once the gun sounded, the girls were off. For Excelsior Springs, Dani was first to cross the first mile mark in 100th place at a time of 6:32.73. Micaela was not far behind. She was in 107th at 6:34.12. Now was the time to gain some speed. At the second mile, Micaela had moved up to 88th place at 13:25.60, only .6 seconds behind her season best time at Districts the previous week. Meanwhile, Dani had fallen back to 123rd place with a time of 13:59.25 and in noticeable pain. Her shins were not cooperating with her. She's has never been one to give up, though, so she continued the remainder of the race. By this time, there would be no way she could make up the time to reach her personal record. For the third mile, Micaela was in 77th at 20:47.09 and Dani was in 108th at 21:21.03. Both had moved up. Then, at the finish line, MIcaela placed 81st with her second fastest time of the season with 21:38.33. It was only 15 seconds slower than her personal record. Dani finished strong at 109th place with a time of 22:12.82. It wasn't her best race of the season, but it wasn't her slowest, either. I'm confident she'll be back. Excelsior Springs had plenty of support with teammates, family, friends, and school staff. Activities Director, Joe Greim and Volleyball Coach Terri Irons were in the vast audience to see the Tigers cross the finish line. All of them were proud of all of the Tigers running today. It was a great way to cap off a successful season. It also showed a sparkle of hope for continuing State trips in the coming years with the young team that will most likely not have any seniors next year. But that's okay. We will find a way! ![]() Nobody could ask for better running weather than what was prepared for Districts this morning. Today at Smith's Fork Park (Smithville Lake Dam), Class 2 and 3 Cross Country runners were preparing to make a run for State. The top 2 teams and any individuals in the top 15 would qualify for State in each race. The order of races would be Class 3 Girls, Class 2 Girls, Class 3 Boys, and Class 2 Boys. At 11:00 a.m., all seven Lady Tigers were ready to go. Based on season best times for girls from District 8 this year, the girls knew they would have to pick up the pace if they wanted a shot at State. Senior, Micaela Lynch, would lead the charge with the sophomores and freshmen following her to the finish line. Micaela and freshman, Dani Pair, ensured a trip to State by finishing 14th and 15th, respectively. Micaela recorded her season best time and nearly a personal record while Dani did record another personal record for the season. The girls' team finished 6th of seven teams. ![]() Class 3 boys were up after the Class 2 girls' race. All seven boys were just as ready to go as the Lady Tigers were. Based on season best times in the district, Christian Carter was ranked 3rd behind Ty Hughes of Liberty North and Nathan Straubel of Platte County. At the first mile marker Christian Carter was leading his team and in 4th place overall, but closing in on 3rd. Hughes and Straubel were out in front. At mile two, Christian was in 3rd. The rest of the Tigers were in 38th place or after. At the finish line, Christian came in under 17 minutes for the third time this season. He finished in 2nd place and qualified for State, too. Meanwhile, the rest of the team members were fighting for better spots and looking to improve their times. As a team, they finished 5th of eight teams. Overall, the Tigers had 14 runners competing. Of those, three earned medals and qualified for State, five recorded personal records, and seven recorded their best times on this course. Unfortunately, the season ended for 11 of the Tiger runners, but they'll cheer on their teammates as Christian, Micaela, and Dani advance to State next week. |
AuthorAs the Head Coach of the Excelsior Springs High School Cross Country boys and girls teams, I take pride in watching the athletes improve during a season and from one season to the next. It's rewarding to see them accomplish so much. My goal is to have both teams qualify for and advance to state during the same season. Archives
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