The JV boys of Excelsior Springs opened a few eyes by finishing four of them in the top six. They were Daulton (1st), Ben (2nd), Brent (5th), and Seth (6th), with Alex completing the team at 17th. They took first place as a team and were awarded a plaque.
Once again, Micaela was the only girl running on Varsity. She finished 20th. There were three Varsity boys competing. All three finished in the top 20. Austin placed 9th overall, Christian 14th, and Jacob 16th after moving up from 25th after about the first half mile.
The best part of this meet, other than Chillicothe being "Home of Sliced Bread," was that everyone medaled in their race except for one. The host coach of the meet gave each school's coach one extra medal to do with as they please. He said it may take some time to figure out who deserves it or that it may be determined right away. For me, it was a no-brainer. I gave it to the one JV boy who didn't win a medal. Without Alex, there wouldn't have been a plaque awarded to the team.
Finally, Chillicothe also recognizes the top 5 Freshman boys and girls after compiling the results of the Varsity and JV races together. Daulton and Ben were the top two Freshmen boys, so each actually received two medals - 1st and 2nd for the JV Boys race and 1st and 2nd for being the top Freshmen boys. Nice going guys!
Altogether, this meet pleased the athletes for a couple reasons. One, it was a full 5k for all runners. Two, everyone had a better chance of being rewarded for their successes. In the past, we would have gone to UCM's Mule Run. That meet is a much bigger race with many more teams. Chances of success are diminished. This early in the season, I feel it is important to build their self-confidence to give them a boost for the rest of the season. They did well.
For a complete listing of individual and team results, visit the Chillicothe Invitational meet page.