Notes
IIAC Conference; ; windy day; ;
***I got out with the lead pack, but to be fair, the lead pack was HUGE. This was due to the slow pace which was due to the wind and maybe the favorites not wanting to go out on their own. Even with the welcoming pack, I laid off of it before 2miles. I believe I was with Demo and Pollux and had 8 other Luther guys in from of me. I wasn't resigned to not making Varsity yet though.
The lead moves were made around mile 3 and the front pack imploded. And I was there to pass the debris. The first noticeable casualty was Siafu. He was hobbling and maybe even stepped off the course for a second. I felt for him knew I needed to pass him. I had Retro in my sights as Luther's 7th runner at 4miles but he was holding strong. I'm not sure if I knew he wasn't much of a kicker, but I did have faith that I was close enough that I could kick by.
Not much happened for the backstretch with the wind at our backs, likely since we were all gearing up for the final 500m sprint into the harsh wind. I passed Retro and several others immediately upon hitting the wind as it brought them asunder. Little did I know that Retro would hang on and Helix would be gaining on me. All I knew was that I wasn't getting passed. I passed Teddy Clark as he was fading hard. My hamstrings had never been this spent. I didn't know what place I was in. I passed a few final Coe guys including Kyle Heineman. I crossed the line exhausted. Drew found me and saw I was our 7th man. We hugged. Maybe he told me that I was all-conference as well with a 14th place. That was just the cherry on top. We had put 7 in the top 14, 9 in the top 18. We would have won this meet if it was Luther against every other team in the conference. I earned a spot to stand on the podium individually and with my team. This was a high point.
Retro would later tell me that he was rooting for me when I passed him and cursing Helix (in his head) to not pass me. Typical Retro, he's a good guy.