The "Junior Varsity/ Middle School" Running Raiders found a huge challenge at the Oakville Indian Mounds park (Oakville, AL) when they competed at the Chickasaw Trails Invite this morning (9/6/08).  They thought the meet last weekend in Florence was big, they had no idea that some teams (i.e. the army they call Mountain Brook) would have 35 plus on each team.  Well, they got their feet really wet at Chickasaw when they raced these gigantic teams today in the misting, cooler weather.  They also had to tack on another 200 meters than what are traditionally used to racing, 2 miles to 2.1 today.

Brooke Sherman, (7th grade) was the first for The Randolph Raiders, breaking the tape in 13:39 (13th place).   Sarah Brehmer (7th grade) was 2nd in 14:28 (22nd place).  Meghna Katta (7th grade) was 3rd in 15:45 (69th place).  Camile Shockley (7th grade) was 4th in 17:13 (139th place).  Allison Nuwayhid (7th grade) was 5th and our last scoring place, with a 17:16 (143rd place).  Catherine Pirani (7th grade) and Clare Ritter (8th grade) were our "displacers" at this meet finishing in 17:23 (152nd) and 17:52 (181st).  The girls finished 6th out of 23 scored teams.  Remember, that was 1a-6a size schools.  Great job ladies!

The boys had some help this week with some high schoolers joining them to get some race exposure at a shorter race distance.  The first to cross the finish line for Randolph was 8th grader Andrew Beckman in 69th place with a 13:20.
Second for Randolph was Eshan King (7th grade) in 13:27 (73rd place).  Sophmore, Trey Manning was the 3rd Randolph finisher in 14:01 and a 126th place finish.  Eigth grader, Lars Arney was the 4th scorer for Randolph boys in 14:10, (134th place).  Sophmore, Blake Murray was Randolph's final scorer in 14:12 and a 136th finishing place. 
Sophmores, Jack Wymer, Tyler Estopinal, and Dan Gillis finished in 15:08 and (208th), 15:09 (210th), 15:17 (223rd) respectively.  Seventh graders Gentry Patterson and Hayes Ludwig finished off the Raiders with their 15:46 (245th) and 16:34 (290th) respectively.  The boys finished 10th overall out of 25 scored teams.  Great job boys!

The young Running Raiders travel to the "Scottsboro XC Invitational" next weekend in Scottsboro, AL (9/13/08).  Good Luck! 
 

With a early season meet on the same course as the state meet, you would think that the Randolph Running Raiders would have been a bit more nervous and rattled.  Fortunately, that would prove to not be the case.  They all took to the course like veterans on a misty, cooler day in Oakville, AL.

The Lady Raiders (yet again a bit short handed) had a lot to run hard for considering they were going head to head with teams that they will be eventually facing off against in November, like that of Montgomery Academy, Winfield, and Catholic of Huntsville.  
Kristyn Wilson (freshman) and Mindy Rogers (senior) led the girls out with a strong finish, 21:42 (10th), 21:43 (11th) respectively.  They were followed by sophmore Lydia Sandy 23:58 (41st) and freshman Mary Katherine Martinson 25:16 (70th).  Senior, Katelynn Hillman completed the Lady Raiders' team score with a 30:51 (157th).  The girls placed 8th out of 16 teams in the 1a-4a race.  Not bad with only 5 girls competing.

The boys had a bit of a easier go of it, cosidering they did so well last week without sophmore Hudson Robb in the 1a-6a division at Brooks Invite.  This week they competed in the 1a-4a division with their whole arsenal.  They placed their top 6 in the top 19 places.
Junior, Keith Buell finished a bit better than last week, 17:08, 3rd overall.  Freshman Leland Collins out sprinted his sophmore teammate, Hudson Robb for the 6th & 7th places respectively, (17:47, 17:49).  
Junior Patrick Wingo finished out the team score with a 16th finishing place at 18:25.  Sophmore, Zach Haught stepped it up again to help as a "displacer" or a.k.a. a "bumper" finishing the course in 18:36 and taking the 19th spot!
The boys finished 1st out of 27 scored teams in the 1a-4a division!

Congrats to all of the Running Raiders, many personal records (either just seasonal or lifetime) were set today.  Thats great to have that early on but please remember,.....don't settle.  

The Running Raiders travel to the "Scottsboro XC Invitational" next weekend (9/13/08) in Scottsboro, Alabama.  Good Luck!