Brandon began cross-country practice August 1 every afternoon for 2 hrs. with the high school Mariners team, and his first meet was before school even started this summer August 15 in Nikiski! This first race was divided into Girls and then Guys, Fresh/Soph and then Jr/Sr heats, but he warmed up on the infield with the big boys - good athletes for him to keep up with. :)
What a gorgeous day with about 8 schools represented, and Brandon did great in his 5 K (3.2 mile) race with a finishing time of 21:42 minutes.
The next meet he attended was at Skyview in Soldotna on Saturday, August 27, with 18 schools represented - a BIG DEAL!! Anchorage teams all came down and the divisions were Girls/Guys Jr. Varsity/Varsity... 7 members from each school allowed to enter. Brandon made the HHS Varsity team - 150 runners at the starting block, it looked like a marathon!
When Brandon saw the JV finishing time at 17 minutes, he freaked out and kept chanting, "I'm not going to get last!" But I challenged him to just focus on improving his own time, "Try to finish in under 20 minutes."
The coarse had some intense and long inclines, so the field spread out pretty quickly and Brandon found his pace in his new flourescent green Nike running shoes (light!)
He chased buddy Drew through the last stretch....
... and finished with a time of 19:42!! WooHoo!
Coach Styer says that's a 6 minute mile average, Brandon - "Wow!"
Way to go, Team! They traveled to Seward and Anchorage for back to back Friday and Saturday meets this weekend, September 2-3.
His time in Seward was 19:32 and his time at Colony was 18:38!??
He just keeps getting FASTER. (And there weren't as many hills, Mom! :)
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