Hi Everyone!
What a fantastic race on Saturday at Otsego! Our season typically starts a little slow with most of the racing later in the season. Well, we’re in the thick of it now! Coming up this week is our 2nd of three conference races as well as one of the biggest races we’ll see all year, the Portage Invitational.
Don’t forget to share any pictures you’ve taken with everyone in our 2024 team album found here.
Nerdsheets
In God we trust, all others must bring data.
Here are the nerdsheets for our races YTD:
Here’s also a link to where you can find the official results on our team’s athletic.net page.
You can check out the team roster to know who you’re cheering for!
Schedule
| Monday | The Michigan |
| Tuesday | Race Prep |
| Wednesday | OK Blue (Groups B & C 1′ on/offs after race) |
| Thursday | Weights | Aerobic | Strides | Prehab |
| Friday | Race Prep |
| Saturday | Portage |
Race Day – OK Black Jamboree #2
This is our second of three conference races. This race is not split into varsity or JV. Jamboree style, we race against all schools, but our records will be calculated as one-on-one. 1st place means 6 wins against the other 6 schools in the conference. 4th places would 3 losses to first through third place, but 3 wins against fifth through seventh.
Individual All-Conference points are earned by finishing in the top 25. At the end of the three conference meets, the top 12 athletes will earn ‘All-Conference’ and the top 13-18 will earn ‘Honorable Mention’. Current Scores are:
| Boys: Team 3W-3L | Girls: Team 4W-2L |
| Graeson Decker: 10th with 16pts Alex Ten Haken: 13th with 13pts Caleb DenHartigh: 18th with 8pts | Marie Gates: 4th with 22pts Sierra Grooters: 13th with 13pts Sadie Schout: 14th with 12pts Maddie Bruxvoort: 17th with 9pts Maya VanSolkema: 21st with 5pts |
| Date: | 10/2/2024 – Wednesday |
| Location: | Helder Park Directions |
| Admission | Free |
| Times: | Bus will leave right after school Boys: 4:30 PM Girls: 5:15 PM |
Race Day – Portage
Otsego is a descent sized invitational with quite a few schools. There are 24 teams in the D2 division with some stiff competition. Otsego and Portage are races that are often seen as bellwether races for Regionals or State races. Should be an exciting day!
This race is split into Varsity and JV with top 7 athletes competing in Varsity and the boys will be racing first.
You can check out the team roster to know who you’re cheering for!
| Date: | 10/5/2024 – Saturday |
| Location: | Portage West Middle School Directions |
| Admission: | Free There is an abundance of free street parking surrounding the event. Short walks of 5 to 10 minutes should be expected |
| Times: | Bus will leave at 9:30 AM. Please plan to ride the bus to the meet, but you may ride home with parents. Please plan to stay through the conclusion of all races Varsity Boys: 12:30 AM Varsity Girls: 1:30 PM JV Boys: 2:30 PM JV Girls: 3:30 PM |
Awards:
Trophies to top 3 teams in each division
Medals to top 50 in each race.
Gallant Award
The Gallant Award originated from a topic we used in devotions previously from the cartoons featured in Highlights magazine called ‘Goofus and Gallant’. Goofus is the jerk that always does the wrong thing, and Gallant is the bright and shining example of the right thing.
The Gallant award is given by their teammates. Each week the previous week’s recipient along with advice from our Captains will choose who they feel is the bright shining example of the right thing to do.
Lucas Buys
Some people just live and breathe UCXC, and when they do others certainly. Lucas Buys is one of those people. Despite an injury that’s preventing him from competing, Lucas continues to cheer for his teammates even helping with splits on race day. Thank you for the way you support your team, Lucas!
Sadie Schout
One of the qualities we hold in high regard is grit. That’s one thing Sadie has in abundance. Despite a nagging pain from a hard training session, Sadie goes out and grinds out the work. Great job, Sadie, for showing us how!
