The Men’s team took to the course first, armed with long spikes and confidence the men went out hard in the race the first kilometer getting themselves in good position early. Noah Laird continued to lead the Panthers throughout the course with Oliver Cabana pushing hard just behind to keep the Panthers in contention for a top 25 finish. A rough stretch in the middle that included a few falls from the Panthers dropped them outside the top 25. A strong push at the end of the race nearly saw the team climb back up but ultimately fell just short finishing in 27th place, equaling the teams performance from a year earlier.
When diving deep into the results Noah and Oliver had 2 of the best races of any athletes in the country on the men’s side compared to their individual best performances, most of the athletes they finished around have run 1-2 min faster than either had run all year, undoubtedly proving that they were in great position for a great performance under normal conditions.
The Women’s race was next and the two Panthers representing the team at Nationals Bethany Barger and Melania Turaga both had outstanding performances cementing themselves as some of the best in Neosho County History. Beth finished in 51st place which is the 3rd highest individual finisher ever for the program, she was the 9th Region 6 competitor to cross the line improving her position by an incredible 9 spots from the Regional Championships just 2 weeks prior. Mela finished in 78th place and was also an incredible 9 spots higher from her finish at the Regional championships as the 15th Region 6 runner to cross the line. In terms of comparison to their best performances on the season only one other girl in the entire race had a better performance than Beth and Mela, an incredible feat to say the least.
The team is set to toe the line and finish out the Season at the Half Marathon Championships also held in Fort Dodge, IA on Tuesday, November 11th.
