Eagles, Cougars use Danville Hokum Karem as a training tool

Tuesday, September 3, 2013
North Putnam sophomore Trae Straziscar (left) tags off to his relay partner, senior Chase Salyers, during the Danville Hokum Karem on Saturday, a non-traditional cross country meet. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

DANVILLE -- Like the other local teams, the South Putnam and North Putnam coed cross country teams are building their training so the athletes can put out peak performances when the postseason races arrive.

While there are several standard meets along the way, the monotony of the season was broken up Saturday when the Eagles and Cougars combined competition with training at the Danville Hokum Karem.

Unlike a traditional cross country meet, the runners at the Hokum Karem competed in a relay-style race where pairs of runners alternated in one-mile intervals.

Ariel Higgins and Madison Egold

At most meets runners compete as individuals around a five-kilometer course.

"It's just a fun way to have a competitive workout and get a general idea about the competition," SPHS coach Brandon Welti said. "We look at this as a long interval workout while getting an idea of race pace."

The Eagles ran three pairs in girls' races and the Cougars had one. The duo of juniors Madison Egold and Ariel Higgins led the Eagles and finished 12th overall in a time of 41:30.

Junior Jessica Jones and sophomore Julianna Delano finished the six-mile event at 44:15 and juniors Michaela Scales and Hannah Jones finished at 46:46.

North Putnam senior Alexandria Land and junior Claire Dean finished the race at 49:18.

"It was good to be against a lot of bigger schools," NPHS coach Kevin Lutes said. "This was really good (training). We usually do mile repeats (at practice)."

In the boys' race the Eagles had four teams and North Putnam had one.

Juniors Jake Schroer and Berndt Freeman finished their relay at 35:02, followed by a pack of Eagles teams. Freshman Kieffer Vittetow and junior Noah Taylor came in at 36:36, senior Tyler Nield and freshman Logan Vandermark at 36:38 and juniors Tyler Vandermark and Cody Evans at 36:56.

With the athletes unsure of how to pace themselves for such a different race, and their coach unsure how to group them, it was just a coincidence that the Eagles all finished so close together.

North Putnam was represented in the race by a pairing of senior Chase Salyers and sophomore Trae Straziscar, which finished the race at 41:14.

Both teams will compete on Tuesday at the North Putnam Invitational, another non-traditional meet. The boys' and girls' teams will compete together, making it a true coed event.

The North Putnam Invitational begins at 4:30 p.m.

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