Salem Early Bird Invitational

Cross Country is off to a good start here in Salem. The Salem Early Bird Invitational boasted a strong turnout and four successful competitions; boys varsity, girls varsity, boys junior varsity, and girls junior varsity.

Last fall both the boys and the girl’s team won the division II Ohio State meet. The boy’s team lost their top two runners and then some. Nonetheless, they managed to field the day’s winner with a time of approximately 16:20. He looked strong, besting 2^nd place by 6-7 seconds.

The girl’s team still looks strong. Their top 4-5 runners dictated the pace of the race during the first mile. At that juncture the Shiver sisters started pulling away. Two runners from different high schools (one of which was South Range’s top runner) stuck close for another mile before they fell off the pace. Salem’s 3^rd and 4^th runners were secure in 5^th and 6^th place, maintaining a huge gap on the next girl. This was a strong early showing by the Salem girls. It should be an interesting season.

I did a casual fartlick run on the course the day after the race. While it is a flat, fast course, it does pose some interesting obstacles including a 90 degree left turn at the 200 meter mark, requiring some speed to establish a position. There is also a deep stream bed which demands some skill to successfully navigate. It annoyed these old legs. It also has a nice hairpin turn and just enough pitch and roll to make one pay attention to footing. It’s a fun course and seemed to be run efficiently by the officials.

The only oddity was the ATV that was leading the race and buzzing around the spectators. When a teenager took over and was driving it amongst the crowd I wondered who was in charge. Thankfully no accidents occurred.