With the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge as the backdrop, the Canton Golden Bears distance running crew set out to run their fastest times of the season…….so far! The meet today in Ogdensburg which is held at the Bridge and Port Authority is a favorite course for many who tighten the spikes. Running the short and extremely flat course late in the season generally sees some solid times and many personal bests and today was no exception.
For the girls it was Grace McDonough leading the pack in a time of 20 minutes and 7 seconds. Not too far behind was her training partner Julia Bessette in 20:59. Grace and Julia have been raising the bar in terms of not only their own performance, but for the entire Canton team this season as well. They have trained and run themselves into the top of the league with one week to go until Sectionals where their season efforts can finally pay off!
The Canton duo would finish 1st and second among all runners as Lexi Beaulieu from OFA would take third. Lydia Kennedy continues to improve and has solidified her place as an established runner crossing the line in 4th place with a time of 22:16. Emily Pandel remains on Lydia’s heals in 5th with a 22:23. Katrina Sheffield would take 8th place in the field which secured the Canton team victory over the Blue Devils. Every place matters!
In the boys race the combination of Max Finley and Nick Lyndaker would again steal the show with their battle to the top of the Canton hierarchy with another memorable race against each other. One week earlier Finley was able to nudge Lyndaker by 1 second. This week Max decided to take advantage of his strength on the flat course by running a personal best time of 15:54 to lead all runners. Lyndaker would not be far behind his friend finishing in a time of 16:15….a personal best as well. Not surprising to Coach Kris Boettcher was the third place runner today. Those who may follow Canton XC may think that it would have been Sean Shannon…..a logical choice considering his abilities on the trails. Unfortunately for the Bears Sean was taking the SAT exam today and was not able to race. Instead 8th grade phenom in the making, Daniel Creurer exploded to an18:06, taking third place among all runners! His best finish of this career thus far! Only one second behind Daniel was Brendan Nolan who raced extremely well. “Brendan is getting noticeably stronger and his times are showing it”, commented Coach Boettcher. The other Canton 8th grader Charlie Todd saw his first sub twenty minute time as well taking the 5th spot in the race with a 19:43. The Canton boys therefore took all of the first five places over the Devils and won the team contest.
One of the best photos of the season is the featured image of this article which shows Canton runners Finley and Lyndaker as they remain socially distanced while also trying to show their support and respect for each other with the double elbow bump!
The Canton Modified Team also flexed their muscle today. Their race results can be found below.
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