Peter had the MOST INCREDIBLE cross-country season of his high school life so far. After a roller-coaster season last year, this was such a reward for probably the hardest working athlete I personally know. After his swim season ended in May, Peter quickly jumped right back into running and started running with his high school team during the summer. He attended BYU cross-country camp in July and had a blast learning some new techniques and tips for his upcoming season. His goal for this season started small...it was just to make the varsity team. He did that, barely, on the time trial at the beginning of the season the second week in August. He came in at number 7, earning him a spot on the varsity team for the first meet of the season. In order to keep his spot he knew that he had to run well during each meet and stay in the top 7 for the boys team. Probably one of my favorite parts of this season was watching the utter determination on Peter's face when he raced. He had such excellent focus this season that showed not only in his times but also in his face. I can't even begin to describe how exciting this season was to watch.
AUGUST 23, 2019
CHEYENNE MTN STAMPEDE
NORRIS PENROSE EVENT CENTER
5K - 19:33
The first meet was the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede at Norris Penrose Event Center. The weather was kind of crazy that day, with a 30 minute delay for the varsity race due to some lightening and thunder. By the time the varsity race started, it was drizzling only a little bit with some cloud cover. Unfortunately, the sun did come out and the humidity set in. Peter ran well during that race considering the nasty weather, coming in at number 5 for the varsity team. Sean, the number 2 runner, was out this meet due to illness. Peter was on top of the world with his place even though he wasn't all that thrilled with his time. He was hoping to have run faster. He ran that race in 19:33 which was already close to his PR from the last season. That's not too bad for the first race of the season.
CHEYENNE MTN STAMPEDE
NORRIS PENROSE EVENT CENTER
5K - 19:33
The first meet was the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede at Norris Penrose Event Center. The weather was kind of crazy that day, with a 30 minute delay for the varsity race due to some lightening and thunder. By the time the varsity race started, it was drizzling only a little bit with some cloud cover. Unfortunately, the sun did come out and the humidity set in. Peter ran well during that race considering the nasty weather, coming in at number 5 for the varsity team. Sean, the number 2 runner, was out this meet due to illness. Peter was on top of the world with his place even though he wasn't all that thrilled with his time. He was hoping to have run faster. He ran that race in 19:33 which was already close to his PR from the last season. That's not too bad for the first race of the season.
AUGUST 30, 2019
WIDEFIELD INVITATIONAL
WIDEFIELD HS
5K - 18:10.00
The second meet was the Widefield Invitational at Widefield HS. After some hard work during training, Peter was determined to finally break 19 min. That is just what he did at this race. He started out his race like he normally did, hanging with Hayden until about halfway through the race. Then after the halfway point he started to pick things up a bit. With some hills in the mix, he was able to keep pushing a little harder until the end was in sight. He was moving at speed. I was floored when I saw him round the track at the finish. His time...18:10. He was so shocked when he looked at his watch at the finish that he accidentally slowed down enough that the guy next to him beat him by a hair. It wasn't a huge deal but a lesson learned to not look at the clock but run hard right through the finish. Needless to say, Peter was extremely happy with himself at this race. He came in 6th for his team and 25th overall. The boys team also finished in first place for the meet.
WIDEFIELD INVITATIONAL
WIDEFIELD HS
5K - 18:10.00
The second meet was the Widefield Invitational at Widefield HS. After some hard work during training, Peter was determined to finally break 19 min. That is just what he did at this race. He started out his race like he normally did, hanging with Hayden until about halfway through the race. Then after the halfway point he started to pick things up a bit. With some hills in the mix, he was able to keep pushing a little harder until the end was in sight. He was moving at speed. I was floored when I saw him round the track at the finish. His time...18:10. He was so shocked when he looked at his watch at the finish that he accidentally slowed down enough that the guy next to him beat him by a hair. It wasn't a huge deal but a lesson learned to not look at the clock but run hard right through the finish. Needless to say, Peter was extremely happy with himself at this race. He came in 6th for his team and 25th overall. The boys team also finished in first place for the meet.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2019
LIBERTY BELL INVITATIONAL
HERITAGE HS
5K - 17:28.70
After last week's amazing race we were hoping that Peter would have another great race on one of the fastest courses of the season. We went out earlier that week to buy him some racing spikes but the store was all out of blanks, which he would need for this course as it was mostly pavement. Unfortunately we weren't able to find any before the race so he just wore his regular running shoes. That clearly didn't stop him from doing really well on this course. He started out similar to all his other races and kept picking up the pace the second half of the race. When I saw him come down the last 200 m stretch of the race I looked at the clock and I couldn't believe it. He was going to break 18 min. He didn't just break it by a little, he destroyed it. His time for the course was 17:28.70 which was now his all time personal best. I was so glad that everyone supported Peter at this race. The entire family came up to join him. Even Andrew was able to see him run before heading off to college.
LIBERTY BELL INVITATIONAL
HERITAGE HS
5K - 17:28.70
After last week's amazing race we were hoping that Peter would have another great race on one of the fastest courses of the season. We went out earlier that week to buy him some racing spikes but the store was all out of blanks, which he would need for this course as it was mostly pavement. Unfortunately we weren't able to find any before the race so he just wore his regular running shoes. That clearly didn't stop him from doing really well on this course. He started out similar to all his other races and kept picking up the pace the second half of the race. When I saw him come down the last 200 m stretch of the race I looked at the clock and I couldn't believe it. He was going to break 18 min. He didn't just break it by a little, he destroyed it. His time for the course was 17:28.70 which was now his all time personal best. I was so glad that everyone supported Peter at this race. The entire family came up to join him. Even Andrew was able to see him run before heading off to college.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
COUGAR CLASSIC
MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
5K - 18:25.66
The varsity boys and girls took the week before this meet and rested from racing in the Rock Canyon Invitational. It was a great break for these kids who had been training so hard. Coming into this race Peter was a little nervous since this isn't his favorite course. It's hilly and the trail is usually exposed to the sun. This race always feels pretty hot. Still, he ran a great race and wore his racing spikes for the first time. His previous time on this course was 19:10 from last year. This time he destroyed that time and came in 4th for the varsity boys and ran it in 18:25.66. Wow...what an improvement from last year. The advice his coaches gave him for next meet on this course was to push it at the top of the hill the second time around and pick off people the last flat and downhill part of the course. Great advice!
COUGAR CLASSIC
MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
5K - 18:25.66
The varsity boys and girls took the week before this meet and rested from racing in the Rock Canyon Invitational. It was a great break for these kids who had been training so hard. Coming into this race Peter was a little nervous since this isn't his favorite course. It's hilly and the trail is usually exposed to the sun. This race always feels pretty hot. Still, he ran a great race and wore his racing spikes for the first time. His previous time on this course was 19:10 from last year. This time he destroyed that time and came in 4th for the varsity boys and ran it in 18:25.66. Wow...what an improvement from last year. The advice his coaches gave him for next meet on this course was to push it at the top of the hill the second time around and pick off people the last flat and downhill part of the course. Great advice!
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
DESERT TWILIGHT
CASA GRANDE, AZ
5K - 16:46.17
The most coveted race of the season is the Desert Twilight XC Festival down in Casa Grande, AZ. Only the top 7 runners for boys and girls who had been consistent up until this point were asked to join this trip. Peter was so excited to be able to go and run in AZ at lower elevation. Mike and I left the girls with friends and flew down to support Peter in this race. Our team ran in the Sweepstakes race, which was the most competitive race of the night. They boys ran at 9:30pm which made for an extremely fun and exciting race to watch. Before the race Mike told Peter about the time he ran cross-country in high school and went out with a fast first mile of 5:10 (what he didn't tell him was that it was by pure accident...he crashed the rest of the race). I don't know what it was about what Mike said but Peter took that as a challenge, and he ran his first mile in 5:09. The course ran straight out on grass and some dirt paths and then wound back, zig zagging back to the finish like switchbacks on a mountain. This made it so much fun for the spectators who got to see them a dozen times throughout the race. Once they passed us on one straightway, we just ran across to the next straightway until eventually we were down to the last two and ran as fast as we could to see the finish. Peter looked strong the entire race and was extremely close to Josh who he normally is 20-40 sec behind. As I was watching the finish, I saw Josh and thought I had more time before Peter came in. Then in a split second I glanced across and saw Peter on the other side from where I was, only a few seconds behind Josh. I couldn't believe it. He ran such a great race and had an incredible time of 16:46.17 and was 4th on his team!!! At the beginning of the season Sean and Jackson told him that he would be able to break 17 min. Sure enough, they were right.
DESERT TWILIGHT
CASA GRANDE, AZ
5K - 16:46.17
The most coveted race of the season is the Desert Twilight XC Festival down in Casa Grande, AZ. Only the top 7 runners for boys and girls who had been consistent up until this point were asked to join this trip. Peter was so excited to be able to go and run in AZ at lower elevation. Mike and I left the girls with friends and flew down to support Peter in this race. Our team ran in the Sweepstakes race, which was the most competitive race of the night. They boys ran at 9:30pm which made for an extremely fun and exciting race to watch. Before the race Mike told Peter about the time he ran cross-country in high school and went out with a fast first mile of 5:10 (what he didn't tell him was that it was by pure accident...he crashed the rest of the race). I don't know what it was about what Mike said but Peter took that as a challenge, and he ran his first mile in 5:09. The course ran straight out on grass and some dirt paths and then wound back, zig zagging back to the finish like switchbacks on a mountain. This made it so much fun for the spectators who got to see them a dozen times throughout the race. Once they passed us on one straightway, we just ran across to the next straightway until eventually we were down to the last two and ran as fast as we could to see the finish. Peter looked strong the entire race and was extremely close to Josh who he normally is 20-40 sec behind. As I was watching the finish, I saw Josh and thought I had more time before Peter came in. Then in a split second I glanced across and saw Peter on the other side from where I was, only a few seconds behind Josh. I couldn't believe it. He ran such a great race and had an incredible time of 16:46.17 and was 4th on his team!!! At the beginning of the season Sean and Jackson told him that he would be able to break 17 min. Sure enough, they were right.
OCTOBER 9, 2019
5A METRO LEAGUE FINALS
FOUNTAIN FORT CARSON HS
5K - 18:58.03
After an amazing experience at Desert Twilight, Peter knew that coming back to elevation would be tough. The varsity kids had another week of no meet so that was nice coming off a really fast race in AZ. Unfortunately, two of the varsity boys were not doing so well. Caleb, their number one runner, was already out for the season with a stress fracture. Jackson and Taylor both had small injuries and Jackson didn't end up running in this meet. The weather was kind of nutty on race day. It was extremely warm and very humid for Colorado and the wind was pretty strong. The race was moved a day earlier due to the predicted snow storm. No one had a particularly great race during this meet. Peter said this was the hardest race of the season so far for him. He came in 3rd for his team and ran the course in 18:58.03. This definitely wasn't his best time of the season but a personal best for this course.
5A METRO LEAGUE FINALS
FOUNTAIN FORT CARSON HS
5K - 18:58.03
After an amazing experience at Desert Twilight, Peter knew that coming back to elevation would be tough. The varsity kids had another week of no meet so that was nice coming off a really fast race in AZ. Unfortunately, two of the varsity boys were not doing so well. Caleb, their number one runner, was already out for the season with a stress fracture. Jackson and Taylor both had small injuries and Jackson didn't end up running in this meet. The weather was kind of nutty on race day. It was extremely warm and very humid for Colorado and the wind was pretty strong. The race was moved a day earlier due to the predicted snow storm. No one had a particularly great race during this meet. Peter said this was the hardest race of the season so far for him. He came in 3rd for his team and ran the course in 18:58.03. This definitely wasn't his best time of the season but a personal best for this course.
OCTOBER 17, 2019
5A REGION 5 CHAMPIONSHIPS
MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
5K - 17:45.00
Today was the final meet of the season and Peter was determined to run this faster than last week and the last time he ran this course a few weeks prior. With the advice in his mind from the last time he ran this course, he was determined to end his season well. He looked good the entire race. I decided to cheer him on at different points of the race. I made it a point to be at the top of the hill so I could remind him to push it at the top just like the coach had told him. I could tell Peter was in the zone because I'm not sure he even saw me or heard me cheering him on. After the last push up the last hill I booked it to the finish. He did what he set out to do and finished his cross-country season with another great time. He ran this course in 17:45.00, beating his time a few weeks ago by almost 40 sec, placing 3rd on his team. He was extremely happy with his time and his performance but a little bummed that some of his fellow teammates didn't have great races, landing their team in 7th place overall and not making the cut to go to State this year. With all their teammates healthy and uninjured they were between 3rd and 4th for the region. Only the top 4 teams are eligible to run at the State race. At least there is always next year for Peter to make it to State.
5A REGION 5 CHAMPIONSHIPS
MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
5K - 17:45.00
Today was the final meet of the season and Peter was determined to run this faster than last week and the last time he ran this course a few weeks prior. With the advice in his mind from the last time he ran this course, he was determined to end his season well. He looked good the entire race. I decided to cheer him on at different points of the race. I made it a point to be at the top of the hill so I could remind him to push it at the top just like the coach had told him. I could tell Peter was in the zone because I'm not sure he even saw me or heard me cheering him on. After the last push up the last hill I booked it to the finish. He did what he set out to do and finished his cross-country season with another great time. He ran this course in 17:45.00, beating his time a few weeks ago by almost 40 sec, placing 3rd on his team. He was extremely happy with his time and his performance but a little bummed that some of his fellow teammates didn't have great races, landing their team in 7th place overall and not making the cut to go to State this year. With all their teammates healthy and uninjured they were between 3rd and 4th for the region. Only the top 4 teams are eligible to run at the State race. At least there is always next year for Peter to make it to State.
