After Saturday’s Tryon Western NC XC Showcase at Tryon International Equestrian Center, Polk County coach Alan Peoples’ words didn’t quite seem to match his attitude.
“We were probably last out of all the teams who had a full team compete,” Peoples said with a wide grin. “We had our best day of the season.”
He was right, on both counts. The seeming doom-and-gloom of the team finishes doesn’t take into account the fact that several schools didn’t field complete teams of runners. It also doesn’t consider the very good field on hand at TIEC. And the best day of the season part? That’s because the Wolverines staged an all-out assault on their own personal records, with 10 of those PRs falling on Saturday morning.
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Liam Jackson was the most notable of those, trimming 18 seconds off his personal best for a time of 17:20 and a top-10 finish, taking 9th for Polk County.
“I think I ran well,” Jackson said. “I think I maybe could have even shaved a little more time off. The grass is thick out here, but I think I raced well.”
Jackson said he’s glad to be improving as the season reaches the halfway point.
“For where I am right now, this is the trajectory I want to be on,” he said. “I’m just trying to bring my time down consistently each week.”
Liam Finch finished 56th for Polk County, Dean Holland was 64th, Caleb Young finished 72nd, Silas Amorelli was 81st, Logan Baird finished 84th and Grayson Rowe was 91st for the Wolverines. Amorelli, Baird, and Finch joined Jackson in breaking their previous personal bests on Saturday.
The girls continued knocking down PRs for Polk County. Sophia Junge was the top finisher, placing 30th and beating her previous top time by 56 seconds. She still wasn’t satisfied.
“I think I can be a little faster,” she said. “I think I can be a little better.”
Sadie Schweitzer finished 60th for Polk County, Khloe Kitchen was 63rd, Ethne Broyles was 72nd, LilliAnna Rhymer finished 78th and Kendra Kitchen was 86th for the Wolverines. Schweitzer, Broyles, Rhymer, and Kendra Kitchen all set new personal bests.
Austin Martin was the top Polk County finisher in the JV boys race, coming in with a 21st place finish in a time of 21:25, besting his previous personal record by almost a minute.
