In just his 3rd race, Aaron Dunn has made some amazing improvements. His first race was disastrous, but he finished. I greeted him at the finish line with the quote above. The next week, he ran well and beat a couple of kids at the Finn Hill 5000. But at the Concordia Puma Classic, Aaron's form and effort on the course blossomed into stylish motion, beating 10 runners in the faster JV race, and faster than 50 from the day. His time of 23:18 was a 2:18 PR, more than twice as big as any of the other guys on the team on that day. Running all three miles faster than he could run just one a short month ago, Aaron demonstrated he plans to contribute at the varsity level in years to come.
These words coming from the lips of first year runner Devyn Reuter 10 minutes after her race at the Concordia Puma Classic were a big surprise. Three weeks earlier, the coaching staff was questioning whether or not she would return next year, or even complete the season. Since then, Devyn chopped off over 3 minutes from her previous best time. . . TWICE!. . . in less than 48 hours!!! The serene look on her face after running 26:05.4 was strong evidence that she is hooked on XC and now has visions of excellence. By her actions and her words, she has established herself as a varsity contender in the future, and possibly this year.