Less than two months ago, Jackson Keyser's training ran into a road block. He had an emergency appendectomy. Four weeks ago, he started training again, starting mildly and gradually ramping up. Two weeks ago, he ran his first race. He was only the 6th runner on the team that day. The next week, he edged up to our third scoring position, but was still nearly a minute behind our leader, who happened to be his younger brother. Wednesday, Jackson was back to leading the pack as he was the first Panther across the finish line. Two days later, he was the confident leader in our quality workout. Although he is not full strength, momentum is building for Jackson. As he keeps improving, we are banking on the rest of his team following in his steps.
It was a bright sunny day for our home meet at Round Lake this week. But the sun was not the only radiant object brightening things up at the lake. As usual, just prior to and during the first portions of the race, Violet Hancock's countenance gleamed with excitement. During the first half of the race, she was holding on to a solid fifth position on the Panther squad, making an impact on the score like she never had before. Eventually, discomfort in the lower portions of her legs led to a slowing of her pace. However, she still dealt out the biggest Panther P.R. of the day in spite of the pain. Rest assured, when she sees that she is this week's Runnerette of the Week, she will be radiantly smiling again - in an "Ultra-Violet" way!