Wasn't Homecoming a week ago? True! Koy did participate. But for him and the Chaston family, this week was more like homecoming - his sister Charleigh finally came home from the hospital, after 8 weeks of multiple surgeries from a tragic hiking accident. It was obvious that Koy's early season performances were definitely affected by this calamity. As his sister's condition improved, so did Koy's state of mind and his racing. At the All-League meet, he ran 1:32 faster than he did 5 weeks prior. He missed last year's time by only 2 seconds, and considering the condition of the course and the downpour during the first mile, it easily was a better performance. Koy has demonstrated that he is a rock that can withstand those Cat 4/5 hurricanes that life throws at us.
Olivia Dayley has been known to run with a flower in her hair just as multiple National Champion Alysia Montaņo does. It always complements the radiant smile on her race face. At Lake Sacajawea prior to the race, there were no flowers to be found. There was some mud on her new shoes which was about to send her countenance into a frown. So at the starting line it was suggested that she just run so fast that the mud falls off of her shoes. That brought her smile back which empowered her finest race ever. She captured 3rd place in the JV race in the time of 24:01, which was a full 30 seconds faster than her P.R., and the fastest Panther JV finish at League ever, just one second faster than Alexis Maniscalco last year. So Olivia exchanged flower power for smile power.