It’s conference time and the Panthers are ready to pounce. Coming off an historic regular season that saw a school record fall and a trip to Michigan, Fairbanks Cross Country is ready to vie for some conference titles. Head Coach Mike Van Winkle says, “We’ve done a lot this year and now it’s time to hit pay dirt. This is a big meet for us, and we hope to be at full strength.”
According to Panther athlete Kayden Fields, that may not be the case. “I thought I had shin splints, but doctors are now telling me that it’s a fracture. I’m not sure I’ll be running on Saturday, but miracles have happened before . . . like the time I lost my kitten and found her inside of an un-carved pumpkin. ”
Either way, the Panthers are looking to make a lasting impression on the conference. Coach Van Winkle: “We’ve seen a lot of these teams, so we feel comfortable about knowing our opponents. I’ve sat up nights, plotting out our strategy and I think I’ve come up with a plan. I can’t tell you right now, because the right pieces need to fall into place by Saturday morning, but I’m confident that if it all goes well, we’ll be coming home with some hardware.”
These plans are vague, but Van Winkle has never been one to show his hand before the flop. According to Coach Powell, “He’s like a master poker player. I have no doubt that the whole time he was running his 100 mile race, he was coming up with some nefarious devices that will help our runners do their best. Sometimes it’s an incantation to a Cow God, sometimes it’s a ritual that goes much further and involves the blood of a young goat. I’m not sure what Van Winkle’s got going on, but it’ll be sure to rock the Ohio Heritage Conference to its core. In his powerful hallucinations is truth.”
Junior Nicholas Powell is not surprised. “Van Winkle sometimes gets this look on his face, and his eyes go white as they roll back into his head. He begins muttering in a strange and unintelligible tongue, it may be ancient Aramaic, but usually when he does this and the stars are aligned in the heavens, and Pluto is in opposition with the retrograde orbit of Saturn, things go right for us Panthers.”
The bus for the meet will leave Fairbanks at 6:45, just as Venus is cresting the horizon in synchronicity with the moon. Come out and support your Panthers!
2022 OHC Results
http://live.finishtiming.com/meets/468600/events
2021 OHC Results
http://live.finishtiming.com/meets/440020/events
Bus Time:
6:45am Depart from FHS Lobby
Meet Information:
