On a cold, windy morning, while the outer bands of what was once Hurricane Ian were coming dangerously close to Columbus, Ohio, the Fairbanks Panthers cross country teams competed at Pickerington North High School at the Panther Invite, and the results were promising with many Panther athletes clocking PR’s and one even setting a new school record.
The morning got off to a quick start with the Panthers arriving about 30 minutes before the boys were scheduled to run. But, after helping set up the team camp, upperclassmen Nathan Parks and Nicholas Powell made sure that the team was warmed up and ready to run. And POW! The gun sounded and the Panthers raced from box 24 down the opening stretch of grass. Three miles later, five Panthers crossed the finish line under the 20:00m mark. Zeke Gingerich once again paced the Panthers running a 17:46 (17th) followed by J.J. Miehls (19:17/100th), Cameron Nisly (19:53/120th), Nathan Parks (19:55/122nd), and Nicholas Powell (19:57/123rd). Rounding out the Panther boys were Bryce Nisly (20:18/137th), Nicholas Johnson (20:34/146th) and Tim Staton (27:32/230th). According to Staton, who ran a PR, “I wanted to start walking, but then I heard Coach [Emily] Van Winkle yell to me that I had to run, and so run I did. I can’t believe I cut almost two full minutes off of my PR. Now I’m going to go cut a rug at the homecoming dance tonight, because while cross country is a fun sport, dancing is my true passion.”
While the boys were doing their cool down, the girls stepped to the line on what was to be a historic day for junior Rachael Hoover. The ready whistle sounded, and POW! They were off. Hoover charged to the front of the pack and followed the twists and turns of the course, eventually appearing from the forest and sprinting towards the finish line, where she would be fourth, and would set a NEW SCHOOL RECORD time of 19:38! “I felt great,” said Hoover, “and I’m so proud of myself. I’ve wanted this record for a long time now, and this was the perfect meet to do it. The cold weather really wakes up my legs, and when I heard someone call out ‘19 minutes!’ as I rounded the last turn, I knew that the record was within reach. Also finishing for the Panthers were Elizabeth Phillipo (23:57/99th), Hannah Neihaus (25:07/128th), Kayden Fields (28:30/176th), Nichole Nabbale (32:40/189th) and Riley Jones (34:27/191st).
By the time the girls got back to the tent, Coach JP had already torn it down and packed it up, and the Panthers were ready to load the bus and find a semblance of warmth once again. “I really take pride in my ability to get things done promptly,” said JP. “I wasn’t about to stand around waiting for some freshmen to try and do a man’s job, hence, I cleared the camp like a soldier.” When asked about his team’s performance, head coach Mike Van Winkle said, “Efficient. If the boys can run as a pack like they did, they can do well at conference and district. I still think some of them could cut about two more minutes off their times, so we’ll see how they react as this regular season draws to a close.” Next up for the Panthers is the Darby Dash, followed by the OHC meet the following week.
