Varsity Highlights
The second SEC Jamboree each year is a little different than most other cross country meets. In Pioneer’s
case, only the Red Division competes (Pioneer, Huron, Saline, Bedford & Skyline), and each team gets to enter ten varsity
runners instead of the normal seven (although only the top five score, as usual). This gives some of the leading JV
runners a chance to compete at the varsity level. Pioneer once again dominated the meet, topping Saline by 36 points,
with 6 men in the top ten!
Junior Nathan Karr had a terrific run. He led the Pioneers with his
2nd place finish in a time of just 16:05, improving his PR by 5.3 seconds. Nathan went out strong, and stayed
near the front during the whole race, at times challenging for the lead position. This is the first time Nathan has
been our top varsity finisher – congratulations for leading your Pioneers to a powerful win.
Senior
Captain Dan Culbertson also ran near the whole race, .dropping back a bit during the third mile, then digging in his heels
to claim 3rd place in 16:14 as he held off a challenge from Saline’s first runner. Junior Adam Kern
finished in 6th place with a time of 16:25, a new PR for Adam by 0.3 seconds. Congratulations on that PR.
Adam led a parade of four Pioneers to finish out our top-five – and beyond.
Senior Captain David
Wallington had been nursing some injuries this fall, but you would never have guessed that as he led the field for the first
mile or so, and stayed near the front for the rest of the race, finishing 7th with a time of 16:29, a new PR by
2.9 seconds. Congratulations David – looks like all your physical therapy sessions are paying some big dividends.
Junior Nick Kern finished our top-five with a time of 16:36 to finish in 8th place, giving the Pioneers a 31-second
spread. Awesome job, guys!
Junior Andy Sanz-Guerrero finished in 9th place, in 16:30,
while junior Joe Frakes wasn’t too far behind, crossing the line 16th with a time of just 17:14, a new PR
by 9.4 seconds. Joe is having a fantastic season. He has already chopped 80 seconds off his best time from last
year and continues to improve.
Junior Kevin Chaperon followed in19th place with a time of just
17:21, chopping 10.6 seconds from his PR. After a bit of a slow start this fall, Kevin has recently taken off again,
and is now running 37 seconds better than his best time from last year. Lucas Arias (31st, 17:49) and Caleb
Fogel (32nd, 17:50), accumulating experience at the varsity level.
