Running—as a sport—will never make sense. We runners are absurdists, even if we’ve never touched a line of Camus. Running for the sake of running, as even racing is, presents such confusion to the average person that we who run are seen as crazy. This is one of the few times the average is correct. We are crazy.
After all, what else would you call waking up at 5:45am on teenagedom’s high holy day (Saturday) to wait for hours in the rain and wind just to absolutely run your body down to the point of collapse and/or vomit. Actually, I would call that something besides crazy: the best days of my life.
Last Saturday, September 16th, was one of those high holy days spent beautifully. The annual Wire2Wire Invitational took place at Dellinger Park. The 5K (3.10 mile) race featured 20 competing teams, from public powerhouses to private prepatorys. These schools raced across four events—Varsity Girls at 8am, Varsity Boys at 8:35, Junior Varsity Girls at 9:10, and Junior Varsity boys at 9:35. The range of runners competing in these events was, as always, incredibly varied. When conjuring up images of athletes we often fall back to stereotypes: giant lineman from football, preppy Yalies from lacrosse, hot–I mean, well-built—forwards from rugby. Cross-country of course brings images of ribcage-galore tall freaks. The sport has its fair share of skeletons, but the Caps trading card picture pays little testament to the somehow still pale bodies coming out of tree lines, the way calves can twitch a million ways, or all the shades of brown that hair can encompass when running.
Of course, the colosseums of Cross-Country vary just as widely as the runners in them. There is no gridiron consistency to 5Ks; The courses are as assorted as runner’s strides. The only standard harriers have are those 5 kilometers—which any cross-country athlete will tell you can hurt a hundred different ways. After all, 5 kilometers in the Himalayas is the same distance as 5 kilometers across a flowery French meadow. Not that we race in either…
So, what unique challenges did Wire2Wire present to those 20 teams last Saturday? Low branches, gnarly roots, tight turns, and a flat trail course. That last detail might sound like a relief, but when there are no hills and most everything is hardpacked gravel, there are no excuses. Without inclines there are no post-race consolations, and you’re even more likely to get passed by a sprinting track athlete in his off-season. The race began uniquely, in a parking lot, before turning sharply right within 50 meters to take the runners around Dellinger Pond. Then, shooting back up a gravel straightaway near the pavilions, they bore right towards the peewee football fields. The athletes eventually curved back, hit the one-mile mark and headed into the far side of the park’s trails and onto Dellinger’s dreaded straightaway. A grueling gravel mile ensued, before the runners passed gazebos, swinging benches and shouting crowds to hit the two-mile mark. From here, the athletes cut across the start line and into the switchback ‘Braille Trail’. This tight gravel trail cloaked the runners in dark shade and self-doubt. Here was the last time to make passes, and little room to do so. Also causing heartache was the obscurity of the finish line; Less than a mile to go and the end might as well be across town for all the runners knew. The Braille Trail turned into ‘Hurricane Alley’, dirt switchbacks that are normally closed off to visitors. Following branch dodging and hairpin turns, the harriers were returned to the pond side for the final 100 meters. Trying to avoid falling in, runners executed their kicks (sprinting out every last milligram of energy) and crossed the finish line.
This course is, by any racing standard, fast and physical, but a welcome change from past courses’ dense hills. Cartersville High School’s previous race was at Carrollton, which featured a foreboding amount of hills and slopes. Evidently, the time was right for a flat course, as CHS runners demonstrated.
In the much-anticipated Boys’ Varsity race, Cartersville top runner Malachi Vosburgh lead much of the event. With a 16:12, he took 2nd place after a close fight for first. Shortly following was junior Barrett Stepp in 5th, with a 16:43. Kaleb Lanier cleanly took 12th by four seconds with a 17:25. ‘Ham’ Mitchell and Carson Robinson closed out Cartersville’s placements in the top 20 with a 17:43 and 17:48 respectfully. Following them was Tripp Chitwood in 23rd with an 18:05, and Micah Sanders on his heels in 25th with an 18:09. The Varsity Boys claimed 1st in the team results, with a little wiggle room in points between them and Stockbridge High School.
With the Varsity Girls, Kylie Ham headed up the team with a strong 21:53 in 11th place. Cartersville’s next runner was freshman Hadley Finnemore with a 24:07 in 35th, with newcomer Margherita Minaiti just behind her in 38th with an impressive 24:15. Only 8 seconds behind this pair was Helen Leaming in 45th and in 48th was Vivi Vest with a 24:45. Closing out the top 7 Cartersville girls was team captain Meredith Gaines in 54th with a 25:20 and on her heels in 57th was Ella Sabaka with a 25:41. In the team standings, Varsity Girls took 5th place.
On the J.V. side of the race, the Cartersville Boys showed that ‘Junior Varsity’ is just a title, with multiple runners setting new personal records. Heading up the entries was Ethan Nix, who took 16th with an all-time P.R. of 19:15. Next was Ben Wilkerson in 24th with an impressive 19:39, another P.R. in fact. With a 19:44, Malachi Weir came next in 25th. Brayden Yrabedra broke the 20-minute milestone and cleaned out 20th place with a 19:52. Freshman Rhett Jacobs came in 47th with a 20:35, followed by Jake Hall in 56th with a 20:55. Closing out the top 7 JV Boys was Chase Crowder in 84th with a 22:14. Corbin McKay inched into the top 100 with a 22:56 in 99th place—notably quick for his first race. McKay appeared to have given his all and then some, as he took part in the time-honored cross-country tradition of puking at the finish line. Jacob Wilkerson came in 106th with a 23:17, followed by Cole Ginn in 110th with a 23:24. Next was Liam Alberson in 115th with a 23:50 and Grant Webster in 117th with a 24:10. Smith Weaver was the next Cartersville Boy to finish with a 15:19 at 131st. Aidan Grant in 136th and Luke Allan in 138th closed out the Canes’ entries with a 26:08 and 26:18 respectfully. Junior Varsity was able to claim a handy 4th place in the team standings.
The J.V. Girls also brought some P.R. performances to Dellinger. Leading the team’s placements was Jordan Hathaway in 6th, with a 24:42. Newcomer Kimberly Guerra finished just behind her in 8th with a 24:54. Lucy Dicara took 11th with a 25:24. Isabella Gaines took 27th with a 26:39, followed by Mary Beth Milam in 31st with a 26:51. Violet Earwood and Cameron Larkin kept close, finishing in 39th and 40th, with a 27:41 and 27:47 respectfully. Coming in close was Mary Harris Gambill in 51st with a 28:42 and Sydney Smith in 53rd with a 29:11. Finishing out the J.V. Girls was Zuri Esworthy in 66th with a 31:55. These girls’ performances brought back 3rd place in the team standings.
Across the rosters, Cartersville’s achingly hard workouts paid off. Having finished the race, we all swapped sweat with ecstatic embraces, and sent rebel yell-esque whoops across Dellinger. But, as always in Cross-Country, the celebration for our performance at Wire2Wire was soon over. Replacing cheers and trophy photos with 8-mile workouts the next day, we find in our fastest times reason to go even faster. Cartersville races again this Saturday, September 23rd, at the Wingfoot XC Classic.
