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Feltner-Chew go 1-2, heat hampers girls at Clay City
CLAY CITY — After a brief lull in temperatures over the weekend, the heat returned in time for the Clay City Invitational Tuesday afternoon.
The girls raced in the latter moments of the heat and several runners struggled to get through the event with the boys’ race delayed due to a medical incident.
South Putnam Gabe Feltner ran a composed race to win the event in 16:42 with teammate Landon Chew making it a 1-2 finish in 17:31 with five other county runners placed in the top 25, including Eagle Gunner Roach in 22nd (20:22) along with four Cloverdale runners in Evan Barnett in 19th (19:55), Jayden Armstrong-Diggs in 21st (20:16), Spencer Nees in 24th (20:27) and Mason Paauwe in 25th (20:29).
“The guys had a really good night,” South Putnam head coach Brandon Welti said. “Gabe picked up a big win and PR, and he looked really relaxed and comfortable in the process.
“It was great to see Landon battle it out for a second-place finish. He had to make up a lot of ground and then hold off a few guys the final 200 meters.
“The other guys were also running really well and were packed up nicely,” Welti added. “If we can move that pack up a little more time wise, I think they can start seeing a lot more success in the team standings.”
“It was a pretty good meet for us overall,” Cloverdale head coach Aleksey Stewart said. “This was only our third race this season, but we had a lot of PRs already and I've seen a lot of improvement in racing and staying with people, so I think the times are going to keep dropping.
“We've been battling some injuries on the boys’ side, so we had nearly our full squad today which was helpful. Our top four boys were within 30 seconds of each other, so I was really proud of how they stayed near each other and made moves throughout the race to stay with their teammates.”
Bryan Bye finished just outside the top 25 for South Putnam in 26th (20:30) with Isaac Boyce coming in at 20:36, Noach Couch in 20:49 and Paxton Church in 21:42. Cloverdale had two additional finishers in Bradyn Schabel (22:57) and Nicholas Day (26:12).
Elise Kendall led the Eagle girls, finishing seventh overall in 24:11 but was well ahead of the rest of the pack of Joslyn Bumgardner (31:45), Molly Trammell (32:08), Addalyn Brinkman (35:05) and July Owen (36:38). Clover Haley Patton finished in 42:18. Linton’s Wremee Leigh won the race in 22:06.
“It was definitely a rough one for the girls, but it was also a good learning experience,” Welti said. “We have to do better at preparing mentally as well as physically for hot days like this. A big part of it is a matter of getting comfortable with the idea and feeling of being uncomfortable.”
“(Hayley) had a rough day after a really good Saturday, but considering the heat of that first race, I was really proud of her sticking it out,” Stewart added. “We haven't had to race in the heat yet, so this was a bit of a shock to all of them, but I think we had a strong showing overall.”