Jonathan Boyd, left, and Kathryn Vradenburgh, right, of the Chattanooga Patriots were the winners for the second week in a row as the Chattanooga-Area Cross-Country League held its weekly meet at Baylor School Tuesday afternoon. Boyd's winning time, a personal best, was 16:24.94, while Vradenburgh crossed in 20:07.96.
photo by Dennis Norwood
There’s a lesson to be learned for those young folks who choose cross country as their sport in the fall: It’s impossible to win a race in the first mile, but you can surely lose one in that same space.
As anyone with much running experience can verify, the fastest person doesn’t always win. Running smart and using a tactical approach with planned pacing often produces positive results, especially under adverse conditions.
Such was the case at Baylor late Tuesday afternoon as Kathryn Vradenburgh and Jonathan Boyd can testify.
Both were overall winners in their respective races and both waited until the critical third mile to make their move to the front.
Vradenburgh was the winner among the girls as she covered the looping 3.1-mile course in 20 minutes, 7.96 seconds while Boyd made his patience count as he won the boys race in 16 minutes, 24.94 seconds.
As has been the case all fall, it was hot and humid and quite dusty on Baylor’s lower fields where Tuesday’s competition was held. But the winners both ran smart races and have first-place finishes as a reward for their hard work.
Baylor sophomore Addison Smith, a talented young lady who is just coming back from an injury, had the lead for the first half of the race. The proverbial big black bear jumped on her back in the second half and she was forced to slow down a bit as she finished fifth in 20:43.
Cumberland County junior Sydney Tabor was the runner-up as she finished 25 seconds behind Vradenburgh while Baylor senior Alison Anderson was third in 20:33.
Boyd-Buchanan’s Jada Hale was fourth as she finished a step ahead of Smith with a time of 20:42.
It was almost an instant replay in the boys race as Cumberland County senior Ben Tabor and Dalton junior Adan Rodriguez ran side-by-side for most of the race as Boyd was content to sit back and let his competition do most of the work.
Tabor dropped back a bit at the start of the third mile as Rodriguez moved to the front, but that lead didn’t last long as Boyd took charge and passed Rodriguez.
Boyd was first while Rodriguez claimed second some eight seconds later. Coahulla Creek senior Walt Douglas was third in 16:54 with Tabor taking fourth in 17:04. Chase Faudi, Boyd’s teammate and number-one training partner, was fifth in 17:06.
“It was a pretty good run for me overall, but I finished first and that was the main thing,” said Vradenburgh shortly after finishing while sipping on a cup of water in the shade.
“I really liked the shade on the course and this one had a couple of pretty good hills, but nothing major. I always seem to start out slower because I want to save my best running for the end,” she added.
Sydney Tabor hasn’t had the kind of season so far she had planned as she hasn’t come close to last year’s personal record of 19 minutes flat. No doubt the weather conditions have been a factor, but she refuses to use that as an excuse.
“I think I was in fifth or sixth place for most of the race, but I kicked it in during the third loop,” the 16-year-old junior said in a quiet tone.
“I work really hard in training and do the very best I can on race day, but I haven’t come close to last year’s best time yet. I’m not going to use the heat as an excuse, but I really didn’t expect to do as well today as I did. I don’t know where the girl who was ahead of me was and I didn’t find out until the end that she was the winner,” she added.
Baylor’s Anderson didn’t win, but she stuck with her race plan and still had a pretty good day considering the circumstances.
“My legs felt pretty good, but I’m a little tired right now,” she said while cooling off.
“My goal today was to work hard during the second mile as I tried to pick up my pace while maintaining good form. I was able to do that as I was just hoping to finish in the top five. I got passed right at the end, but I did the best I could do for today,” she concluded with a smile.
Boyd never gave a second thought to winning Tuesday’s race as the leaders had a nice advantage for most of the way, but he was in the right place at the right time to take advantage when their pace slowed a bit.
“I just tried to run hard and to stay within striking distance,” he explained his race strategy.
“Those guys were running pretty hard and they still had a 6-7 second lead at the midway point. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to catch them, but I took the lead just past the second mile mark. I’m really surprised I was able to hang on because that was a hard race.
“I got a PR by three seconds, but I’m shocked really that I was able to win,” he added.
Rodriguez posted a personal record of 16:03 at the Wingfoot Invitational in Cartersville on Saturday. His legs were still feeling the fatigue three days later.
“I think I’m still tired from Saturday’s race. Ben and I ran together for most of the race, but I took the lead at the start of the third mile. It didn’t last long as Jonathan came out of nowhere to lead, but I’m still satisfied with my time today,” he nodded.
With Rodriguez taking second and teammates Lance Sotelo and Salvador Castillo finishing seventh and ninth respectively, Dalton was the team winner with 58 points.
Michael Van Winkle was sixth in 17:10 to lead his Stone Memorial teammates to a runner-up finish with 85 while Baylor was third with 101.
With Anderson, Smith and Emrick Garrett all finishing in the top 10, the Baylor girls were first with 38 points. Heritage was second with 115 while Coahulla Creek took third with 125.
Next week’s league race will again be at Baylor on Tuesday with the JV runners taking off at 5 p.m. followed by the varsity girls at 5:40 and the varsity boys at 6:20.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)