Cross country: Multiple big days, PRs set at Mentor Cardinal Classic
The following article was posted on the News-Herald’s website.
With over 1,300 athletes crowded into Garfield Park in Mentor, it was a full house for the Mentor Cardinal Classic on Sept. 4.
The girls got things started on the day, and Mentor junior Savannah Dennison led the way for all runners. The Cardinal crossed the line with a time of 18:25, taking first place by 28 seconds over the second-place finisher.
With it being her home meet, Dennison admitted there was some extra pressure on her to run well. She did just that as she posted her fastest time in the young season by eight seconds.
“I’ve been trying to tell myself that it’s just another race,” said Savannah Dennison. “It was a home meet so I felt like I had to go out there and get the win. Knowing the field of competition that was out there, it was something very achievable and that I could go out there and be able to do.”
While Dennison crossed the line first, it was also a big day for Hawken freshman Brielle Collins, who took fifth place at 19:10. Not only did she shave a second off of her best time this season, Collins posted the fifth-fastest time in Hawken history.
“There were a lot of great competitors today,” said Collins. “This was a good course to run, and I’m really happy to have posted a good time for my team. It feels great to be there on the Hawken leaderboard. There’s a lot of great runners that came ahead of me and to be mentioned with them is amazing.”
Collins wasn’t the only Hawk to have a good day. Sophomore Nick Garcia-Whitko broke his personal record by 35 seconds as he finished fourth at 16:16. A state qualifier last season, Garcia-Whitko still knows that there is room for him to improve.
“Whenever I set a PR, it’s one of the happiest times of my life,” said Garcia-Whitko “I get a rush and it’s nice to see myself improve. I never want to underestimate or overestimate the competition. I know where I stand and know where I need to be, and know that I can compete with the best out there.”
Leading the way for The boys in the News-Herald coverage area was Chardon senior Luke Danison, who finished second at 16:09.
After the first mile, Danison was running in sixth place. Despite a slower start than he wanted, Danison knew that he had a kick in the second and third miles that could gain him positions as the race wore on.
“I knew it was going to be competitive and the start would be rough,” said Danison. “I took it out a little farther back than I would have liked, but that was all right. I just needed to keep moving my way up and that last mile I really needed to dig deep and focus with some tough competition and needed to push through.”
Both Mentor and Chardon saw both of their teams finish in the top five team scores, as Mentor saw their girls take third and the boys finished second. Chardon’s girls finished fourth and the boys placed fifth.
Mentor coach Bill Dennison was pleased with the performance of his runners, especially with the younger runners who are coming into form.
“Our girls really moved up, I think a lot of them had PRs compared to what they ran at Riverside,” said Bill Dennison. “The boys have a solid top four right now and the fifth is still developing. Today really helps build some confidence because they are still new to it. They should take something away from it and learn.”