Falcons set new PRs at Athens
Abbotsford traveled to Athens last Thursday for a meet featuring runners from 15 other schools, including a number of other Marawood teams. The Falcons took 10th place at the meet, scoring 246 points to place just behind Northland Pines and the hosting Athens squad.
Phillips took first place at the meet, scoring 66 points. Stratford placed second with a score of 74 points and Chequamegon claimed the third spot with 98 points. Nora Gremban of Northland Pines set the pace for the 111 athlete field, finishing first overall with a time of 17:43.9.
It was a solid day for the Abbotsford squad, as the team has started to round into late season shape. Three runners set career bests at the meet and others came close to their own personal or seasonal best times.
Azul Diaz came across the line as the Falcons top runner for the day. The junior took 12th overall, crossing the finish line mere hundredths of a second behind Assumption’s Baylee Hartjes. Her time of 21:23.1 was a second faster than her race last week in Rosholt, giving her a new personal best to shoot for.
Also setting new PRs for the Falcons in Athens were Monse Ochoa and Asia Atkinson. Ochoa finished 66th overall and third for Abbotsford, putting up a time of 25:30.6. This was nearly forty seconds faster than her time in Rosholt, which had been her previous personal best by a long shot, having cut five minutes off her old time.
Meanwhile, Atkinson had her best race of her career. As the fourth Falcons runner to cross the finish line, she ended the day with a time of 27:11.4, which was nearly a minute and a half faster than her quickest pace last season. The result earned her 82nd place overall.
Iris Cruz took second for the Falcons, recording a time of 25:03 to place 60th.
Ana Flores and Angie Chavez rounded out the squad, finishing 90th and 92nd respectively. The pair were close to their own PRs, with Flores finishing the race in 27:52.2 and Chavez coming in with her season-best time of 27:59.8 shortly after.
The Falcons will have one final meet to prepare before the Marawood conference competition. This Thursday, they are scheduled to travel to Weyauwega-Fremont for an 18-team meet featuring a number of tough squads like Bonduel and Colby. The start time for the meet is 5:45 p.m.
