By: Amy Peters
Conner Lenhard represented Lake County at the State Cross Country Championships last Saturday, the only LCHS athlete to participate in post-season competition. He qualified as an individual by placing in the top 15 at the regional competition.
At the league and regional meets, Lenhard had aggressive starts that took him right into a top 2 position. In the State meet, however, there were so many boys that swarmed to the front of the race, that although Lenhard took off with similar effort, he ended up way back in the pack. Because of the crowd, it was difficult to pass people until after the first mile. Just after the one mile mark, the course heads uphill. Lenhard ran strong up the hill, but it was on the way down that he was able to use his long legs to fly past some competitors. Lenhard’s third mile was solid, and he continued to move up in position as the runners climbed the final short but steep hill into the stadium and the finish line.
Lenhard completed the course in 18 minutes 29 seconds, his second best time and only 10 seconds slower than he had run on the flatter regional course in Aspen. He placed 91st out of 160 racers.
The State Meet was a positive experience for Lenhard; he learned a lot and hopes to have teammates running with him at State next year.