Seymour Has Record Day: Jaguars Open Strong at Dave Clegg Invitational
Opening their season on a high note, the SJA cross country team tied for third place at their first meet, the Dave Clegg Invitational at North Canton Hoover High School. A number of the team’s runners also set new personal records at this meet, a difficult feat that Head Coach Fred Kieser describes as being “incredible this early in the season.”
The most notable of all of the team’s successes over the weekend, however, was the performance of sophomore runner, Sydney Seymour. Not only did Seymour come in first place overall out of the 150 runners that competed at the meet, but she was also able to set a new personal record and tie the current school record for cross country at 18:38.
The win was the push Seymour said she needed to help her keep improving.
“I was really excited about tying the school record, so hopefully my times will continue to get faster, and I can break some more records in cross country and in the following season in track,” said Seymour.
After the meet, Seymour and sophomore Caitlyn Walsh received the “Runner of the Meet” award from their teammates. Coach Kieser said the cross country team uses these nominations to recognize anyone on the team who ran exceptionally well during the meet. Runners Quinn Patton and Audrey Kunath, both of whom also set personal records at the meet, received a number of nominations from their teammates as well.
Despite being the first time they had ever run at the Hoover High School course, the varsity members of the cross country team were still able to post impressive race times. Sydney Seymour was first to finish, with the record time of 18:38.
The other members of varsity followed her in including junior Maggie Wagner who posted a time of 20:05. Sophomores Caitlyn Walsh and Claudia Becker posted times of 21:44 and 22:05 respectively while junior Alana Vovk (22:24), senior Corrine Baker (22:26) and Bridget McGuire (22:26) closed out the Jaguar varsity.
The other members of varsity followed her in including junior Maggie Wagner who posted a time of 20:05. Sophomores Caitlyn Walsh and Claudia Becker posted times of 21:44 and 22:05 respectively while junior Alana Vovk (22:24), senior Corrine Baker (22:26) and Bridget McGuire (22:26) closed out the Jaguar varsity.
When asked about the cross country team’s upcoming season, Seymour had high hopes for herself and her fellow teammates. “I’m really looking forward to this season. I am so excited to see how we do as a team. There's a lot of potential for us, and I have a good feeling about us this year,” said Seymour.
