Orlando in December should be warm and dry. However, two days of steady rain left the Cross Country Courses at Disneys Wide World of Sports wet and muddy. Not to mention temperatures were well below normal as race day started around 45 degrees. DCAC has one thing to say about the conditions. PERFECT. After running an entire fall campaign in similar conditions in KY, the situation in FL felt just like home. In fact the place became home as DCAC took its first ever AAU XC Meet National Championship.

This Year the AAU added an OVERALL CHAMPION to its list of awards. The Trophy would go to the Club with the best overall performance. Derby City Athletic Club and its runners were thrilled to win this first ever in what is considered a True National Championship. One of the beauties of the prize is that it rewarded consistency in performance. The points values were based upon each Club performance in each division. The overall quality of the DCAC squad made for the championship. Each runner gave their best to help their teammates. For that we are most grateful.

YOUNG GIRLS DIVISION

The first light of day revealed conditions had deteriorated since the previous days course walk through. The 5K course now had two areas to pass through with water at least calf deep. The rain was falling and the wind was howling as Bernadette Catron and Sara Davis went to the line. Bernadette quickly moved to the front and ran side by side with the eventual winner for most of the race. Sara Davis showed the patience of a veteran and let the races early speed waste away the runners plowing through the mud. Sara consistently moved up and caught Bernadette in the final stretch as the two finished third and fourth. (Bernadette 3^rd, Sara 4^th).

INTERMEDIATE GIRLS

The team of Caterina Karas, Caitlyn Beyea, Christina Shawver, Casey Richardson, Lindsay Marko, Caitlyn Sandell, Connie Rhodes, Shelby Adams, Ellen Marko, Cailin McKinney and Savannah Schneider took first place in the Girls Intermediate Division. Caterina closed hard in the final 1000 meters to claim third place in the race, passing several runners in the final 400 meters. In all 4 DCAC runners finished in the top 15. Times were slowed considerably by the bad conditions, but the girls all ran exceptional races. Caitlyn, Christina and Casey formed a tight pack that held until the last 600 meters to bolster their team.

INTERMEDIATE BOYS

The DCAC squad consisted of Jacob Thomson, Sam Meredith, Luke Weishaar, Cory Kleinjan, Paul Adams and Michael Williams. Jacob Thomson, fresh off his victory in the Footlocker SE Freshman Race used a furious kick (doesn’t he always?) to charge past a number of runners in the final 800 meters and claim 2^nd place in a highly contested race. Sam Meredith and Luke Weishaar finished 16^th and 17^th respectively. Cory Klienjan ran bravely through a cough that would have sidelined most runners. But Cory’s emphasis on helping the team made it possible for DCAC to take a Second Place finish as a team. Paul Adams finished off a great freshman season in fine fashion by blazing through the mud to a 32^nd place finish.

YOUNG GIRLS

Kristen Hale made a last minute decision to run in Orlando very worthwhile. She claimed Second Place in the 14 Year Old Division and led her team to a National Crown. The Youth Girls knew that to win this division they would all have to “Step Up” and perform their best. All the girls took that knowledge seriously and committed themselves to helping their team. Emily Bean took 7^th place in her age division and Jessica Byrd was 9^th (Age Division) while running on her Birthday. Charliann Garcia was next in 28^th place Overall. Christina Rucinski ran her best race of the year and competed to the very end. Kate Crawford was next in a very solid race. Lauren Bennett cruised through the slop in a great race as did Danielle Kitchen.

YOUTH BOYS

This division was likely the most competitive of the day, and the DCAC men were equal to the task. Tretez Kinnaird continued his strong peformances at AAU by taking a Runner-Up finish in a strong field. Chris Striegel capped a brilliant year with a 6^th place finish in the 13 Year Old Age Group. The race also marked the return (so to speak) of Max Mudd and Holden Wells. Max and Holden had been feeling the effects of a nasty virus for several weeks and had suffered through the State Championships. Both runners made strong contributions to their team and ran their best races in several weeks (welcome back guys). Austin Snider improved steadily all season and his determination to help his team was evident. Austin ran an excellent race and nearly took his team to the podium. Jacob Wunsch was long delayed at airports around the country, before arriving in Orlando less than 10 hours before his race. Jacob battled the fatigue (and the conditions which didn’t suit his style). All in all the DCAC boys were fourth in a very competitive division and were only seven points out of second place.

MIDGET GIRLS

In another vastly talented division Gabriella Karas blazed over the final K and was able to take 7^th Place in her Age Division by passing at least 6 runners in that stretch. Gabby and team-mate Christa Brutscher (11^th Place in Age) were able to show that they can run with the best in the US at their age level. Ally Brutscher ran perhaps her best race of the year against the strongest field she had faced. Sophie Beavin and Brianna Wolken ran side by side and pulled themselves to Top 25 (Age) finishes. Abby Leanhart saved her best of the season for last and ran very strong. Ashley Lawhorn, Kelsey Barnett and Bailey Barnett also ran to help their Team Take Fifth Place.

MIDGET BOYS

Some races are wars. This one was a blood bath for two of our runners. Jake Schneider took a nasty spill early in the race. With his hand punctured by a spike and his face and back smeared with mud, Jake did what every coach dreams of; he got up and ran anyway. Not only did he run, but he ran well and moved himself back up into a very respectable finish. Trenton Fryman was doing what “Dash” (his nick name) always does and that is staying near the front when he crossed paths with another competitor. The resulting spike wound on his shin would eventually lead to a hospital trip for the wound. But just like Jake, Trenton never considered anything else and ran to a 3^rd Place finish in his age group. Drew Minch showed that he is developing into an outstanding runner and took a solid 56^th place finish overall. Will Sams was not far behind in 60^th with Jake Schneider charging back to a 63^rd place. CJ Burton and Simon Michalak also ran well for the team as they took home a 4^th Place finish.

BANTAM GIRLS

The DCAC Coaches felt that a Top 3 finish for the Bantam girls was possible if all the stars aligned. But realistically it was going to take a really strong performance to earn any higher than third place. Of course, that’s exactly what they did in winning the National Championship. Brianna Poole led the squad with her front running 11^th place finish (Overall). But it wasn’t very far behind to find Nicole Grendi, Caroline Collins, Keely Wells and Julia Poole (20,23,30 and 39^th respectively). Down the home stretch every runner was fighting for valuable points to help their team. Alivia Ryan, Avery Fryman and Abigail Radke all ran with the same goal of helping their team. In the end beat a good Team Florida by a mere 6 points for yet another National Title.

BANTAM BOYS

Gabriel Michalak is only 9 years old. But as a runner he may be even younger. Running in only his fifth cross country meet, Gabriel took 4^th place in his Age Division in a National Meet. It was the start of great things as the team also took 3^rd place. Glavin Swain ran a terrific race in 17^th place overall. Jake Martin ran his best race of the season in his biggest meet and Jack Meredith was close behind in 50^th place overall. Clint Sherman (another new runner) helped his team with a 53^rd place.  Emerson Wells was the next runner across the line and young Evan Adrian was only two place back of that. Joshua Radke and Anthony Michalak rounded out the scoring for yet another podium finish.

PRIMARY GIRLS

When the youngest/smallest and cutest DCAC runners took to the course we thought that it would be fun to watch. Little did we know we needed their points. Renee Grendi led her team with a 17^th place Finish Overall with Ellie Poole (7 years old) was not far behind in 28^th. Noelia Radke raced her little legs to 31^st and Meghan Pawsat was 34^th. Maria Michalak (7) was 58^th to help her team take Second Place. The points were huge as we were soon to find out.

PRIMARY BOYS

Pierce Wells became the fourth member of his family to run that day in the very last race. Pierce held up the family tradition well and took a great 21^st place finish amongst some very fast young men.