Luthringer, Boyd Win Prep Cross Country Races

First League Meet Held Tuesday At Camp Jordan Park

  • Tuesday, August 30, 2016
  • John Hunt
Jonathan Boyd and Taylor Luthringer were first over the finish line in the first cross country race of the season Tuesday at Camp Jordan.
Jonathan Boyd and Taylor Luthringer were first over the finish line in the first cross country race of the season Tuesday at Camp Jordan.
photo by M.A. Locke

High school cross country runners didn’t get a break from the weather at Camp Jordan Tuesday afternoon.

It was the first day of competition in the Chattanooga Cross Country League and even though the usual 5K distance was shortened to just two miles because of the heat and humidity, the effort was there as was plenty of sweat as 213 varsity runners representing 17 teams stepped to the line for the first race.

It’s easy to spot those who have been diligent in their training these past few months.  Yes, they got hot and their times might not have been as good as they will be, but the ones who hadn’t done the necessary training were also obvious as they suffered through the race and many were even walking before the midway point.

Taylor Luthringer and Jonathan Boyd have paid their dues this summer and the success they enjoyed last fall carried over as both won their respective races without a challenge.

Two youngsters who were among the best in the league a year ago came ready to run and they were impressive as Luthringer won in 12 minutes, 15 seconds while Boyd was a 29-second winner among the guys with a time of 10:23.

Luthringer, Kathryn Vradenburgh and Jada Hale were leading the girls race at the first mile and that was basically the way they finished, although Walker Valley’s Bailey Mullett claimed third place at the end.

Vradenburgh was second in 12:43, followed by Mullett in 13:03, Hale in 13:08 and Baylor’s Alison Anderson in 13:22.

Boyd and Thomas Porter had the lead all to themselves at the midpoint, but the Signal Mountain senior couldn’t keep pace in the second half as he had to settle for the runner-up spot in 10:52.

Baylor’s Talus Iorio was third in 11:08 while Lenoir City’s Noah Baker and Chase Faudi of the Patriots followed with times of 11:12 and 11:17, respectively.

“I felt good the whole time as it was a good first race,” said Luthringer, a 17-year-old Signal Mountain senior who averaged about 50 miles a week this summer.

“I just wanted to go out and pace myself, but I started by myself, I ran by myself in the middle and I finished all by myself.  I really just wanted to see how long I could run hard in this heat,” she added.

Vradenburgh is a 15-year-old sophomore who runs for the Patriots.  She too had a dedicated summer averaging between 40-50 miles a week and doing several road races along the way.

“Getting even splits was the main thing for me and I came pretty close,” she said, knowing that the second one was just a bit faster than the first.

“It’s the first race of the season and I was behind Taylor the whole way.  It didn’t feel too hard as I felt really strong the whole way,” the slender blonde nodded with a smile.

Boyd did some cross training as he was part of the Ooltewah Tidal Waves summer swim league in addition to running up to 70 miles/week.  He says that he’s not swimming now, but the benefits he received were obvious as he just cruised on Tuesday.

“That was awesome as it was the best I’ve felt in a long time.  The heat made me tired, but I ran strong and that was a two-mile PR.  I wasn’t expecting that,” he said.

“I came out here today wanting to win and I took the lead about a quarter-mile in.  I just kept pushing the pace the rest of the way.  I did 14 miles yesterday, so maybe I should do that more often, but I really felt good today,” the 16-year-old junior nodded.

Porter is a 17-year-old senior who did plenty of running this summer by averaging 50-60 miles a week, but he wasn’t ready for the wide-open field and direct sunlight that he had to face on Tuesday.

“I didn’t prepare for this heat as most of my running this summer was in the woods.  Today was a rough day for me and I think I may have warmed up too much and didn’t drink enough water.

“I beat Jonathan last year and I feel sure I can beat him again,” Porter said with confidence.

Iorio was one of five Baylor boys who finished in the top 10 as the Red Raiders were easily the team winners with 36 points.

Patrick Curran was sixth in 11:19 while Silas Gartman, Atherton Mook and James Post were 8-9-10 with times of 11:22, 11:24 and 11:26, respectively.

Signal Mountain was second with 106 while Cleveland was third with 137, Walker Valley fourth with 149 and Chattanooga Christian fifth with 173.

Anderson was one of three Baylor girls in the top 10 of their race as the Lady Red Raiders also won with 46 points.

 Catherine Cansler was eighth for Baylor in 13:32 while Emrick Garrett was 10th in 13:45.

Signal Mountain’s Emily Davis and Mattie Parker both had top 10 finishes as the Lady Eagles were second with 84 points.

Walker Valley was third with 125 while Cleveland and Soddy Daisy were fourth and fifth with 139 and 146 points, respectively.

The next league race will be back at Camp Jordan on Sept. 13 with the JV race at 5, followed by the varsity girls at 5:40 and the varsity boys at 6:20.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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