Dogies run a perfect race

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Though 2020 has been a far from perfect year, the Dogies dug down deep to achieve perfection in their race at Wheatland last Friday. As they matched up against Burns/Pine Bluffs, Torrington and Wheatland, the men were on a mission to make a statement to their conference competition, and that they did.
“The boys raced hard, and they pushed themselves to do more than they thought they could,” head coach Kathy Beehler smiled. “A few of them were surprised that they were able to keep going when they didn’t think they had anything left.”
A perfect race is when one team finishes in the first five places achieving the best score possible in the race, and as such is an impressive accomplishment. The last time Newcastle did this was two years ago in Hot Springs, S.D. This time it was against 3A Wyoming teams. 
A Pine Bluffs runner started out the race in the lead, but the Dogies jockeyed with each other and kept him in their sights throughout the first two-thirds of the race.
“He was about 30 meters in front, but our guys were patient and bided their time to make their move,” Beehler explained. “It was a three-loop race and when they got to the third and final loop, they all just took off.”
Carson Bock broke the tape at the finish line while Tristan Troftgruben, in his first race of the season, was hot on his heels. Next across was Zack Purviance in third, Bridger Alishouse finished fourth and Avery Chick clinched the perfect race with his fifth-place finish. 
“They all finished within six to 10 feet from each other,” Beehler beamed. “They pack ran so well, and they pushed each other the whole way. Throughout the race, they changed places and that was really fun to watch.”
Chick commented that he felt some pressure near the end of the race, because he could see that there were four of his teammates closing in on, and passing the Pine Bluffs runner.
“I was tired, but I knew that I had to push myself,” he admitted. “I just couldn’t be the reason we didn’t run a perfect race when we were so close.”
Beehler noted that all of the top five runners had moments during the race when they succumbed a bit to fatigue, but they all found a little more gas in the tank to keep going. There were times when Bock started to falter, so Beehler encouraged him to push on and not look back.
Purviance got a little tight at times, and there were times when Beehler had to encourage Alishouse to close the gap
and compete.
“You just have to tell yourself you’re going to stay with the pack until the next point in the course and then tell yourself that again and pretty soon you’re across the finish line,” Beehler began. “I told Avery that he was way too far back and he just had to go. He doubted me, but I told him that I didn’t care if he got to the end and he couldn’t go anymore, but if he held back and got to the end with more in the tank, he would regret it. He had to make the choice and believe that he could do it.” 
Official results for the meet were delayed in posting so places for the remaining Dogie runners was unknown at press time, however the order in which they finished after Chick was Teegan Hatheway, Mathew Drake, Max Makousky, Wyatt Cole, Zander White, Conrad Prell, Nate Strickland, Gunner Ramsey and Travis Scribner.
The Lady Dogies also had a good race, and though their times didn’t reflect it, they once again ran faster than they did in last week’s event.
The track was a tad bit longer than the usual 5K, or 3.1 miles, as from start to finish it was closer to 3.5 miles. Therefore, though their finish times were slower than last week, they ran the 3.1 miles faster than before.
“I was really happy with how the girls ran,” Beehler nodded. “They competed and they passed some kids they haven’t before, and that was exciting.”
Alaina Laurence was, once again, the first across the finish line for her team, coming in seventh. She was followed by Janaya Ralls in eighth place while Lara Lopez rounded it out for the ladies.
“It was just a really good day all the way around,” Beehler began. “They all had some moments when they were able to learn something about themselves. Our minds keep telling us we can’t do it, but our bodies are so capable of doing it and they really all had the opportunity to see that at work.”
This week, the squad heads to Wright on Saturday, the 19th. The race times are to be announced.