Lindbergh Cross Country

The conditions were perfect–the deluge of rain that hit Renton earlier in the day stopped.  The wind that often blows through the stadium calmed.  Blue sky appeared above the track, allowing rays of sunshine to warm the air to a perfect temperature.  The main grandstands were near full of fans.  The two heavy weights–Thompson and Vanuland–stepped onto the track for a rematch of their early season confrontation that saw Thompson win by two tenths of a second after leading the entire race.  Both runners ran 5:00 in that race, barely missing the chance to become the first runners in Renton middle-school track history to run sub-5:00.

But this was a new day.  Vanuland clearly did not intend to finish in second place this time.  He took off at the gun, opening a 30 meter lead by the 200 mark.  Thompson closed by the quarter for a :68 first lap.  The pace slowed considerably in the second lap, with the two runners running side-by-side.  At the start of lap three, Vanuland surged hard, opening a 40 – 50 meter lead.  Thompson chipped away gradually with a series of short surges, but with 100 meters to go in the race, Vanuland still held a seemilngly insurmountable lead of 20 meters. 

But Thompson never quit.  After a blistering final 100 meters (and another :68 quarter), he timed his lean at the line perfectly, winning in a photo-finish with a time of 4:54.3, demolishing the previous All-City meet record of 5:07 held by Javier Casio. 

 I'm sure this will be just one of many exciting races between these two great runners over the next four years.  Great job Trevor!