Another XC season with the Owasso Falcons, and it was busier than ever! This year - for the first time - we had all four kiddos running cross country. This meant two separate practice times and a heavier meet schedule. Brianna (8th grade) ran with the junior high team, while Brenson (6th grade), Brooke (3rd grade), and Brecklyn (3rd grade) ran with the elementary team.
Brianna practiced MWF from 7:00-8:30am with the junior high and high school. Elementary practice was also MWF but from 8:30-9:30am. Typically, Chris would take Brianna to practice and drop her off, then come home to start his work day. I would take the other three kids to practice and bring all four home with me. It worked out okay, although we didn't love making that many trips to Owasso every week!
Last year, Chris helped coach the junior high and high school teams, but this year Coach Renee was back to coaching solo. Those teams lost several participants this year, so it seems maybe she didn't need the help like last year. Whatever the reason, Chris wasn't too disappointed about the change.
Practices began on August 21st, and the elementary kiddos had their first meet on September 1st. This meet was held at Centennial Park (where we practiced one day a week) and was an "inter-squad" meet (only our team). It was a good way to get our feet wet, though. Sadly, Brooke ended up being sick with a stomach bug the day of the meet. She was extremely disappointed, but Brenson and Brecklyn were able to participate. Bren had just had the same bug a few days earlier, and his time definitely reflected that. I'm glad he ran, even if it was a slow time for him.
All the little Falcons ready to start!
All the smiles in this pic are so fun!
I could tell he was working hard, even if he wasn't going as fast as he would have liked.
Brecklyn was also working hard. She was anxious about finishing, but she did it!
Brenson ran the one mile course in 8:59 . . . definitely not a great time for him! Brecklyn ran the one mile course in 10:22. Overall, it seemed to be a slow course as even some of our fastest runners didn't have great times.
Falcons Elementary XC 2022
We are excited to have our besties running with us this year!
First medal of the season!
Coach set it up so that everyone who finished received a medal. That was a nice confidence boost for some who were running for the first time (ahem - Brecklyn :-).
On September 7th, we headed to Foyil for a meet. This is a course that Brianna and Brenson have ran every year they've been with the Falcons (this is year number 4), so they were really familiar with it at this point. The Falcons showed up at this meet this year! We had 29 athletes competing, and 21 of those athletes brought home medals! Those who didn't medal set big PRs, so it was an exciting afternoon!
Brooke and Brecklyn raced first. This was their first time racing against public schools and racing with a large age range. They both held their own and finished the race strong!
Brecklyn finished the one mile course in 9:38, placing 36/59.
Brooke finished the one mile course in 10:24 and came in 45/59. I was very happy with how they both ran!
Since Bren had not ran very well at Centennial the week before, I didn't know how he would do at this meet. He definitely surprised me!
Falcons Elementary Boys Team
Cade, Brenson, Derek, Silas, and Eli
Bren ran hard and finished the one mile course in 7:41.
He placed 16/73, set a 37 second course PR, and won a medal!
First time winning a medal at Foyil
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We had four of our elementary boys medal in the race!
Even though we lost some runners, our junior high girls team is strong this year!
Eliza, Ruby, Brianna, and Kyrie
Brianna ran a strong race, and finished the one mile course in 8:11. That's a 37 second course PR for her, too!
She placed 30/61 for junior high girls.
Meets are always fun, but they are even better now that a lot of our runners have been together for a few years. One thing that amuses me is that several of the kids play chess while they're not running. They do this at track meets too while they're waiting for their events. In the photo below, Brooke is fixing Koda's hair, Bren and Silas are watching Cody play chess, and several other girls are using a weaving loom. I love that our kids enjoy doing things with each other aside from running!
Love these Falcons!
Chris and Grampy took the three other kids to the meet. It's a huge meet, and Coach Renee told me there were over 1700 kids registered to run!
I had high hopes for Bren after his performance in Foyil - and while he ran a strong race - he was disappointed in his results. He finished the one mile course in 7:45 (a few seconds slower than last year), and placed 60 out of about 150 (there was an issue with timing so we're not sure of the exact number of runners).
He ran hard, but after the race he told Chris that he didn't feel good about how he did and that he just didn't feel very well in general. We're not sure what was going on with him, but we are happy that he went out and gave his full effort even when he wasn't feeling his best mentally or physically.
The elementary girls ran directly after the elementary boys race. Our elementary girls team is strong, and they were ready!
Not too long after the race began, Brecklyn took a pretty hard fall. Brooke was not far behind her and actually stopped to help her up. We encourage the kids to just keep running no matter what happens, so when I questioned Brooke about stopping, she said, "What was I supposed to do? Just leave my teammate and my twin laying there?!?" There was no doubt in Brooke's mind that the right thing to do was to stop and help Brecklyn, and I'm glad she did! Brecklyn skinned both knees and both hands. In the photo below, you can see her running with her palms up (they were both bleeding). Sweet girl just kept running, though.
Brooke pushed hard and finished the one mile course in 9:41. She placed 131/182.
As soon as Brecklyn crossed the finish line, a first aid worker came over and bandaged up her knees and palms. Once they got home, Chris cleaned everything a little better and put fresh bandages on her. I felt for the girl!
I was just thrilled for Brooke. Even after stopping to help her sister, she still had a huge improvement in her time from Foyil to this meet!
Of course, the twins were there to cheer on their siblings!
Brecklyn ran the one mile course in 9:32 and finished 124/182. When there are so many runners, it's not uncommon to have lots of spills and falls.
Love these little runner girls!
Chris's parents were also able to attend the meet to support the kiddos. Meme sent me these rare photos of Papa with the kids.
Papa and Brooke
Bren and Papa . . . yes, he's as tall as Papa now!
Brecklyn and Papa
Brecklyn, Papa, and Brooke
Our next meet was scheduled for September 22 in Pryor, and was for the junior high and high school runners only. The forecast didn't look great for the day, and pretty much immediately the officials pushed the start time of the races back a few hours because of lightening. Just as our team arrived at Pryor, we had another lightening delay. The officials opened the course to allow teams to start warming up, but about five minutes after that happened they called everyone off the course due to lightening again. After yet another lightening delay, the officials decided to cancel all races for that day.
Didn't get to race, but still smiling!
Hope and Bri
Eli and Bren . . . both there to cheer on older siblings!
The next morning (September 23) was an Elementary meet at Centennial Park. The weather was lovely for this meet against OPA.
Waiting patiently to run.
And they're off!
Brooke ran the one mile course in 9:49.
Brecklyn finished the one mile course in 9:56, setting a 26 second course PR.
Falcon runners with their medals
4th-6th graders waiting to run
Bren started off his race strong, but at about 250 meters he rolled his ankle in a hole.
He kept running, but it was obvious he was in pain and struggling.
He finished the one mile course in 9:05, which was even slower than when he ran this course a few weeks ago. He was very disappointed in his time.
However, all the kids finished the course and received a neat wooden medal for their efforts. Sometimes not performing like we had hoped teach us good life lessons, too.
After being rained out in Pryor, the junior high and high schools teams were ready to run at their next meet hosted by Owasso at O'Brien Park. 
This meet was huge with over 300 junior high girls registered to run. We were there to cheer our girl on, though!
Brianna had a solid start to her run. Even with the high heat (temps in the 90s), she pushed hard the entire time.
She completed the 1.5 mile course in 13:35 (9:03 mile pace). She had never run this course before, but her 1.5 mile time from a race last year was 14:17. She place 158 out of about 300 runners. We're not sure exactly how many ran, but there were 320 registered.
A week later (October 5th), we went to Chandler Park to run in a meet hosted by Edison. This meet was for junior high and high school runners, but Coach Renee had Bren run on the junior high team this time.
Bren ran the 1.5 mile course in 13:25 (8:56 mile pace). He placed 116/141. While he wasn't happy with this, we reminded him that he was racing against mostly older boys. The finish on this course is uphill, and Bren passed three other boys during the finishing stretch! The Falcons almost always look strong on the hills!
This was Brianna's second time on this course. She ran the 1.5 mile course in 14:08 (9:24 mile pace), finishing 88/133. She set a 9 second course PR. When the race first began, Brianna rolled her ankle and almost fell, but Eliza caught her. She actually rolled her ankle again during the race and ended up sitting out a week of practice to give it time to recover.
On October 14th, we travelled down to Guthrie, OK for the Oklahoma State Homeschool Championships. Because of Brianna's ankle injury at Chandler, she did not practice for a whole week and therefore did not compete at this meet.
Brooke and Brecklyn raced again 1st-3rd grade girls on a 1/2 mile course. This was the shortest course they ran this season, and they both finished strong.
Ready to go!
Brecklyn finished the 1/2 mile course in 3:50. We don't know where she placed because the director of this meet decided not to time or place the younger elementary kiddos. These times are what Coach recorded on her own timer.
Brooke finished the 1/2 mile course in 3:58.
Brecklyn and Brooke both received a medal!
Bren ran with 4th-6th grade boys at this meet, and finished the one mile course in 7:51. The latter part of the season was definitely a little bit of a struggle for him, but he placed 7th. This meant he should have gotten a medal, but unfortunately they "ran out" of medals and only the first place boy and girl in this age bracket actually received a medal. 
We had hot dogs to eat, and then the kids ran and played while the adults visited (and some played, too).
.HEIC)
.HEIC)
Our 8U girls team ended up winning first as a team! This included Brooke, Brecklyn, Caroline, Anna, and Isla.
Bren also ran a two mile course at this race. He ran it in 18:17, placing 40/52. It's pretty unusual for him to be in the lower 50% in a race, but he has had a hard time mentally with running this season. This time is actually slower than he ran this course last season, but he finished!
Brianna had a solid start for the race and pushed hard the entire time. She was behind a girl named Caroline (that we've seen at homeschool races in the past), and finally passed her at about 2 miles.
She was solidly in front of Caroline coming up the major hill toward the end of the course. She yelled to me that her ankle was really hurting, and I told her to keep pushing because she was so close to the finish. I turned around to walk to the finish stretch, and when I turned back to see Bri she was on the ground.
I ran over to her and encouraged her to get up and keep going. She did, but in the meantime Caroline passed her. Bri finished the race, though! She finished the 5K course in 29:19 (six seconds behind Caroline!) and placed 26/31.
Brianna didn't run, but she was there to cheer everyone on! She and Kyrie are always the hype girls!
We had two weeks between the State meet and Homeschool Nationals (on October 28th) in Springfield, Missouri. During that time, the kids worked hard in practice, and we also had our team cookout. The Yearwoods graciously hosted all of us, and we had a great evening!
Falcons Cross Country, 2023
Brecklyn and Sadie
Silas and Caleb were giving rides behind their little tractor . . . it was a hit!
Lots of laughs and smiles!
.HEIC)
Before it got dark, Coach gave all the elementary runners a scrapbook of the season (that Bri helped Coach and Kyrie make), as well as announced a "Most Likely to . . . " for each runner. It's always entertaining to hear how well she knows the kids!
Brecklyn was "Most Likely to Change Her Name to Broccoli".
Brooke was "Most Likely to Never Leave Her Twin/Teammate Behind".
The older kids watching the youngers get their scrapbooks.
.HEIC)
For the older kids (JH and HS), Coach gave them each a funny keychain. Brianna received a happy little person because everyone was excited she didn't have any major falls this season!
Brenson wasn't with us (he was out of town with Grampy), but Coach sent his book home with us. He was "Most Likely to Be Full of Lactic Acid" 😂.
We spent the remainder of this most perfect autumn evening visiting, playing kickball, playing frisbee, and enjoying the beautiful sunset!
We drove up to Springfield on Friday, October 27th to walk the course, and just after we arrived the weather turned cold and rainy. It stayed that way all day Saturday, too! Those aren't the easiest conditions to run in, but the kids made the best of it and pushed through.
At Nationals, Brooke and Brecklyn both ran a two-mile course. I'm not sure why elementary runners have to run two miles - and it was pretty tough for them - but they finished!
Brooke, Sadie, Caroline, and Brecklyn
Brecklyn finished the two mile course in 21:16, placing 13/16. I'm not really sure she wanted to run, but she pushed through her nerves.
Coming in for a strong finish!
Brooke ran the two mile course in 21:26, finishing just behind Brecklyn in 14th place.
So determined!
👏👏👏
He passed the boy in the photo on the finishing stretch. That's always fun to watch!
Coming in for a strong finish!
This year, Brianna had to run a 5K for Nationals. She psyched herself out about it pretty well before the race, but I kept reminding her that Coach trained her for this.
Pazely, Brianna, and Eliza before the race
By the time all the kids' races were finished, I was exhausted from running all around the course multiple times to cheer them on, lol. We were also all cold and wet and ready to pack up and move on with our day! We went to eat at Lambert's for Sadie's birthday and then to Branson for some fun after the race, but I'll post about those activities separately.
Cross country is an interesting sport to me. It's very individual - but also not - and I think sometimes the mental part of it is as hard as the running part. Maybe even harder for some kids. I love that the kids learn discipline, diligence, and perseverance, and we are thankful for the opportunity to run!
Cross Country 2023 Stats:
Brianna
- 09/07 - 8:11
- 09/28 - 13:35 (9:03 mile pace)
- 10/05 - 14:08 (9:24 mile pace)
- 10/27 - 29:19 (9:26 mile pace)
Brenson
- 09/01 - 8:59
- 09/07 - 7:41
- 09/16 - 7:45
- 09/23 - 9:05
- 10/05 - 13:25 (8:56 mile pace)
- 10/14 - 7:51
- 10/27 - 18:17 (9:09 mile pace)
Brooke
- 09/07 - 10:24
- 09/16 - 9:41
- 09/23 - 9:49
- 10/14 - 3:58 (1/2 mile course)
- 10/27 - 21:26 (10:43 mile pace)
Brecklyn
- 09/01 - 10:22
- 09/07 - 9:38
- 09/16 - 9:32
- 09/23 - 9:56
- 10/14 - 3:50 (1/2 mile course)
- 10/27 - 21:16 (10:38 mile pace)
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