LYONS — It doesn’t take much to find Ceci Davies, Annika McKown and Millie Gothman in a pack of cross country runners. There’s a pretty good chance that if you find one, you’ll find the other two as well.
Ah, the joys of pack running.
Clear Creek’s top three girls were nearly inseparable Saturday at the Lyons Invitational, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, at Lyons High School.
“We kind of know where each of us is in a race and how far apart we are usually unless someone has a good race or a bad race,” said Davies, who led the Golddiggers’ charge in a time of 22 minutes, 28.8 seconds. “It’s good to know that we’re very consistent.”
Teammate Annika McKown agreed.
“Pack running is really nice because you know that your teammates are there and pushing me even harder than I can go if I’m by myself,” said McKown, who finished in 22.55, while Gothman was just 7.9 seconds behind her. “It’s good to know that this is where we are; we’re together and that we can do this.”
Host Lyons won the four-team meet with 19 points, led by a one-two finish from Quin Gregg (21:00.8) and Hannah Thomas (21:26.6).
Davies actually set the pace during the first lap of the three-lap course behind Lyons High School.
“I think I was trying to push myself to keep up with them,” Davies said.
Shining Mountain Waldorf came in second with 43 points, while St. Mary’s Academy was third with 65. Clear Creek didn’t place in the team scoring because it had just four runners. The meet scored five. Sharlynne McKown came in 23rd in 31:35.
Even so, Clear Creek felt pretty good about where it stacked up heading down the stretch. The top four runners score at regionals and state.
“It’s really nice to see where we are and to get a peek at where the team is running at right now,” Annika McKown said. “This year, we’ve got a shot at beating them if we keep working and pushing ourselves.”