Blackhawk boys’ cross country strategized win in four-team dual meet
The Cougars’ boys had a plan last Wednesday. Head coach Alex Bougher knew exactly how they were to space themselves in order to keep South Side Beaver out of their path.
“It was the third time this season we raced South Side – every time we race them it’s been a very very close match,” Bougher said.
But, the third time was the charm. Bougher’s plan had been to put the runners who ran more like sprinters out front early. Senior Zach Black was key in this phase of the plan, as he is a proficient miler in a distance race (5:10-5:15). After that, Noah Ross was to move in and take over. Behind Ross and Black, Eric Aulbach, Lukas Goering, and Sean Bisbal were to remain together in powerful defense of the finish line.
Blackhawk’s boys, in addition to beating South Side Beaver 21-28, beat Fort Cherry 15-45, beat Eaton 20-36, and Trinity 21-35.
The Cougars’ girls ran a different race. “The thing that we have with our girls is that we have a very young team,” said Bougher. “There’s one senior, four sophomores and one freshman. With our senior, it’s her first year running. When we come against these other teams, we’re gaining confidence. So our focus has really been to try to improve our pacing because were having trouble transitioning to speed workouts -- we tend to fall into a more of a comfortable pace.”
In a nutshell, Bougher is trying to bring the girls’ team away from the comfort zone of “just being comfortable while running” to pushing the pace. “We don’t just want to improve our times,” she said, “We want to be competitive.”
Bougher noted that Blackhawk’s girls’ team’s strongest runner is Brianna Bennett, a sophomore with a lot of potential.
Blackhawk participated in yesterday’s Slippery Rock Invitational. The Cougars will begin Section competition on Tuesday versus Montour and West Allegheny.
“It was the third time this season we raced South Side – every time we race them it’s been a very very close match,” Bougher said.
But, the third time was the charm. Bougher’s plan had been to put the runners who ran more like sprinters out front early. Senior Zach Black was key in this phase of the plan, as he is a proficient miler in a distance race (5:10-5:15). After that, Noah Ross was to move in and take over. Behind Ross and Black, Eric Aulbach, Lukas Goering, and Sean Bisbal were to remain together in powerful defense of the finish line.
Blackhawk’s boys, in addition to beating South Side Beaver 21-28, beat Fort Cherry 15-45, beat Eaton 20-36, and Trinity 21-35.
The Cougars’ girls ran a different race. “The thing that we have with our girls is that we have a very young team,” said Bougher. “There’s one senior, four sophomores and one freshman. With our senior, it’s her first year running. When we come against these other teams, we’re gaining confidence. So our focus has really been to try to improve our pacing because were having trouble transitioning to speed workouts -- we tend to fall into a more of a comfortable pace.”
In a nutshell, Bougher is trying to bring the girls’ team away from the comfort zone of “just being comfortable while running” to pushing the pace. “We don’t just want to improve our times,” she said, “We want to be competitive.”
Bougher noted that Blackhawk’s girls’ team’s strongest runner is Brianna Bennett, a sophomore with a lot of potential.
Blackhawk participated in yesterday’s Slippery Rock Invitational. The Cougars will begin Section competition on Tuesday versus Montour and West Allegheny.
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