On Sept. 5th, the Blackman cross country athletes traveled to Mason, Ohio, where we competed in the annual Mason XC Invitational.  

This exciting meet is looked forward to by athletes every year and is often praised highly for the challenging course. However, more than anything, this meet provides excellent team building that lasts for the rest of the season. 

After a long, but fun, bus ride to the hotel, we worked in a short pre-race run at the local park before the big day. Now sweaty and a little tired, the hotel was a welcoming sight. It was much bigger and nicer than last year, and the rooms were cozy and clean. 

Once rooms were assigned, we ate a delicious carb-heavy dinner at Olive Garden. This helps tremendously with energy on race day! Once everyone was full, we got to do some team-building exercises, one of which was comment-and-toss. One athlete will toss a ball to another athlete across from them and say one thing they appreciate or admire about that person. This continues until every person has had a go, and it’s fair to say some happy tears were shed that night. 

The rest of the night included swimming in the pool and relaxing in the lounge area before getting a good night’s sleep at 10 p.m. 

Bright and early at 7:15 a.m., we packed our bags, ate a light breakfast, and headed out to Mason High school, arriving around 8 a.m. From then on, we set up canopy tents and got ready to race. 

The girls’ varsity went out first and got consistent times, most averaging around 23 minutes! Katherine Yang, one of our senior team members got the fastest time at 22 minutes and 47 seconds.  

“It was awesome!”, said Yang. “I’m happy with my time. I want to see if I can get it even lower, though.” 

The boys’ varsity was next, and like always, got spectacular times. Aiden Wilhelmsen, a Blackman sophomore, got 18:30! The rest of the time ranged from 19 to 30 minutes in our team.  

Then came JV girls. Times were decent as well, some ranging from 24 to 31 minutes. 

Finally, JV boys got to race. We did well, but it was a challenge. Thomas Stewart, a junior Blackman athlete on our team, pushed forward despite  

“I felt like the world was tilting,” said Stewart. “It was hard to keep going, and my legs hurt.” 

Despite the challenge, the reward was worth it. We all packed our gear and headed back home to Tennessee, with well-deserved Chik-Fil-A and Buc-ee’s on the way. 

Thank you to all the athletes, coaches, and parents who have raised enough money to make this trip possible. Without your help, we would not be able to have experiences like this every year.  

Thanks again and Go Blaze!