Meserve Makes Gains For WP

WAITSBURG - The WP Cardinals had a strong showing at the Wildhorse Invitational in Pendleton on Oct. 21.

Coa ch Joanna Lanning had four runners in the competition. Middle school standout Emily Adams crossed the finish line fourth out of 72 runners in the girl's 3,000-meter race with a time of 12:20.

E.J. Meserve was Lanning's only varsity runner on Friday, but he made gains in his performance. He placed 22nd with a time 0f 18:26 in the varsity boy's 5,000-meter race.

The Potts brothers, Andre and Trey also participated in the boy's 3,000-meter race. Trey came in 27th with a time of 12:10 and Andre placed 68th with a time of 14:11.

"We had a super meet on Friday," Lanning said. "E.J. had a terrific run."

Lanning said the course in Pendleton was a lot like the course at state - tough and fast.

"E.J. recovered and performed well," she said. "I'm hoping he can drop (his time) down quite a bit."

Lanning had two varsity runners out with injuries. Varsity star Seth Deal was out for a re-occuring Achilles injury, she said. With districts coming up this week, she simply wanted him to rest.

"We didn't want to risk anything," Lanning said. "This close to districts it just wasn't worth it."

She was also very proud of Trey Potts who shaved more than one minute off his finish time from his previous race.

"He finished on a really positive note," Lanning said.

Now that the middle school season is finished, the team is looking forward to the district meet this Thursday in Clarkston.

The season has been going well for the cardinals, despite some injuries, and the weather has been very moderate with little to no rain, which can slow down a runner's pace.

"We've been pretty fortunate," she said.

The top 15 in each race will qualify for state and Lanning has high hopes for Meserve because of his accomplishments this season.

" E. J. has come along much stronger from that time," she said.

The boy's race begins at 4 p.m. this Thursday at Clarkston High School.