Leslie Baker Saints Open Recap

 

Videos by Chad Germany

 

Recap by Chad Germany

The Mandarin Mustangs just don’t seem to lose. For the third week in a row, they have shown their 4a counterparts that they run as a team, and they can win in dominating fashion.

What the Leslie Baker Saints Open lacked for in size and competition, it certainly made up for with its fast and sprawling course. The start and end of the race was held on the football field and track, which made for a very spectator friendly race. From the start, it wound through the Sandalwood parking lot, down Alden Street, and along several of the Sandalwood athletic fields. The course progressed through two loops of this, and at times the runners would funnel out from behind the bleachers, which provided another opportunity for the spectators to enjoy the race.

The girls’ varsity race would ultimately be a battle between Fletcher’s freshman sensation Danielle Van Liere and a pack of Mandarin runners. At the mile point, Danielle had already built a 25-meter lead, with the Mandarin girls behind, just trying to keep sight of her. Then, by the time Van Liere was on the track, she had built a nearly 300-meter lead, and the win would be hers. With the win, Van Liere is beginning to make her case for an individual state title. This is her second win in two weeks, and she finished third at a stacked Katie Caples Invitational.

On the boys’ side, there was little to no doubt who would be taking home the team title. At the sound of the starting whistle, all seven Mandarin runners sprinted to the front of the pack and held firmly to that position for the majority of the race, and ultimately win the team title. Lead by junior, John Weaver, the Mustangs have now won three races in an astounding three straight weeks. And their only loss of the year was a second place finish to one the best teams in the state, Holy Trinity.

In other regards, the Leslie Baker Saints Open is a great success in that all profits go to the Leslie Baker Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is given to a deserving Sandalwood senior, and the memory of the late Leslie Baker is remembered and honored. 

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