Todd breaks 16-minute barrier
at Triad Invite
BY AARON OTTIS
SPORTS EDITOR
TROY – Ryan Todd may be the fastest three-miler that Jersey Community High School has ever seen.

As a junior, Todd ran the fastest three-mile time of the past 16 years – and maybe the fastest time ever for the Panthers cross country program – when he completed the course in 15:37 and won the Triad Invitational on Wednesday.

Todd shot out of the gate with teammate Jeff Wooldridge, though neither expected to run the first mile as quickly as they did. Todd and Wooldridge covered the first mile in 4 minutes, 58 seconds.

“It was hard to find our pace because we were running through the woods,” Todd said. “You aren’t out in an open area, like we are used to running in. It is enclosed and it is hard to tell how fast you are running because you can’t judge the distance very well.”
Wooldridge said he and Todd had expected to run around a 5:05 for the first mile, and then be under 10:30 at the two-mile mark. They were well under their projected time at the first mile. Todd actually broke the JCHS track record for the two-mile with his split of 10:05.

Wooldridge was right behind at 10:18. He finished at 16:06.

“I think we both could have run even faster over the last mile,” Todd said. “The course ends with you running by corn, and the sun was passing through the rows. It was really distracting. It was making a flash right in your eyes that broke your concentration.”

Boy’s head coach Harold Landon said he was very pleased with his Todd’s time, and pointed out that his team made big strides forward.

“The guys did very little running over the weekend because of Homecoming,” Landon said. “We did very little on Monday and the guys had a light practice on Tuesday. We had our legs. Now I know that, especially with Jeff and Ryan going into the Sectional, some rest at the right time will help bring the times down.”

The girl’s team had members shaving two and three minutes off their times. Kathleen Wendell was Jersey’s top female finisher. She set a personal record for the year at 21:33.

“She has really been working hard in practice,” Girl’s coach Larry Foster said. “That work is paying off for her.”

Foster said he was pleased that the rest of the team is progressing, and the girls are closing the distance between the top and bottom runners.

“We closed the gap big time between our No. 1 runner and our No. 5,” Foster said. “Closing that gap and bringing the times down is a result hard work in practice from the whole group. I am very happy with how we ran. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to run the Havens Invite, but maybe that extra day off made a difference for our girls too.”

Other Jersey finishers: Troy Pace, 17:00; Greta Meisner, 23:22; Katie Boucher, 24:24; Sarah Allen 24:38; Ann Bridgewater 26:46.