Freshmen Apples

One of the traditions we have here in Mammoth is to award our 9th graders on the trip with a carmel covered apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Not sure why or when it started, but the Factory is one of the treat shops in town, and I confess a personal attraction to their Cookies and Creme covered apples. That's for another blog post though.

Back to the freshmen. Given that most of the upperclassmen are thinking, planning and training for Mammoth since the middle of the track season, we don't hold the 9th graders who are new to our program to the same standard. We get all of about 10 days to get a sense of whether or not they could handle the rigors of the week here in the altitude of the Sierra's. So to be invited as a 9th grader is something of an honor. We can't take all of the new kids, so the top few who stand out and stand out early are given the nod.

Raelyn Werly has been impressive here, just as she has been down south. She took a tumble on the second run, skinning up both knees and by the time she reached the end of the run everything below her knees looked like red polka-dots from the blood "splashing" (she calmly noted.)

Brandon Berz just arrived today, as he was in Colorado over the weekend running in a 12 person, 200 mile non-stop relay. He ran three legs (each about 6 miles), the first he said with a smile was out of Fort Collins in 102 degree temps, the second was up 2000 feet of elevation gain -- at 2:00 am -- and the last leg was at 4:00 am. Uhh, yea, he can handle Mammoth.

Nathan Torres is a truly gifted runner, he seems to just float across the ground. He's shown a tenacity on our harder runs and workouts that we like. The kid has a BRIGHT future in this sport!

Lauren Soholt perhaps thought she had made the invite because of her sister, but not so! She's emerging on her own, separate from her sister's shadow. She's a tough cookie.

Emma Jaramillo is a go-girl! Wow, talk about a super spirit -- competitive and gracious at the same time! She's as ferocious as a tiger but as sweet as the caramel on her apple.

We're excited and proud to have these youngin's on our team, they herald a new birth for our team and for the future! Here on Monday of Mammoth week, they are doing well.