INDEPENDENCE - Finding motivation lately isn’t difficult for Union’s Amilia Condon.
With a 12 painted on her cheek, Condon raced her way to another win, this time in Independence with a time of 19:38, 55 seconds ahead of the second place finisher and the only time under 20 minutes. This comes just two days after winning in Starmont by 42 seconds.
Following the tragedy that took the life of one of her classmates, Gavin Rohrback, Condon isn’t racing for herself anymore.
“It almost feels like I’m doing it for him,” Condon said. “It’s really important to represent the community and just give it my all for him.”
With the heat wave hitting the area this week, temperatures in Independence hit 88 F right at the beginning of the race, Condon has an unusual trick for finding that extra gear late in the race.
“It makes it difficult for sure,” Condon said about the heat. “I’m for sure a cool weather racer, but that’s when you have to tell yourself that it’s going to suck, but you have to push through it.
“Me and my team do a light run before the race and to prepare for the race, I always drink honey. My teammates make fun of me for it, but it’s a really good energy source and helps me push through to the end.”
Brynn Albersten was the next Knight to cross the line in 25th place, clocking a time of 23:31.
Addie Tudor, Kate Carlson and Lily Lorenzen closed out the top-five for the Knights, coming in 31st, 34th and 36th places, respectively. Tudor hit the mat in 23:59, Carlson crossed the line in 24:29 and Lorenzen wasn’t too far behind in 24:41.
Overall, Union finished with 110 team points, good for fifth place and six back of Waverly-Shell Rock in fourth place.
Spence takes 2nd in boys race
Sawyer Spence ran a good race on Thursday night, coming in second place with a time of 17:57, 1:22 behind the first place finisher.
Cooper Davis was able to crack the top-25, coming in 25th with a time of 20:31.
Kengo Uchiyama-Hansen was the next Knight to cross the line, coming in 42nd place, hitting the mat in 22:02.
Ian Grimm and Tristan Keister rounded out the top-five for Union, coming in 74th and 79th places. Grimm crossed the line in 24:51 while Keister clocked a time of 25:12.
As a team, the Knights finished in sixth place, scoring 159 points, seven back of fifth place Independence.
