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Highlands Today

Bauer Takes 25th In Class-2A XC Meet

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By Brian Gjurgevich | Highlands Today

Published: November 18, 2007

DADE CITY — Connor Bauer said he felt "horrible" heading into Saturday's Class 2A state cross-country meet.

As the lone member of the Sebring XC team competing at the event, the sophomore said it was tough for him to get excited about his first state race without his teammates at his side.
Oh, what a difference less than 17 minutes makes.

Bauer finished 25th in the final race of the season, burning up a slow, hilly Little Everglades Ranch course with a time of 16:58, his second-best mark of the year.

"I was tired and I really didn't want to run today," Bauer said. "But as soon as the gun went off, my animal instincts kicked in."

Bauer said he tried to keep a steady pace over the hills after getting ahead of the mob of nearly 200 runners gathered at the 25-lane start. He said he figured he'd finish around 40th to 50th place coming into the meet, but that once the first mile was behind him, he knew it might be a special day.

"I had a good start, and I just tried to hang on to that," Bauer said. "I ran a lot better than last week, because I think I was more relaxed. This course was a lot more my style."
Sebring coach Jeff Shoemaker said Bauer "exceeded all expectations."

"It all came down to coaching," Shoemaker joked. "No, but I tell you, his coach sure feels good.
"This was not a fast course. He really out-did himself."

With a top-25 finish in tow, Bauer will now focus on training for the track and field season, where last year, he competed in pole vault. He expects to run the one-mile, two-mile and 4x800 this season.
"I might have to drop pole vault," Bauer said. "I'm going to train hard and try to get quicker for next season."

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