In their third race of the new season, the CHAP Chariot Boys Varsity XC team finished 6th overall among 18 teams at the annual Laingsburg "Early Burg" Invitational.  This 5K course is flat and has traditionally proven to be fast, so it provides for an encouraging opportunity to improve early in the season.  The Boys team came into this meet seeded to finish 8th, and moved up 2 positions to finish in 6th with strong races from the top five finishers who scored 173 points.  The meet was won by Greenville, who finished with only 51 points, followed by Fowlerville and Leslie with podium finishes in 2nd and 3rd.

The Chariots Boys Team was led by freshman Daniel Thomas, who moved up slowly throughout the race to finish in 18:35.4 and capture 27th place among 141 runners.  Thomas finished as the 4th best freshman in the race, and has a bright future ahead as the season progresses.  Following closely as the Chariots 2nd finisher was first year runner Colton Dysart, who  was 29th in a PR time of 18:38.3.  That time was almost 1 full minute faster than Dysart's previous race.  Rounding out the top 5 for the Chariots were Asa Rowntree (39th), Alexander Hundt (41st) and Dylan Thomas (48th).  Not far behind that group was the Chariots 6th finisher Joseph Carson, who finished in 52nd place overall.  Part of this team's strength is good pack running, with a top 6 capable of working together and encouraging each other through the race.

Other finishers for the Chariots (in order) were Jordan Feller, Dylan Ward, and Benjamin Hinkley.   

The Chariots will be back in action next Saturday, September 7th, at the Bret Clements Bath Invitational.  The course at Bath Middle School will be filled with dozens of teams and hundreds of runners all morning long.  CHAP is entered in the Boys Class 3 race, which is scheduled to begin at 12:15pm, just after the Middle School races are concluded.