Hard work pays off for Traynham

by Angie Asam-Staff Writer

Sophomore Joe Traynham has proved to all that hard work pays off. According to cross country coach Marty Mix, Traynham is a hard working kid who dedicates himself to the sports he competes in.

“I am beyond proud of him. It was a good ending to a great season for him. He did really well on the course and really well in the classroom this season. His hard work and dedication helped,” said coach Mix.

Traynham has made that hard work pay off this season as he qualified for the state finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn where he finished 88^th, running a personal best time of 17:35 in the finals race. Traynham qualified after finishing 10^th at regionals in Central Lake with a time of 18:12.

“Our goal going down there was to have him run one of his best races of the season, which he certainly did. The other was to crack the top 100, which he did,” said coach Mix.

With five teammates making the trip down to cheer him on by using signs and their voices, Traynham was able to accomplish

both the goals he and his coach had set for the weekend.

Although his new personal best time wasn’t enough to earn him all-state honors from the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), it was seven seconds better than his previous best. Traynham’s previous personal record was 17:43, a mark he set on Oct. 20 running in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) state finals in Shephard where he was 12^th to earn MITCA all-state honors.

The winning time for the Division IV race at the MHSAA state finals was 15:32 and the top 30 ended at 16:39.