At Saturdyay's 55th Annual Kermit N. Ambrose Huron Relays, one curious fan in the stands wondered aloud, “I don’t know what they’re eating and drinking over at Pioneer, but my money’s on their kids in the distance races.”

She might have been right — the Pioneer High School boys track team coasted to a 19-point victory at Eastern Michigan University’s Bowen Field House on the legs of their distance athletes. The Pioneer girls also took home the title.

“It’s going to be really big for us this year, moving forward,” Pioneer coach Don Sleeman said. “Today, we didn’t even race two of our best guys. We only had one in the mile. So they’ll be able to pick up some points this season.”

One of the most pleasant surprises was Adam Kern, who admittedly ran his best 3,200-meter run of his career.

Kern, who had helped the Pioneers claw back to win the 4x800 earlier in the day, ran a very nice two-mile, staying just behind the head of the pack and picking racers off.

He turned on the burners in the last two laps — his bright neon orange shoes just a blur — and left everyone in the dust for the title.

“It was a great race for me,” Kern said. “It just went perfectly. It was really my first two-mile of the year, so I was just happy to get out there. … I’ve been working on some speed stuff, and I just picked them off down the stretch.”

Sleeman was also deeply impressed with the run.

“He ran a totally determined race,” he said. “He stayed on pace, he ran an intelligent race and then he just ran away with it. … It was the most competitive 2-mile race I’ve ever seen him run.”

The team’s goal for the tournament was to not overwork anyone and try to get as many runners, specifically the freshmen, experience on the track. Sleeman was happy to do that, saying the ultimate goal is doing “really well at the Regionals.”

“We want to win every meet, but if we have to be patient and some of our runners are sore, that’s what we’re going to do. Once the season starts, you blink and it’s over, so we have to be smart.”

Pioneer’s skill in the distance events is bad news for Saline, which is vying for its fourth-straight league title this season. But, if the Hornets wish to take home that particular piece of hardware, it’s going to be a very tall task.

Saline, which finished 11th in the event, was very senior-heavy last season, especially in the sprints and field events. Now, with a veteran group of distance runners, Saline will be relying on them to get much-needed points.

“There isn’t a spot where we don’t need to get better as the season progresses,” Saline coach Allen Leslie said. “It’s early in the season, but with our youth, it’s going to be hit-and-miss all year.”

But if the Hornets’ young talent pans out, this could be another special season.

“Our expectations are to challenge for the league and the regional every year,” Leslie said. “Now, is that realistic? We’re just going to have to wait and see what our young guys do.”