Wow. What a Season!

The cross country banquet on Thursday marked the official end of our 2017 cross country season. Awards were received, pins were handed out, t-shirts were signed, and desserts were eaten (lots of them!). Coach Shirley even gave every runner his or her own golf tee in honor of the golf tee that was awarded to the winners of practice each day back at the beginning of the season (I guess he didn't want to have to carry around a bunch of two-by-fours...).

The winner-of-practice block at the end of the season (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

Joshua Deitrich ('19) and Hannah Ye ('21) were awarded the Top Male Runner and Top Female Runner awards. These were based on points earned towards varsity letters, of which Josh won 80 out of a possible 80! Marc Sherman ('20) and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) received the Most Improved Runner Awards. Spencer Armstrong ('19) and Faith Hollister ('22) were the recipients of the Coaches' Awards, the criteria for which included finishing every race and making a significant contribution to the team in terms of scoring.

As Coach said at the banquet, this was an amazing year for our team. We met our team goals for the season, and I've seen every one of us runners improve so much. In looking ahead, we have a relatively young team, and I can't wait to see how Red Lion Cross Country will grow in the years to come!

On a more personal note, I can't express just how much I've enjoyed cross country these past two years that I've been running. This season especially, I really feel like I started to hit my stride (no pun intended). I've gone from thinking I could barely run a mile without dying to knowing I can push myself beyond my mental limits to finish every race. I've learned valuable lessons from both my coaches and teammates, not only about running, but also about encouragement, teamwork, and life in general.

I guess that's it for this year then! To all our parents, thank you for your support of us runners and cheering for us; to our coaches, for teaching us the value of preparing, continually encouraging us, and pushing us farther than we think we can go; and to my teammates, for being an absolutely amazing group of encouraging, hilarious, supportive, and understanding people. I'll miss you all next year, but I can't wait to see what's in store for this team in the years to come!

Naomi

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
- Hebrews 12:1

P. S. Don't forget about the 500 club! Keep logging those miles and I'll see you on the leaderboard ;)

There's a Website!

That's right, the Cross Country team is live on the web!

You can visit the page here.

The purpose of this site is to encourage runners to run in the off season by providing a way to log miles. For those who reach 500 miles before the next season, there will be a "500 Club." Members of said club will get a custom t-shirt and (potentially) a "get-out-of-practice-free" ticket. There will also be a "250 Club" for those who run 250 miles between May 1 and the first day of practice.

There will be more details announced at the Cross Country banquet on Thursday, but for now, if you want login credentials, please send a quick email to contact@onthelinexc.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Currently Coach Shirley is at the top of the leaderboard with a whopping 3 miles, so get running!

Micah Pope

2017 Delaware DIAA State Championships

Our last race of the season was the DE State Championship race at Killens Pond (or, as some of the girls termed it, "Kill-it" Pond). It was definitely a welcome change from last year's States race at Brandywine, which involved several enormous hills, as the Killens Pond course is almost entirely flat. Our team was rather well equipped for the temperatures in the upper 30s, showing up wearing about three layers each and bringing gloves, hats, hand warmers, blankets, and even sleeping bags.

Four races were held at this meet, a girls and a boys race each for Division I and Division II schools. Our top seven male and female runners competed in the respective Division II races, with the girls race taking off first at 1pm.

The start of the girls race (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

Hannah Ye ('21) ran a personal best time of 22:00, placing 44th overall. Faith Hollister ('22) was not far behind in 56th place with her own new PR of 22:13. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished in 82nd place with a time of 23:43, and Katie Rippon ('20) and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) ran personal bests of 24:03 and 24:19 respectively to place 91st and 96th. Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 100th place in 24:40. Cathy Nicholson ('21) crossed the line in 105th place at 25:07, despite twisting her ankle in the latter half of the race.

Weston (and Matteo) around the half-mile mark (Photo: Naomi Mengel)

The Division II boys race started an hour and twenty minutes later at 2:20 pm. Joshua Deitrich ('19) once again led the Red Lion boys, placing 24th overall with a personal best of 17:19. He was followed by Weston Marshall ('20), who set a PR of 18:51 and placed 67th. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) finished in 111th place in 19:53, followed by Spencer Armstrong ('19) in 115th place with a PR of 19:59. Captain Luke Sherman ('18) and Dennis Nicholson ('19) both set PRs of 20:29, finishing 125th and 126th, with Luke just ahead. Marc Sherman also set a PR, coming in 148th with a time of 21:14.

Josh Deitrich leading the Red Lion boys (Photo: Naomi Mengel)

Full results can be found here for both races.

Captain Luke Sherman finishing his final race as a high school XC runner (Photo: Naomi Mengel

)

At practice this past week, Coach Shirley told us he'd set a goal back at the beginning of the season for the girls team and one for the boys team for our States races. The girls' goal was to place in the top ten teams in Division II, and the boys' was to place in the top fifteen. At this meet, our girls team did indeed finish in tenth place, and the boys finished in fifteenth. In addition, ten out of our fourteen runners who competed in this meet set new personal bests today. ("Kill-it" Pond turned out to be a very appropriate name.)

Team pictures after the race (Photo: Mr. Dan Mengel)

After team pictures, we headed out to Chick-fil-a to celebrate as a team. The girls team also revealed their Secret Sisters at the meet. Our season is officially over, but I don't think we could have ended with a better race. We'll celebrate some more at our banquet on Thursday, and after that it's a wrap.

The girls team (Photo: Mr. Dan Mengel)

I'll probably post one more blog entry after our banquet next Thursday and share more of my personal experience from this season, so keep an eye out for that :)

Naomi

2017 New Castle County Championships

Although the Winterthur course for the New Castle County Championship race is not usually a particular favorite among runners, we did our best to rise to the challenge. It's billed as having "gently rolling hills," which is a pretty accurate description of the first mile of each lap, but the larger hill that makes up the last half mile can be rather intimidating. As this is a two-lap course, it tends to be even more mentally challenging. We couldn't have had a better day for the race, though; temperatures in the upper 50s and a bit of November sunshine made for wonderful running weather.

The team post-race (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

We put a lot into preparing for this race both mentally and physically during the week leading up to it. We put our work in at practice every day, had a course walk-through (more like run-through) on that Wednesday, and some of us even had a bread-eating competition at the pre-meet spaghetti dinner on Friday (hey, they did tell us to load up on the carbs!).

For this race, the top seven runners on each team ran in their respective varsity races, and the rest of the runners competed in the JV races.

The JV girls ran first, with Sophia Spotts ('21) leading the way for Red Lion and finishing in 61st place (out of 193 girls) with a time of 24:58. Abby Phillips ('21) finished in 97th, with Captain Anna Teather ('18) following in 138th. Full results for the race can be found here.

The JV boys race was by far the largest of the meet with a total of 340 runners. Ryan Cooper ('21) finished first among the Red Lion boys and 97th overall, followed by Richard Turley ('22) in 101st, Nick Yu ('18) in 105th, Micah Pope ('19) in 107th, and Ryan Silver ('20) in 110th. Captain Brandan Leauby ('18) and Jesse Ma ('20) followed in 258th and 297th. Cooper, the first runner, and Silver, the fifth runner, finished within thirty seconds of each other (22:30 and 22:58) . For full results, click here.

The varsity girls race, with 165 runners, was the smallest of the meet. Faith Hollister ('22) led the Red Lion girls, finishing in 85th place with a time of 23:11 despite taking a tumble early in the race. Hannah Ye ('21) finished next in 98th place in 23:36. Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) followed in 115th with a time of 24:26 (a PR for me!). Cathy Nicholson ('21) and Katie Rippon ('20) also finished under 25 minutes in 123rd and 125th place respectively. Fiona Fawcett ('22) placed 134th, and Katelyn Walker ('19) finished just behind her in 135th (full results here). The team placed 19th out of 29 teams.

In the varsity boys race, Joshua Deitrich ('19) crossed the line at 17:56, placing 61st out of 203 runners and first for Red Lion. Weston Marshall ('20) finished next in 101st place, followed by Matteo D'Andrea ('20) in 136th and Spencer Armstrong ('19) in 145th place. Captain Luke Sherman ('18) finished in 158th place with a PR of 20:58 to round out the top five. Dennis Nicholson ('19) and Marc Sherman ('20) followed in 167th and 176th place respectively. The team placed 20th out of 32 teams. Full results can be found here.

MileSplit also has video coverage of each race. Check out the beginning of this video to see our girls team featured!

Coach Shirley speaking to the team after the race (Photo: Cathy Nicholson)

We're nearing the end of our season, with only one more race to go. We're gearing up for the States meet on Saturday, where the top seven runners on each team will compete in the Division II races. Coach Shirley has set some specific goals for our teams regarding placing in that meet, and I'm excited to see us finish out the season strong!

Naomi

A Late-Season Update from Wenham

Hello XC friends! I'm back on the OTLXC blog. Most of you probably remember me from last year, but if not, my name is Benjamin Schneider, and I ran cross-country at Tall Oaks for seven seasons, the last of which was under the Red Lion banner.

College has been treating me well thus far. I've learned a lot and become more disciplined in many areas, but I've also been blessed to be able to continue participating in the sport that I love so very much.

Yes, I'm running cross-country for Gordon College!

Cross-country wasn't something that I was expecting to continue after high school, but it started to enter my mind as a possibility when I heard David Walczak ('16), my longtime teammate who also attends Gordon, was running on the team. After committing to Gordon and exchanging a few emails, I found myself with a spot on the roster.

My new coach, Justin Wikerd, is fantastic. He's been an excellent source of encouragement to the entire team all season. He's currently in his second season at Gordon, coaching both the XC and Track and Field teams.

As for how my season has been going personally, it's been challenging, but it's also been a wonderful experience. I'm training harder than I ever have before, and I honestly think I'm in the best shape of my life.

College XC distances are slightly longer. The first meet of the season is a 5K race to allow us to ease back into race pace, but after that, the men's distance bumps up to 8K (just barely under five miles). For the women, the 5K distance remains the same until the Conference Championship and Regional Finals races, where an extra kilometer is added and the distance becomes 6K.

I dealt with some foot soreness in the offseason, so I came into the year slightly undertrained. I ran the 5K race in 21:36, certainly not a bad time, but quite a bit slower than that of what I am capable. Adjusting to the 8K distance has taken some time; in my first 8K, my mile pace increased slightly as I ran a 35:21.6. Over the season, I've been able to drop nearly a minute off my time, and just last Saturday, I completed the CCC Championship race in 34:27.9, setting a new personal best for the 8K distance.

The team's final meet, the NCAA New England Regionals, is next Saturday, November 11. The rules are slightly different for this meet as each team is only permitted to run seven team members, though an additional three can serve as alternates, standing by to compete in the case of unforeseen circumstances. I am one of the alternates, so I will be travelling with the team, but I am unlikely to actually participate in the race.

Once the season ends, I'll have some downtime, but I think I have decided to give Track and Field a try as well. Tall Oaks only had a track team my sophomore year, which was a really enjoyable experience. Most Gordon runners do both XC and track, and while I orignally was intending on taking the spring season off, I've been feeling called to participate in track as well. Just this week, the XC team practiced on the track to do some interval work, and I had an absolute blast, running my fastest interval splits of the season. I am still a bit concerned about having enough time in my schedule, but I am trusting that if God wants me to run track, He will find a way to make it work.

With that, I bid you farewell as both our teams approach the end of our respective seasons. Go Lions and Scots!

Benjamin

2017 Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships

The spectators may have been freezing, but the breeze and afternoon sunshine made for perfect running weather for the Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 26. (Of course, as Coach Shirley says, all weather is cross country weather, but this was particularly beautiful cross country weather.)

Because this is Red Lion's first year in the DSAC, this is a new meet for us. We ran this course earlier this season in a much smaller meet against Howard and Design Lab, however, and it was great to see our times improve with heightened competition from the seven other teams in the DSAC.

The meet was divided into four races, with the top ten boys and top ten girls from each team running the respective varsity races and all other runners participating in the JV races. Full results for each race can be found here, so I won't go into too much detail with regard to times, but this was a very fast meet. When Coach asked afterwards how many of us set new PRs, lots of hands went up. At least six of the ten girls ran their fastest times ever at this race (Hannah, Faith, myself, Katie, Sophia, and Abby). Several of the boys also ran PRs, and Seyram Gafrey ('21) finished his first full race, in honor of which Coach presented him with the team 2x4 for the day.

The girls team also celebrated their PRs and the arrival of our new spirit wear sweatshirts with a full-on post-race photo shoot involving a brave attempt at a pyramid, among other things. 

Our pyramid...we tried (Photo: Kiersten Mengel)

We're coming to the end of our season at a rapid pace (pun not entirely intended) with only two weeks left. We've started backing off on difficulty in practice in order to rest our legs for our final two meets: counties and states. I'm looking forward to seeing our team finish out the season strong!

The girls team after the race (Photo: Kiersten Mengel)

Naomi

RLCA vs. Conrad vs. DMA

After being delayed a week due to a tragic event involving one of the other schools, our meet against Conrad and Delaware Military Academy was held on Oct. 17. The Banning Park course was a little confusing because sections of it cross open fields or areas with no clear landmarks, but a number of spotters placed around the park ensured that everyone was able to stay on course.

The girls race was held first and was won by Heather McClure of Conrad, who finished in 20:38. Of the Red Lion girls, Hannah Ye ('21) and Faith Hollister ('22) finished in the top ten, placing seventh and ninth respectively. Katelyn Walker ('19) finished in 13th place with a time of 24:17, followed closely by Fiona Fawcett ('22) three seconds behind in 15th place. Cathy Nicholson ('21), Captain Naomi Mengel ('18), and Katie Rippon ('20) finished in 17th, 19th, and 20th place respectively. Abby Phillips ('21) and Captain Anna Teather ('21) finished in 23rd and 26th.

Zach Martinez of DMA won the boys race with a time of 18:04. Josh Deitrich ('19) was not far behind, finishing in fourth place in 18:26. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) finished next in 17th place with a time of 20:55. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished just behind in 21:11, followed by Captain Luke Sherman ('18) in 24th, Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 27th, Nick Yu ('18) in 31st, and Marc Sherman ('20) in 32nd. Ryan Silver ('20) and Richard Turley ('22) finished within a second of each other at 23:17 and 23:18 respectively. Ryan Cooper ('21), Captain Brandan Leauby ('18), Micah Pope ('19), and Jesse Ma ('20) rounded out the boys finishers.

Although we didn't win this meet, we ran well and posted solid times. As this was our last "regular" meet of the season, we're excited to prepare for the next item on the agenda: our conference championship race. From there, it's on to county and state championships!

Naomi

RLCA vs. Howard vs. Delaware Design-Lab

Not all those who wander are lost. . . or maybe they are. More on that later.

Our October 2nd tri-meet against Howard High School and Design-Lab High School was held at Bellevue State Park, on the same course where many of us ran the Joe O'Neill Invitational last year. After starting on the gravel track that circles the main park area, the course winds through the grassy areas of the grounds, includes some sections of trail in the woods, sunny open spaces in the meadow, and paved roads, and finishes back in the field in the middle of the park.

Josh Deitrich ('19) again placed first among the Red Lion boys, this time finishing first overall as well with a time of 19:12. Weston Marshall ('20) placed second in 19:53. Spencer Armstrong ('19), Dennis Nicholson ('19), and Nick Yu ('18) rounded out the top five for the Red Lion boys, followed by Richard Turley ('22) and Captain Brandan Leauby ('18). The "Ryans," Ryan Silver ('20) and Ryan Cooper ('21), both ran times of 24:57, with Silver finishing just ahead.

The girls team swept the top five places for a perfect 15, led by Hannah Ye ('21) with a time of 23:26 and a new PR. Fiona Fawcett ('22) finished in 24:16 with Faith Hollister ('22) four seconds behind, followed by Katie Rippon ('20), Cathy Nicholson ('21), and Captain Anna Teather ('18). Coincidentally, Katie finished in 25:08, the exact same time as her finish last year on this course at the Joe O'Neill Invitational.

Hannah Ye, pictured earlier in 2017, won the girls race and set a new PR (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick)

Katelyn Walker ('19) is still recovering from shin splints, and Micah Pope ('19) started the race but was unable to finish due to injury. Abby Phillips ('21) is battling sickness and did not start.

Here are the full results for RLCA (the home team did not use a board or similarly accessible system to track places/points, so I don't have full results to post).

GIRLS RESULTS (RLCA)
1. Hannah Ye - 23:26
2. Fiona Fawcett - 24:16
3. Faith Hollister - 24:20
4. Katie Rippon - 25:08
5. Cathy Nicholson - 25:47
6. Anna Teather - 30:28
*DNF-Naomi Mengel
*DNF-Sophia Spotts
DNS-Abby Phillips
DNS-Katelyn Walker

BOYS RESULTS (RLCA)
1. Josh Deitrich - 19:12
2. Weston Marshall - 19:53
3. Spencer Armstrong - 22:00
4. Dennis Nicholson - 22:34
5. Nick Yu - 23:16
6. Richard Turley - 24:22
7. Brandan Leauby - 24:34
8. Ryan Silver - 24:57
9. Ryan Cooper - 24:57
*DNF-Matteo D'Andrea
*DNF-Adam Rao
*DNF-Jesse Ma
DNF-Micah Pope
DNF-Seyram Gafrey

*Back to the whole wandering vs. lost thing, several runners (including myself) made a wrong turn about a quarter mile before the finish line that resulted in our running about an extra half mile before we arrived back at the finish line. We ended up on the gravel track again and so weren't really lost per se, but because we did not finish on the correct course, our times could not be counted.

We'll be back at Bellevue for the Diamond State Athletic Conference Championship race later this season. This course is generally known as a fast one, and hopefully we'll set some new PRs with the heightened competition at that meet.

And of course, hopefully none of us will get lost.

Naomi

RLCA vs. Archmere vs. Delmarva Christian and Senior Night

Our second and final home meet of the season was a tri-meet against Archmere Academy and Delmarva Christian Academy. Despite the intense heat and a delayed start time due to a mixup involving double-booking of the course with another five-team meet, our runners were prepared to compete, and many posted solid times.

Josh Deitrich ('19) led the way for the boys, finishing second overall in 19:59. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) finished in fourteenth place with a time of 21:58. Spencer Armstrong ('19), Dennis Nicholson ('19), and Nick Yu ('18) followed in 16th, 25th, and 28th place respectively. Marc Sherman ('20) crossed the line in 31st place with a time of 23:39, followed by Captain Luke Sherman ('18) in 34th place. Ryan Silver ('20), Richard Turley ('22), Captain Brandan Leauby ('18), Ryan Cooper ('21), and Jesse Ma ('20) rounded out the Red Lion boys finishers.

Josh Deitrich, pictured earlier in 2017 (Photo: Mr. Aaron Hamrick)

On the girls' side, Fiona Fawcett ('22) placed first among the Red Lion girls and fourth overall with a time of 24:37. Hannah Ye ('21) also finished in the top ten for the girls (7th place). Despite taking not one but two tumbles during the last mile that resulted in a bloodied knee and dirt all over her, Katie Rippon ('20) placed 14th, crossing the finish line at 26:25. Because of her perseverance, she was honored as the recipient of the 2x4 for the day*. Cathy Nicholson ('21) finished in 15th with a time of 26:38. Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) was narrowly beaten in the final sprint by an Archmere runner and placed 17th. Faith Hollister ('22), battling a broken wrist, finished 23rd among the girls, followed by Abby Phillips ('21) in 25th, Sophia Spotts ('21) in 30th, and Captain Anna Teather ('18) in 33rd place. Both the boys and girls teams lost to Archmere but won against Delmarva Christian in the overall score.

Coach Shirley, the seniors, and their posters (Photo: Mr. Dan Mengel)

Because this was our final home meet of the season, senior recognition was held after the race. Brandan Leauby, Naomi Mengel, Luke Sherman, Anna Teather, and Nick Yu were recognized for their contributions to the team over the course of their cross country careers. (Special thank you to all the Tall Oaks students who helped to make the posters and the friends and family who came out to support us!)

*For an explanation of this honor, see previous post "Golf Tees & Two-by-Fours"

Naomi

2017 Middletown Invitational

The Middletown Invitational, held at St. Andrew's School on September 22, was our second race of the season. The course, beautiful on the warm but overcast day, winds through the fields that surround the school and ends with a twisting, hilly path through the woods. Four separate races were held, with the top seven runners of each gender competing in the respective varsity races while the remaining runners competed in the JV races.

The girls team and manager Sarah Zhu (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

The girls' JV race was the first of the meet. Abby Philips ('21) led the Red Lion girls, finishing 48th overall with a time of 27:34. Sophia Spotts ('21) placed 50th overall, followed closely by Captain Anna Teather ('18).

The boys' JV race, which was by far the largest of the meet in terms of numbers, began fairly uneventfully. At around the two-mile mark, however, the runners encountered a swarm of ground hornets, and many were stung, including several runners from Red Lion. Nevertheless, the boys persisted and were able to finish the race. Marc Sherman ('21) led the team with a time of 23:03, placing 118th overall. Coach declared him the day's winner of the 2x4 in honor of his crossing the finish line while puking. Ryan Silver ('21) finished next in 139th place with Ryan Cooper ('21), Jesse Ma ('21), Adam Rao ('20), and Captain Brandan Leauby ('18) following.

The girls' varsity race, slightly rerouted due to the hornet problem, took off just afterwards. Fiona Fawcett ('22) ran an outstanding time of 22:05, placing 32nd overall. Faith Hollister ('22), sporting a cast on her broken wrist, followed with another amazing time of 22:10 and placed 33rd. Hannah Ye ('21) finished in 52nd place, followed by Cathy Nicholson ('21) in 62nd, Katelyn Walker ('19) in 68th, Katie Rippon ('20) in 71st, and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) in 72nd place. The team placed 9th overall.

Josh Deitrich ('19) led the boys' varsity race for Red Lion with an impressive time of 17:37 and placed 28th overall. Matteo D'Andrea ('20) also broke the 20-minute mark, crossing the line at 19:09 in 65th place. Spencer Armstrong ('19) finished at 20:03 in 75th, followed by Dennis Nicholson ('19) in 92nd, Captain Luke Sherman ('18) in 97th, and Nick Yu ('18) in 102nd place. Micah Pope ('19) was unable to complete the race due to severe pain from shin splints. The team placed 15th overall.

Naomi

RLCA vs. Caravel Academy vs. St. Elizabeth HS

Our opening meet of the season was a tri-meet against Caravel Academy and St. Elizabeth High School at our home course in Lums Pond State Park. The course, which winds through the woods at the back of the park, and the beautiful (if slightly warm) September weather made for a picturesque setting for our first race.

Joshua Deitrich ('19) led the boys' race for Red Lion with a time of 20:23, placing second overall to Caravel's Joe Schaefer. Weston Marshall ('20) followed in third place, finishing in 20:39. Spencer Armstrong ('19), Matteo D'Andrea ('20), Dennis Nicholson ('19), Captain Luke Sherman ('18), and Micah Pope ('19) rounded out the top seven for Red Lion. Richard Turley ('22) finished with a time of 23:56 for his first varsity race, followed by Nick Yu ('18), Marc Sherman ('20), Captain Brandan Leauby ('18), Jesse Ma ('20), and Adam Rao ('20).

On the girls' side, Faith Hollister ('22) led the Red Lion girls in her debut varsity race, finishing second to Katy Peyton of Caravel with a time of 23:58. Hannah Ye ('21) finished third overall in 25:23. Fiona Fawcett ('22) and Cathy Nicholson ('21) had a photo finish as Cathy pulled just ahead in the final sprint. Katelyn Walker ('19), still battling shin splints, nevertheless ran a solid race to finish in 26:27. Katie Rippon ('20) and Captain Naomi Mengel ('18) finished sixth and seventh respectively for the Red Lion girls team, with two of our new runners, Sophia Spotts ('21) and Abby Philips ('21), and Captain Anna Teather ('18) following.

Full race results (Photo: Mrs. Jen Mengel)

It should be noted that even though this was our first race, we've already had two runners compete for the annual "First to Puke" award, won in past years primarily by former Captain David Walczak ('16) and this year (rather sheepishly) by me, who narrowly beat out Adam Rao ('22) for the somewhat dubious honor.

For the first race of the season, all of our runners looked strong out on the course. Some of us (including me) admittedly started the race a little too fast, and many of us did not run the time we were hoping for, but with the rest of the season ahead of us, I have high hopes for our performance as a team in the meets to come.

Naomi

Golf Tees & Two-by-Fours

Specifically, a used, unpainted golf tee and a foot-long, unsanded section of a two-by-four.

When Coach Paul Shirley first showed up at practice with that golf tee two weeks ago, we runners were not quite sure what to think. Coach explained that the tee would be the reward for "winning practice" and would be presented at the end of each training session to the runner who had worked the hardest that day (collectively determined by the captains). Winners had to return the tee to Coach at the beginning of the next practice, but in the interim, they would be allowed to customize the tee however they wanted (although Coach did specify that he'd prefer it to remain in one piece, much to the chagrin of certain members of the team). By the end of that week, the tee had been initialed, painted blue, stenciled with stars, and striped with red paint. (Shoutout to all the practice winners from that week for your hard work and creativity--you know who you are :)

The golf tee by the end of the week (Photo: Brandan Leauby)

While a golf tee may not seem like a particularly exciting prize, Coach explained to us that if we were willing to compete for something that small and insignificant, we would be willing to compete for anything.

Last week, after our most difficult practice of the season yet, Coach retired the tee "to the archives" (meaning that boys captain Brandan Leauby was appointed to take it home for safekeeping) and arrived at practice with a section of a two-by-four about a foot long and complete with unsanded edges. Given the hard work put in by the entire team during our mile repeats on the previous day, he felt that we deserved a better prize for winning practice. So far, the ends of the wood have been sanded and the entire piece painted with gold, red, and black stripes.

This new winner-of-practice system is an outworking of our team motto for the season: Prepare, Encourage, Compete. (We're still working out how to incorporate that into our pre-race cheer; Coach already definitively nixed us yelling "PEC!" at the top of our lungs.) For the past few weeks, we've spent hours preparing for the season to come, building up our strength and endurance through timed miles, distance running, CTs, and drills, so that when race day arrives, we can focus on meeting and exceeding the goals we've set for ourselves. We've grown together as a team, encouraging one another by pushing our fellow runners to their full potential and rejoicing with them when they meet their goals. We've learned to compete by running our best and working our hardest for a prize as insignificant as a golf tee.

I can't wait to see what our team will accomplish this season!

Naomi

Welcome to Cross Country 2017!

Hey guys!

I'm Naomi Mengel, captain of the girls varsity cross country team at Reach Christian Schools and senior at Tall Oaks. When my former teammate Benjamin Schneider asked me if I would be willing to take over this blog, I decided I'd give it a try (although this is only my second time doing this kind of thing, so I'm still getting used to the writing style involved).

As we're preparing for our first meet, I'll be posting something about what our team has been doing with regards to training for these past weeks (hint: it involves a golf tee, a two-by-four, and our team motto for the season).

Stay tuned for more updates on the team's progress, race reviews/results, and other fun things from the season!

Naomi