2013 XC Coach's Comments

For about the last couple of weeks, the Wheaton Academy sectional was shaping up to be a doozy. There were a couple of teams establishing themselves as favorites, but about 4-5 others who were vying for one of those last state-qualifying spots. We knew we would be in the mix of it, and we knew it would be close. Little did we know what was in store.

We had a great week of practice capped off by our team dinner after friday’s practice. The captains addressed the team with some great words of affirmation and inspiration. This night is one of my favorite #xctraditions. Saturday morning came a little wet, but it was a nice cool fall morning. The week's rains created some wet/muddy spots, but that is what cross country is supposed to be. We knew we had to get out quick to avoid a muddy spot about 150meters in. All 7 runners answered this call and were in great position. This course was vast, which meant lots of running around to check in with the girls. It was clear they were expending themselves and running this race the way we asked them to. Given the course condidtions, times weren’t going to be a great gage, but I liked our grouping through the half way point. This was especially the case for Emily Beedie, Colleen Cavanaugh, and Meg O’Kane, our 3 final scoring racers. I tried doing the math in my head as it was going, but this was in vain, so I just resorted to just yelling at the girls; they love that. With about a half mile to go, I thought we were in bad shape. Some of our key adversaries were developing some gaps that weren’t going to be made up. I was able to get to the final straight away and see the finishes. I was pleased with the finishes as we held our spots.

As I mentioned last week, we are forced to wait for results, and wait we did. The boys race served as a distraction, but we were all getting antsy. I called the 7 runners in before the awards and tried to ease the blow by telling them that I had us on the outside by a little bit. This of course was premature, but it was what I thought and I knew they were tired of waiting; but, we waited some more. In this modern age of electronic chips and bibs, it seems that scoring would be a quick process. Granted, the officials have to watch the film to check and double check, which they should, but at this juncture in the season, no one wants to be misled about whether or not they achieved their dreams of state qualification. So we waited some more. Finally the ceremony began. The top 10 finishers were announced, then came the team results. I was expecting 7th place, or worst case 8th. 10th and 9th were announced, then, I waited for Nazareth to be said, but it was Lemont. Then I was ready for us at 7th… Wheaton Academy. Then came the pivotal moment, ‘6th place Nazareth Academy … 144 points’ I was pleasantly surprised with 6th, but being that first team out is a tough feeling. The big blow came when it was said ‘5th place Riverside Brookfield… 140 points.’ ...4 points...

I have enjoyed looking up results for this weekend ever since becoming a coach. I always tried to place myself in the shoes of the coach who got 6th by a small margin. The thought of this would always put a pit in my stomach. Experiencing it first hand was about the same thing but a hundred times worse. I really didn’t want to look at the girls at this moment, they ran hundreds of miles and worked their butts off, I just yell at them. I know this reality was devastating for these amazing ladies. I don’t think I even heard the other teams announced, but I knew we would likely have an individual or two to qualify. The biggest drama should have been over with, sadly it was not. The awards announcer began to announce the individual qualifiers and said some names that I wasn’t expecting, it became clear that something was amiss. Claire and Gianna’s names were mentioned, I knew Claire was safe, but Gianna would be close. When they neglected to mention a couple of girls that I knew were qualifiers, someone in the crowd began to tell the announcer he was wrong. It was then that they told all the girls to sit down and they tried to figure out what was going on.

Having hosted a sectional, I understand how demanding this is and how you don’t want to mess anything up at this level, but what we were headed for made me worried that one of our girls would be on the short end of this. They figured things out and re-announced the 7 individual qualifiers, Gianna’s name was not mentioned. It was a heartbreaking moment for any athlete, making it one of our own made it that much worse. We scrambled to see if anything could be done, but it was clear that it was just a mistake in the scoring system and Gianna was not a qualifier. That is a fact and a reality, but to do that to a young athlete is inexcusable. I must credit Gianna on handling this with class and dignity. She was sad and upset, she could have thrown a fit and nobody would have faulted her, but she was composed and I know that this will fuel her fire for next season.

We began to wonder if the team score was possibly off as well. This was coinciding with the boys team scores being all messed up as well, but I will not step into that debacle. The range of emotions experienced in West Chicago encapsulated what is great yet what is harsh about this sport. In lieu of everything that happened I couldn’t be happier with this season. And most of all I couldn’t have more respect for the seniors whose careers ended yesterday: Nikki Walsh, Erin Enochs, Lindsay Zasadzinski, Captain Vicky Vasquez, Captain Jacquie Skokna, and Captain Meg O’Kane. These ladies set an example of what this program stands for and what it means to be a lady runner.

Congratulations to Claire Ramsey on Qualifying for the State meet. We are Peoria bound and will do a recap of that race and the season next week.

The JV race finished up the day and while some of these girls will be part of the top 12 postseason squad, this was likely the last race of the season for all of these girls and the end of many seniors' careers. Junior Emily Eddins finished in 5th place and seems to have found her form from last season. Next up were Rebecca Letcher, Lindsay Zasadzinski, Erin Enochs and Nikki Walsh. When these girls learned their finishing time, they were beside themselves with the improvement from earlier races. These 4 should serve as role models for the current Frosh/Soph girls of what can happen with commitment and hard work. Special mention to the rest of the seniors who ran their last race; Colleen McGivney, Lauren Adduci, Ashley Oliver, and four year runner Lauren Wajda. Thank you for your contributions to this season and to this team. Alumni are always welcome to come back. Remember, summer running is free to you and you can find workouts on the website to combat the freshman 15 next year.

It has been a great season and I hope that more great things are yet to happen. Next Saturday will be like a dual meet against R-B for the regional title and then we head to Sectionals with a State berth on the line. Lastly, congratulations to Benet on winning yet another conference title. It looked like they were having a down year by their standards, but they used a strong pack to edge out Marist. Also, congratulations to Olivia Ryan of Fenwick on winning the individual title. She will be in the mix at the state final race for 3A.