How much longer?

Forest Park

This week, the De Smet cross country Spartans will be competing in the annual Forest Park Cross Country Festival. For those who are new to the program, this race is the largest we will be at all year, including State. The teams from all over the Midwest make the trip. Unfortunately MSHSAA and the ACT are not run by the same people, so many seniors will not be available on Saturday. That being said, De Smet will not be racing a team in the varsity event. I will not be at the race, but there WILL be post race coverage.

This week, I interviewed junior Adam Morgenthaler, sophomore Jimmy Reed, and freshman Jordan Bender. Senior Brian Scherping, as expected, did not get back to me, but we'll let it slide because he was at morning practice on time.

Saturday will be the third time Adam races the festival, so I asked him about the similarities to State.

"Both meets are huge. Forest Park and State are my two favorite meets to be at because I really get involved in cheering on the team."

Adam went on to explain the difference in the huge amount of teams compared to the other meets:

"For me it is easier to run with a large amount of runners because as I pass people my confidence goes up. On the down side it is very important to get out quickly so you don't get boxed in."

Sophmore Jimmy Reed ran his first ever cross country race last week at Fenton, which happened to be on the varsity squad. He is very pleased with his first race.

"I did better than I expected. I really gave it 100%. If we don't give 100% every time we run, we will regret it later."

With De Smet not running a varsity team Saturday, Jimmy knows this is a great chance for the JV team to represent De Smet well.

"JV is all about running to your full potential. Practicing as hard as we can, making good decisions, and racing 100% is what everyone tries to do."

With most of the seniors beings gone, it will be up to Jimmy, Matt O'C, Nick Martini, and John Waller to lead the team, even though they are not running.

"I think just being there means something. As a freshman, I never wanted to go watch meets. But I thought it was really cool when people stayed who weren't running to watch me"

As many people know, the top 7 times from Saturday will earn the chance to take a van trip to Rim Rock Farm, a cross country course owned by University of Kansas. Adam talked about what it would mean to get the invite, and Jimmy talked about how excited he is after clinching a spot last week with his epic Fenton race.

"Rim Rock was my main goal in the beginning. It excites me to think about a team trip. I think it would bring the team together, and I am excited to go." -Jimmy Reed
"If I could go back and run at least under 19 minutes that would be the best feeling in the world."- Adam Morgenthaler

Jordan Bender and I have something in common, we have historic last names. There is a wizard with books and movies named Potter, and Jordan is Blake's brother. I asked Jordan if he learned anything about the sport having his brother in the program for three seasons.

"If there is one thing I learned it is that running is just as much a team sport as any other. People cheering others on during races encourages them to push themselves harder than they ever imagined."

Jordan talked about what the best part about cross country has been so far and what he is looking forward to on Saturday.

"Cross country has introduced me to new friends and taught me to push myself harder than I knew I could. I have no idea what to expect, it's going to be crazy and I can't wait to get out there and race."

Will Jordan take on the role of the Enforcer?

"You'll have to wait until Saturday to find out."

Special thanks to Adam, Jimmy, and Jordan for answering some questions. Good luck to all running. The title comes from last year at Forest Park, I was trying to ask Coach Russo how much longer I had to run in the middle of the race, a story he told at the banquet last season.

From Forest Park
Alex Potter
M.T.B.L.

The Hurricane That Wasn’t
Pre-Meet coverage is great, but some people still want to know what happened at practice today. If that sounds right then this part of the post is for you.

After a late start due to the college fair, we were prepared for the worst—believing that at any moment the sky was going to up and we’d get soaked. As we said in the locker room before going out, a hurricane was coming. In what could be called a miracle, it never happened. According to Cwill there was some kind of super bubble holding it back. Regardless, we stayed dry and had some awesome running weather.

The JV and Freshmen headed to Runnymede for some 5k pace stuff, and the top 7 had the all-important State Simulator Part One today. The Simulator went really well. We even added an extra at one point-Wiggles, a random dog that joined us for the hills part. T-bone and Rob then joined us for a fun cool-down.

Quote of the Day: “I’m an expert at cumulative things.”- Coach Traughber talking about his homeroom winning Freshmen Olympics last year. It also has to do with his always long-term planning for the team.

Joke of the Day: “So anyways…”- Coach Stack right after Matt said something about when they became friends.

Best Dressed: You know someone had an impressive performance when matching throw-back jersey for the Simulator don’t win. That someone was D-bow. For whatever reason he was feeling awful Spanish today. He wore his David Villa Spanish National Soccer Team jersey which alone is really cool. But, it was made way better by being teamed up with the matching shorts and socks. Downright awesome.

kabes