Rock Chalk

Lawrence
On Friday, the De Smet Cross Country Spartans took off for Jay Hawk country. After the long bus ride, the Varsity, JV, and IR squad met in the Coach's room for some final thoughts. No new information was given, just reemphasized such as running in packs and strategy for the course. Senior Josh Goetz and Junior Nick Martini talked about what was different about racing out of town.

"It was nice being able to talk about the meet the night before and not having to drive in the morning." -Goetz

"I had to be responsible and not stay up too late since I had a friend with me in the room. Other than that it was pretty normal." -Martini

After an early breakfast, the team was off to the course. The JV squad raced first after running the course with Coach Traughber and Garwitz. Leading from the gun, and finishing first for the Spartans while setting a PR of 18:30 was senior Seamus Hamilton.

"Making this trip made me realize how many people love to race. I'll be the first to admit, I like racing, but I don't love it. I felt like I owed it to my teammates to love it today and I went for it. Coach was right, it isn't fun, but it was worth it." -Seamus

After Seamus came the big pack of Michael Callahan, Josh Goetz, Collin Vieth, and Jimmy Reed. This was Jimmy's second ever 5k, and he set a PR by over a minute.

"I ran with the team, which gave me the support I needed. It felt great finishing a minute better than Central." -Reed

Fighting strong for the JV were sophomores Collin Sullivan and Pat Callahan who also ran great times on a very difficult course.

The Varsity Guys with Potter, Husmann, and OC on the Skyline
After the JV, the Varsity took the line. The team raced unbelievably. Several PRs were set, and most importantly, everyone ran in a pack, the Calvary. The five that scored were only separated by a minute. Although Junior John Waller was not in the top 5, the pack would not have finished as well as it did without him early.

"Watching John compete made me want to suck it up and forget about the fact that my shoe was falling off from the start, and continue to move up"- Seiler

"He carried us big time through the first two miles. Seiler and I were towards the back of the pack, and Martini and Matt were a little ahead. John kept the pack moving at the correct pace for as long as he could. He "bull dogged" the first two miles."- JC "Bulldog" Madey

The team did a workout specifically geared for running in packs two days before we took off. It paid off for Senior Brian Scherping.

"The workout taught me that if I can or cannot run with the Calvary is all mental." Scherping

Ahead of the pack was Senior Kevin Abernathy with a great time of 16:30 on a difficult course. The Rim Rock Classic featured some of the best runners in the Midwest. Kevin talked about how running with some of the best around changed how he attacked the course.

"Going in it didn't change anything. The plan was to get out smart and compete. It got tough as the race went on because there were lots of guys ahead of me that I needed to pass in the later, more difficult part of the race. I executed my plan well, and ran just about even on the three miles, and still finished 22nd. It shows me how good these guys are." -Kabes

Finishing 2nd for the Spartans and setting a big PR was Junior Matt O'Connor.

"The race was awesome especially when I was falling in the very beginning. I had a good day, and staying with the pack, especially Nick Martini really helped."- O'C

Congrats to the top 14 for a great race. Every runner should make this their first goal of the season, because it is a great experience.

From Lawrence
Alex Potter
Milk Table(MTBL)

NOTE: Pictures will be added tomorrow. If you have any good ones email them to us at milktable@gmail.com