What a Day

Shaw Park

This week's meet action started on Friday when the JV and Freshman teams headed to Shaw Park for the Clayon Invitational. The weather was great, and this meet gave many young runners the chance to run Varsity for the first time. Running against the top 7 of many small schools and scoring for the Spartans were Michael Callahan, Steve Placht, Mackenzie Smith, Dan Bowman, and Collin Sullivan. Mackenzie talked about his first Varsity race.

"My first varsity meet was extremeley hard, I had no idea there was going to be that many people in the race. I did try my very best, because that course was extremely difficult for me because it was extremely hilly and very narrow. I think I proably could of relax my shoulders more, and not get so stiff in my neck, and myabe taken wider strides"

The squad finished 12th out of 20, pretty impressive since most of the runners had never ran in a Varsity race.

The remaining runners ran next in the JV race. Scoring for the Spartans were Pat Callahan, Collin Vieth, Tim Fitzpatrick, Drew Higgins, and Matt Beers.

Sophmore Tim Fitzpatrick ran the race of his life, setting a new PR by a minute and ten seconds.

"I just felt really good that race and the guys off the course cheering kept me going and the guys running with me helped me push myself when I saw someone and thought that I could catch up with them"

Senior Drew Higgins broke the 20 minute barrier for the first time.

"I went out harder and I fought through alot of the pain that I had. I also stuck with Beers for the first mile then work hard to catch back up in the last mile. Attacking the up hills and using the down hills also helped"

This was Senior Alex Potter first and only meet this season due to his back troubles. He talked about what it meant to him to put on the jersey and join his fellow Spartans on the course for one last 5k:

The night Tbone and I decided it would be best to stop pushing the issue, he brought up the idea and I have been really excitied since then. It felt great to warm up with the guys and put the spikes on. I ran a good first mile then according to Web MD I strained a muscle in my abdomen so I just tried to finish after that.

With his cross country racing complete Alex said how exicted he is for the upcoming track season:

I can't wait until the spring. This could be the most talented team we've ever had and we have a great shot to win confrence.

The JV squad finished 3rd out of 16. Great race guys!

Parkway Central- Districts

After a delicious team dinner that Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy cooked for the top 9, Coach Truaghber, Coach Garwitz, and myself,the squad was ready for the big race. They had their work cut out for them, competing against the "home team" and three ranked opponents. It didn't matter.

The rain that was predicted never came, and the weather was fantastic. The team followed the plan perfectly. Kevin Abernathy was with the lead pack at the first mile, and the Superpack of Jacob Seiler, Nick Martini, Matt O'Connor, John Madey, John Waller, and Josh Goetz all came in together about 10 seconds after that. When it was all said and done, Kevin had taken the individual district crown, and Seiler, Martini, O'Connor, and Madey all finished in the top 30. Kevin's performance earned him a spot in the Post.

"I knew I had Lambert (Eureka) when I came out of the woods and Coach Williams yelled "Do your thing!" at the 4k. I caught him and put him away with about 400 to go. As someone described, my face lit up coming around the bleachers as I realized I was going to win. It was fun and very special. An amazing day" Kabes

Matt O'Connor had a very impressive finish, knowing that he could not allow the group of people behind him to push him out of the top 30.

"I looked over my shoulder around that last turn and saw that huge group and I knew if they passed me we would be finished so I didn't let them and I was able to pass people near the finish."

The team had advanced, putting 5 in the top 30. The coaches were thrilled knowing we were to move on to Sectionals next week. T Bone and I walked down to the scorer's tabel, and when we heard "2nd" Coach ducked three ropes, and sprinted up the hill at 100 meter workout pace to tell the other coaches. The top 5 teams were seperated by only 18 points, and the Spartans finished 2nd. Senior Jacob Seiler has been part of the road to State several times, but this one was special.

"It is significant because this year, more than the past years, the question has been "will we make it?". Yesterday we showed up and announced to everyone that we are going all the way. It was just an awesome day for us as a team to show how far we have come this season and that we are not at all irrevelant in the post season."

After the Varsity, Seniors Seamus Hamilton and Brian Scherping ran the same course in their attempt to challenge for a Varsity spot next week. They made it so that the coaches will have some tough decisions.

It was a great two days for the Spartans, and there are two more weeks of hard work and fun to reach the ultimate goal.

From Central
Alex Potter
M.T.B.L.

Hay is in the Barn

With the JV having the day off before the Clayton Meet tomorrow, the Districts guys headed to Parkway Central for practice. We had the course to ourselves because of the early dismissal.

After jogging the whole course for the warm-up, we had a small workout. We ran the first 800 at race place to get a feel for Saturday. We picked it up again for 400 during the second mile. Finally, we did a 4x200 on the final stretch of the course. It was another good workout for what could be called the “Superpack.” No longer just 2-5, the pack has become 2-9. John Waller was a difference maker as he was the critical link between the front and the back.

We are pumped and ready to race on Saturday. It’s going to be great.

Senior Kevin Abernathy has made the honorable mention list of the Big River Running Rankings for the second time this season.

Quote of the Day: “We’re going to come back here on Saturday and have some fun”- Coach Traughber

Joke of the Day: “Hey guys, this is where I hurdled to make that big move.”- Matt O’Connor mocking how Kevin likes to tell the story of his pass during the last race at Central.

Best Dressed: Scherping. He wore his Nike XC shirt. It’s a cool shirt, white with a red “XC.” It matched perfectly with his red with white stripes soccer shorts. A simple but effective look.

---

Parkway Central

As I said a month ago when we first raced at Central, we are back. The Varsity squad will run at Central on Saturday in the Class 4, District 2 race. Top 4 teams and top 30 individuals advance. It's pretty simple math. Tomorrow, the JV and Freshman will be running in the Clayton Invitational at Shaw Park, with the top 7 times from that meet qualifying for the Challenge Race next Saturday.

The first race tomorrow will be the Varsity. The Varsity squad will be made up of Senior Dan Bowman, Junior Adam Morgenthaler, and Sophomores Michael Callahan, Jimmy Reed, Collin Sullivan, Glen McGann, Justin Potter, Mackenzie Smith, and Freshman Steve Placht. This will be the first time most of these runners will run in a Varsity Race. The Sophomores in particular trained very hard during the summer and are now rewarded by being on Varsity.

The remaining runners will be running in the JV race. Near the front of the large group will be Sophomore Matt Beers.

I have had a good season, and I’ve been getting better. If feel good coming in to the last couple of races, and I want to finish out the season with strong performances. 3. I want to go out and race all the way to the finish line. I want to go out and set a new pr in these races."

Good luck to all the Spartans racing tomorrow.

On Saturday, the playoffs begin. First off will be the Varsity Race. The guys have looked especially good the last week or so. John Madey will rejoin Kevin Abernathy, Nick Martini, Jacob Seiler, Matt O'Connor, Josh Getz, and John Waller for the big race. The goal is pretty simple. If everyone finished in the top 30, we move on no matter what. Madey talked about the small setback and what's to come on Saturday.

"My hamstring issues have kept from 1 race this year (MCC’s). I was truly looking forward to this race, but you just have to get over it, and look to the most important race of the year, which is districts. Besides missing one race, I have had to elipticise for the first time in my career, and I had to opt out of the always amazing Oregon 8 workout."

"Its simple. Be the pack, or lead the pack. My first race at PC this year didn’t go so great. Now that I have learned how to run with the pack, I will be able to be right in the middle of the pack for the whole race.

Because John missed the Conference race, he along with Brian Scherping and Seamus Hamilton raced last week in the Patriot Classic and all ran PRs. John and Brian know it will help Saturday.

"Racing last week proved that I am reaching the top of my game at the right time. By breaking the 17 minute barrier, it showed that by buying into the plan that I have been buying into is paying off. I’m head over heels confident heading into Saturday’s race." Madey

"The race at Castlewood Park made me realize some words of wisdom that I was told is actually true. Coach T-bone said that I can run with the Calvary and that the reason I was not able to was the lack of mental focus and just not believing." Scherp

After the Varsity races, Seniors Brian Scherping and Seamus Hamilton will race the same course with other runners hoping to make the Varsity for their teams at Sectionals. Both runners have come on extremely strong in the last few weeks. Brian is now getting a grip on how to race the 5k.

"I am more confident to run which will help during the run. The fact that all the problems I have been having that I could not run with the Calvary were mental have been fixed"

Everyone knows what Brian's goal will be going into Saturday.

"Number 1!!!! (Number 1!!!!, Number 1!!!!)"

Good luck to all the runners racing Friday and Saturday! Wear your Race Day Black! There will be more dress down days, you have support Race Day Black tomorrow.

From Central
Alex Potter
M.T.B.L.

PSA

Gentelmen,

RACE DAY BLACK > dress down day.

Either you are running in the race tomorrow, or you are going to support the Varsity in the biggest meet of the year so far. That does not happen very often. There will be other dress down days. I for one am going super fancy Race Day Black. Please join me by supporting Race Day Black.

Thank You

White Man Says Go!

Cross here. Cross there. Today was the day of the street crossings. In the Lindberg and back run we crossed at crosswalks so many times that we lost count.

It nice recovery run after yesterday’s time trial and workout. Matt had an impressive game of Spotter. He beat Jacob handedly after being down 2-0. Martini tried to add to his collection of car parts with a wheel well but was denied by Rob.

And now a little something from Glen:

Today marked the longest run of Alex Potter’s cross country season and Pat Callahan and Justin Potter made sure it wasn’t a disappointment. They imagined the run as if we were Romans marching. It was decided by Patrick that I was Marc Antony and Alex was Cleopatra. Later it was revised and Alex became Caesar and we were Roman Senators. Halfway through Potter and I were separated from the rest of the group and we had a variety of conversations with topics including Taylor Swift, previous races, and the blog.

Congratulations to John Madey as he took home Runner of the Week honors for his performance in the super secret Patriot Classic Meet last Thursday. He became only the second Spartan to break the 17 minute barrier this year. Way to go Bulldog! We’re looking forward to having you back in the lineup this weekend.

Quote of the Day: “White man says go!”- Just about the entire top group when every crosswalk signed changed.

Joke of the Day: “Run Around Naked. Kinda.”- The old School Nike ad that Kevin gave Jacob before practice. It was the perfect day for this as Jacob had his maroon flap shorts.

Machines

Due to a soccer game the team was split in two. The top 9 headed to CBC for a 1000s workout. The rest of the guys stayed at DeSmet for a mile time trial. The top finishers were A. Morgenthaler, M. Callahan, Vieth, Jimmy, Mackenzie, and McGann (not positive if that is the exact order).

Upon arriving at CBC, we started with the first Standard CBC warm-up the team has seen in well over a year. The normally dreaded 2+ mile loop was actually great today. We went through skips and drills with a slight sense of urgency as we were trying to get the workout finished before a soccer game started on the CBC turf field.

The workout was phenomenal. 5x1000s on short rest. Everyone was dominating. The workout as Coach Williams Quote of the Day said, was like brushing our teeth. We just went out there and knocked it out no problem. Kabes was the last to finish and he finished right as the horn went off to start the soccer game. That’s how great a day it was. The pack was under 17 and kabes was under 16. Afterwards, T-bone pointed out how far we have come and that we are ready for the Districts.

Potter was out and running again, getting ready for Clayton. Brian drove most of us to CBC in the Pondering Man Van which stemmed our cool down conversation. We decided where everyone would fit if the Varsity was a family. Kevin & Jacob are the parents. Potter is the grandfather. Madey (prodigal son), Martini (middle child who doesn’t look like anyone), O’Connor (whining middle child), and Husmann (baby) are the children. Goetz is the cool uncle who would tell war stories and stuff. Scherping is the Nanny, aka Soccer Mom. Waller is the neighbor who is always around. And Seamus is the dog.

We went back to DeSmet for a fist-pumping good Upper-Body Circuit. Some of followed Madey’s lead and went big since it was only one time around. Next was core, and we finished with some delicious chocolate milk.

In other News, today marked the end of the Quarter Quest. The Quarter Quest was an attempt started by Coach Williams and adopted by the rest coaching staff to acquire all the State quarters through milk sales. It could not be done without the team though as guys were always trying to bring in a quarter that was missing from the list. LaBelle brought in the final piece, Alabama. We have all 50 states, DC, the five territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands), and the bicentennial quarter. An impressive collection. Way to go everyone!

The only disappointment of the day was that we didn’t get to see Bernie.

Quote of the Day: “We’re only doing one circuit. I gotta get my moneys worth.”- Madey after we were all stunned by the weights he was picking up.

Title: The way we were all hitting paces and running smoothly Coach commented on how it we were all like machines.

Sunday Conversation

Last week, the Enforcer returned. Blake Bender (2010) returned to De Smet for the first time since his enforcing days ended.

AP: How is SLU treating you and what are you studying?
BB: SLU is going great, I am currently in the Business School and I plan on majoring in Finance. Classes so far are not too much of a struggle.

AP: What is the best part of college?
BB: CHICKSSSSSSSSSSS. Not really, just kidding, I didn't become a tool since the school year started. I promise. But the best part is definitely the freedom that comes with living away from home. Even though I am still in St. Louis, I love having to rely on myself to get up in the morning and do what I need to do everyday.

AP: What do you miss most about the De Smet running program?
BB: The thing I miss the most is the camaraderie that comes with practicing all year long with teammates. I miss the relationships that were developed through the wear and tear of cross country season.

AP: What is the most important thing the program taught you?
BB: Always, and I mean always, get the traditional plus one pancake at First Watch.

AP: How did white team (Poelker era) soccer get you ready to run in 3 state meets?
BB: White team soccer with Poelker is the ideal prep for cross country season. Being part of the dynasty that is white soccer gave me the mental strength to go out and win whenever was necessary. Plus "running trees" is the hardest workout I have ever run.

AP: How often have you ran since cross country ended last season?
BB: I did not run much last winter due to getting ready for the volleyball season, but since I have been at SLU, I have been running about three times a week, about 4 or so miles every run.

AP: How do you feel about milk being sold out of the athletic director's office, instead of the milk man setting up his table outside T Bone's office?
BB: :(

AP:How were you able to be "invincible"?
BB: A good magician never tells his secret.

AP:How did the Enforcer come to be? What is the original Enforcer story?
BB: Legend says that during my first race, at Forest Park my sophomore year, I knocked down to opponents. They were "throwin bows" and I held my ground. Overall, my record was 9 knockdowns, while only being knocked down once. (Gene Morgenthaler, State Junior Year)

AP: Jordan hasen't thrown any bows yet. How does this make you feel?
BB: I will be spending time with him teaching the art of enforcing over the off-season. I guarantee that Jordan will show the bows come next cross country season.

AP: Was it wierd walking through De Smet on Friday?
BB: It definitely felt odd, I felt like I did when I came home from SLU. DeSmet was like a second home to me, and was weird to go back after not being there for a long time.

AP: Any advice for the guys as districts are Saturday?
BB: Don't let any other runners pass you in the last part of the race. You need to get as low of a score as possible and you can pick up so many points at the line. Also, Seniors, this could be your last race, you don't want to end on a sour note.

AP: How do you feel about the tradition of the Oregon 8 Picnic being continued yesterday?
BB: I am glad to hear the picnic is staying strong. It is a great opportunity for the team to bond as the playoffs draw near. Also after a tough workout like the Oregon 8, a nice picnic sounds like the best reward you could ask for.

AP:Rumor has it that you will be at sectionals. Can you confirm?
BB: Barring no Zombie Apocalypse, Confirmed. (Uncrossed fingers)

AP:How do you feel about T Bone having a kid?
BB: Happy that USA finally has a threat to take home the gold in the marathon, stressed that Coach has already asked me to babysit dozens of times, and upset that I was not asked to be the GodFather of the child.

AP:Fantasy football team this year? How are the boys looking?
BB: This answer will suffice. I had Brett Farve and Vince Young as quarterbacks. But on the bright side, my fantasy DWTS (Dancing with the Stars) team is looking great. I still have Kurt Warner and Kyle Massey (boy from the That's So Raven) looking strong.

AP: Kobe or LeBron?
BB: (Duke great) J.J. Reddick