Boys, We Did It

Parkway Central
Yesterday, the Varsity squad raced in the Sectional 1 race at Parkway Central. Top30 individuals advance, along with the top 4 teams.

Kevin Abernathy, Nick Martini, and Jacob Seiler all finished in the top 30, and received tokens to be cashed in at State. So for a few short, anticipation filled minutes, no one was 100% sure if De Smet would be running 3 runners, or 7.

Before the team even left for the cool down, T Bone was back with the news. For the 16th year in a row, De Smet had qualified as a team for State. The team finished third, beating several teams that had beaten us earlier in the year.

Senior Kevin Abernathy followed up his great districts race with a second place finish. Second of the team in 18th place was Junior Nick Martini. Nick ran an amazing race. Nick knew he would be moving on by the end of the race, but that was not good enough. He wanted to make sure the whole team moved on.

"During the last mile, I kept saying 'I need to move up or there's no chance of State.' So I put those words into action when Alex told me that I had to move up right away. I passed a few guys which helped our team a lot."

Senior Jacob Seiler, running in his first career sectionals meet, finished 29. He knows Nick came up huge.

"Nick stepped up big and accomplished our team goal of 'leading the pack.' I held on to him for as long as I could keeping us in position for a great State qualifying finish."

Rounding out the top 5 and scoring for the Spartans were John Madey and Matt O'Connor. All though they did not score, Brian Scherping and John Waller still contributed greatly to the team. They were able to get in front of the competition's scoring runners, pushing their score back.

"I knew that each guy I passed was one more point I was adding to other team's scores, and helping our team." John Waller

And now a play by play from Brian Scherping

"Ok so when we started off when we went around the first loop we were towards the back and I was a little scared. Because we were in the back but I knew from the wise coaches that people went out hard and we would pass them when they died and sure enough we started passing people left and right! It was quite hilarious mentally. So we get to the woods and I remember me saying that I'm tired right before we went up the big hill (Brian laughs out loud). Then when we went down the hill. I caught up back with the pack and was like I'm still tired and then we went up another hill and I was REALLY tired. I can remember having to throw up and we had not even gone 1 mile and half yet (Brian laughs out loud). But from what I learned from castle park, I put it aside and kept running. And then eventually people yelled at me to run faster or to catch someone and my mind would agree but my legs would think otherwise (Brian laughs out loud) until we got to the down hill (at the end of the race) where everything came together. I remember telling myself FOR STATE!!!! run run run!!!! And then I passed some people and at the end with 200 to go Potter and Rob told me to pass this loser west kid and I did (Brian laughs out loud) AWESOME!!!!

Thanks Brian. Senior John Madey is looking forward to the week to come.

"I'm looking forward to a good week of practice with a focused group. We qualified for the "Big Dance". Now it's just time to perform."

This year, it was not a sure thing that De Smet would be going to State as a team. Coach Traughber knew what he was doing. He never lost confidence, and made sure no one on the team lost confidence.

"It shows he knows what he is doing and he has prepared us extremely well. We knew it was not going to be easy. But we bought in, followed the plan, and now we are going to State. Coach will tell you we did the work, but we wouldn't be heading to Jeff City next weekend without him and all the other coaches." Kevin Abernathy

One more week of hard work, and we will all be in Jeff City. Coach Traughber will be a guest on the Big River Running State Preview Show on Tuesday.
Great job to all the runners and coaches. One more week!

Sectionals and Part 2 of the Dynamic Duo

Home Course

First off, congrats to Coach Williams and his wife who are now parents of two. Welcome Amelia Caroline Williams! Look for Amelia and Hannah to be the next Sisson-Robinson in about 17 years.


On to the race. The Varsity squad will return to Central for the third time to race, and the 100th time overall for the big race tomorrow.

Last race was tough, and we added 4 more quality teams into the mix. Jacob Seiler talks about the difference between districts and sectionals.

"Sectionals is like the big time meet. Our race last week was awesome and took everyone by surprise, this week we will be very on the radar and it's going to be a dogfight to get through. We will be racing against some teams that we have not faced all season so the excitement level is definitely high. I am extremely confident that if we run as well as we did at districts Sectionals is nothing to be afraid of."

Junior Nick Martini talked about running in his first big time meet last week.

"Last week I felt pretty prepared. I slept well the last night, had a good breakfast, and overall felt great in the race. This week I will try to get up a little earlier so I'm not rushing to get ready in the morning. Just being relaxed helps me the most."

Last week was also Matt O'Connor's first taste of the road to State, but he says being a two time State alternate helped.

"Yes it did. Now I know how awesome going to state is, so now I want to go even more and step up to make sure that happens."

It will be tough, but Kevin Abernathy is confident both that the team will run their best, and he will have a shot to go back to back weeks as champion.

"On the individual level, it couldn’t be any higher. I’m fit, fast and ready to go. Being back on the same course that I won on last week is another boost. As a team, it’s the exact same thing. We are all excited and ready to go. We know what to do and how to do it and we’re going to make it happen on Saturday. It’s going to be fun."

Senior Brian Scherping is making his Varsity return. I asked him what the game plan is, and he said he was too busy and to make something up, so here goes.

"I am very excited to be back on Varsity. Last week in the challenge race, I went out at the same pace as the Varsity pack and imagined I was wtih them. The plan is to be with the pack at the mile, then go from there! I can't wait to run run run!" -Brian Scherping

Parkway Central has become our home course. We have had practice there several times in the last few weeks. John Madey and John Waller know the course like the back of their hand.

"The Parkway Central trips have helped prepare me for sectionals because I know which parts of the course that I need to push myself and which parts I need to take advantage of." Waller

"Since we have raced at Parkway Central twice, I am very familiar with the course. I know where I can cruise during the race, and where are the best spots to pass kids up. I have learned that this course is not as difficult as I once believed it was. I am just looking to improve this week to help my team make it to the biggest meet of the year on November 6th." Madey

Good luck tomorrow boys!

40 Minute Adventure

Wednesday
The whole team headed to Forest Park. The JV and Freshmen were running in their final race of the season—the Findley Invitational. The Varsity was there for a 40 minute run and to cheer on the other Spartans.

The top 8 had Forest Park, 40 minutes, and a camera. These three things put together equaled an awesome practice. We ran around the park to all the best places and stopped to take a picture. We rotated the photographer so everyone would be in the pictures. At each stop, we gave ourselves 7 seconds to strike a pose. It was a blast. We even took a video of us running up Art Hill. If you want to check them out, the pictures and video are on facebook. They are all unique and great. You have to look closely at some to see the best parts.

Thursday
The Varsity was joined today by the JV guys that will be running in the Challenge race on Saturday. We were back at our home course (Parkway Central). The JV’s practice was a simple course preview, one time through the course. The Varsity prepped for Setionals by running the first 800 on pace and doing strides on the last 200. We ran by the DeSmet Freshmen Maroon Team playing at Central and cheered. It was a successful day; we are excited and ready to go for Saturday.

Quote of the Day: “Bear Crawl”- Martini when we were just about at the top of the Art Hill. You can hear it on the video.

Joke of the Day: “I want to having a meeting with Coach Traughber, Rob, and Potter. It would be the most epic meeting ever.”- Scherping randomly after practice and the way he said it was so funny.

Best Dressed: Madey. It has been a week of sleeves for Madey and he’s been wearing them like a champ. On Wednesday, he had a long sleeve Nike shirt with some red bball shorts—a very classy look for the Forest Park run. But even his long sleeves didn’t stop him from using one of his favorite sayings: “Sun’s out, Gun’s out.”

Senior Night

Forest Park

Tomorrow, the Cross Country Spartan ts will return to Forest Park for the Findley Memorial. For a good amount of Seniors of the team, this will be there last 5k of their high school career. The guys shared what cross country has meant to them through the years.

"Cross Country was the first thing that I ever did at De Smet. It was the first chance I got to encounter the people and brotherhood of the school. Some of the friends that I have know I met during my first year of cross country. I can still remember the first day when Seamus walked down the bleacher steps, talking big game and making a name for himself. I was actually intimidated, but now we are friends. Being the in the back part of the group has given me the chance to interact with runners of all ages and classes which I think has helped influence my character and make it better. Thanks Cross Country for a great four years...oh and thanks to all the runners too." Ben Herries- 4 seasons

"The last two years I have gained a lot of friends I wouldn’t have w/o this sport such as Patrick, glen, beers, OC, Martini, and obviously the great Ed O’Brien. But it has also given me a lot of confidence that I lacked before coming on the team. It is amazing being on a team where everybody cheers everyone else on from Kabes all the way down. Getting to run with all of you guys has been something I will never forget. My favorite race is a tie between Last Friday’s Clayton race where I first broke 20 and medaled for the first time and Borgia last year. I would like to thank the entire team for giving me an experience I would never forget. Finally the greatest lesson I learned is when you think you don’t have anything left there’s always a little bit you can tap into and beat the time you want." Drew Higgins- 2 seasons

"Tomorrow will be the end of my high school Cross Country career. I started this during my junior year and the only way that I could describe these two seasons is with a simple "awesome." I have spent the vast majority of my XC time in the lower end of the groups and even if our adventures through the dangerous streets of Creve Couer don't usually get published in the blog, they have been amazing. It is actually somewhat hard to pick out a favorite time. One of my favorites is a Spoede-Mosley that I ran with Pribe, big Ed, and several others. During that long run, Pribe told a riddle of epic proportions that kept us guessing for many miles. Thank you to my fellow runners and coaches who have made running great." Matt Coleman- 2 seasons

Three runners will close out cross country in the JV race at Sectionals.

"Cross country has just been an in general awesome experience for me. I would just like to thank the whole team, graduated to freshmen. Even people who I didn’t talk to really, like the seniors my freshmen year, still had a great affect on me. I also would really like to thank the coaching staff. From T-bone with his great enthusiasm, T-time with his general rippedness gave encouragement to everyone, Williams with his stats, times, and strategies, Russo who is kind of chill be still really cares about the team and gets your splits and gets you motivated to keep going, to Boland who was a big influence my freshmen year with the talks about things that aren’t probably appropriate for the blog. And Rob who I haven’t really talked to or spent much time with but seems like he really cares about the team and helps Kevin run his workouts. And Leeman, enough said. One major thing from Cross country that I got was all the friends I made from it and the six pack which gets all the ladies. My favorite part was Seamus RPG and the random but awesome conversations that I’ve had on long runs. I also loved the random, sometimes inappropriate banter that came from every run pretty much. My personal favorite was the conversation about “My Coach Traughber”. It’s an inside joke but trust me it was amazing. Thanks again everyone, you guys have had a big influence on my life, hopefully for the better." Dan Bowman- 4 seasons

"Having run cross country for four years, I can definitively say it has been my favorite thing at De Smet. The guys and coaches on the team were friends, mentors, and most importantly motivators to me and I am thankful that I was able to find my way into such a great community. You guys are truly the best!" Josh Goetz- 4 seasons

"My time on the team has been blessing even though everyday I’d start off not looking forward to practice during it I was always at peace, I could take out my stress while running, I didn’t have to worry about life while I was running, I could be with my friends while I was running, and I could be me while I ran. The best days of all were the one of me coming home knowing I did what I did to the best of my abilities. Oh and having the Coaches I had was also a blessing, I hope I touched all their hearts as much as they did mine. So yeah, Thank you Coach Traughber, Thank you Coaches, Thank you Team, Thank You DeSmet Cross Country" Seamus Hamilton- 4 seasons

Thanks a lot guys. Good luck to all the Spartans racing tomorrow.

Joke’s on You

Top Nine headed to Katy Trail today to continue our work to qualify for the State Meet. It was time to refocus after all the fun, joy, and excitement of Saturday so that we can do it all over again this Saturday.

We started with a cool warm up. We went on the beach next to the Missouri River, on to the pier, and to the Lewis & Clark statue before heading back to the parking lot. We continued by doing Freestyle Skips, a Katie Trail favorite. At this time Coach Traughber was so amazed that we were all skipping in random directions that he threatened that he was going to leave. He did. We then decided it was a great time to start practice.

Some background is needed to understand this part. There are two directions on the Katy Trail: Right & Left. We have gone right every time this year. We asked if we could go left. Coach said no because there is no water stop that direction. Starting practice without coach, we obviously went left. After about 6 minutes, Coach appears on the road next to us and tells us to turn around. Not quite as left as we wanted to go, but we’ll take it. If we qualify, we get to go LEFT!!!

We found and destroyed a Droid phone during the run. Don’t freak out. It was already broken (cracked screen and no battery). It was fun.

A special thanks to Goetz and his truck. His truck was an excellent spot to watch film in the Katy Trail parking lot.

Quote of the Day: “Matt. Matt. Matt.”- Seiler for like seriously 20 minutes trying to get Matt to show some emotion.

Joke of the Day: “I’m the first result on Google!”- Seamus talking about his radio show.

Best Dressed: In his first practice after becoming District Champ, kabes went back to his roots. He borrowed his brother’s Freshmen White Team Soccer shorts. He is the last remaining piece of the White Team Era (Boyle, Bender, Potter, Abernathy) on the Cross Country Team. Some would say that his success stems from the Trees Poelker had the team run every day and the mailbox + 400 race for the rainy Saturday practice. He paired the shorts with the light blue winter training shirt and his blue hat. He rose from the humble beginnings of a wing back on the White Team to a district champion and still knows the importance of looking good. Abernathy and Potter - Freshmen White Team Soccer

REMEMBER: The Milk Table Shirts are in. Potter will be in 204 after school. Go there with $8 to pick it up.

Sunday Conversation

This week I interviewed fan favorite Chris France (2008).

AP: Where are you at and what are you studying?
CF: I am at University of Central Missouri and I am majoring in biology.

AP: Do you enjoy running for UCM?
CF: Yes I do enjoy running for UCM. The team is extemely close and the people on the team are my closet friends. There are only two teams that I would every want to be apart of. The Desmet team and the UCM team. I couldn't imagine being on any other teams.

AP: How is it different than De Smet?
CF: There are a lot of very good looking girls on the team and DeSmet just had a much of dudes. Also, in high school I got to run with some of the best in the state and train with them but now I am on the same team as some of the best in the nation. I get to train, eat dinner with, hang out with all americans and national champions so its pretty interesting. Its like wow man I am on the same team as these guys.

AP: Where have you traveled with the team?
CF: I have travelled to some places in Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, and Colorado with the team. Its a fun time.

AP:You are by far the alum who comes around the most, why do you enjoy coming back so much?
CF: I love coming back and hanging out with the team. I like to come back and hang out with my friends i guess.

AP: Why is it imporant for you to go to both state xc and track every year since you have graduated?
CF: It is important to for me because I get to come cheer on my teammates and hopefully by me being there cheering I can help you guys have a better performance. I like to see my teammates compete. It motivates me and the atmosphere and vibes at those races are rare and it just gives me a huge rush.

AP: What is your proudest accomplishment as a high school runner?
CF: This is difficult to answer. There are many experiences that have made me extremely pround. To name off one it would be my pr I ran at districts my senior year. Running a pr is always an accomplishment. Or it may be doing the 10 x 400 workout my junior year on a Saturday before a soccer game. I think it was our fourth and final 10 x 400 workout of the cross season. I remember I had a really good workout and so did the rest of the team. When everyone on the team is having an amazing workout day or long run day it is just so beautiful. That feeling that consumes your body is absolutely amazing, words can not explain it.

AP: What is the craziest made up story you have ever gotten a DeSmet runner to believe?
CF: That I was professional at Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and ranked in the top 25 at playing the game.

AP:How about yesterday with the Varsity getting second and beating 2 ranked teams at districts?
CF: Thats great but now it is time to beat ranked teams at State. You guys should know that your a team to compete with and just go out there and race hard at sectionals and state.

AP: Advice for the guys as there are only 2 races left?
CF: Just be in the pursuit of happiness for these next two races and everything else much further down the road. You guys are a very strong and tight team and anyone can see that through this blog or at practice so just go out there and race hard at sectionals and state for your team. Racing is special so make these last races memorable.

AP:See you at State?
CF: There might be a chance I'll be in Fort Hays, Kansas but mostly I'll be at state. I'm going to do my best to make it.

AP: What do you think of this blog and how often do you read it?
CF: I love this blog and I read it about two to three times a week.

AP: Kobe or LeBron
CF: Kobe