In one of the final prison camp scenes, Louis, after injuring his leg, is forced to hold a rail road tie above his head. If he drops the tie, he gets shot. Basically, it's a rigged game of last man standing that is meant to be Zamperini's last. Louis, covered in coal and fatigued from two years of war and captivity holds the tie for what seems like hours. As the light of day changes from the mid afternoon to dusk, Louis's breaking point seems to be inevitable. The commander stares at him anxiously waiting for this thorn in his side to finally be shot and gotten rid of. Louis's fellow POW's all whisper their own words of encouragement, but expect this to be the last time they see him alive. However, something extraordinary happens. In an act of defiance, Zamperini looks the commander directly in his eyes (something he had been ruthlessly beaten for before), and raises the railroad tie well above his head, shouting the entire time.
During every race there is a moment when you don't feel like you can hold on anymore. Your legs burn, your lungs are working at full capacity, and your heart feels as if it will burst out of your rib cage. In this moment, a thought crosses your mind to give up in order to feel that ironic comfort in failure.
Don't.
Act defiantly. Tell your body or your mind - which ever one wants to quit the most - "No!". Lift the railroad tie above your head and shout hysterically at your metaphorical commander and keep going.
Saturday was the first not great meet of the season. Guys showed up not wanting to race saying that they weren't ready or didn't feel recovered. It was disappointing, but in these moments when a team starts to fall a part, guys like Louis Zamperini emerge and kick some major butt.
PR'ing at Jefferson Barracks is a tough thing to do, but all of you who did or came close had an awe-inspiring day.
Now that I got all these metaphors and comparisons out of the way, let's get to some results.
Varsity started the day off at 8:30 and placed 8th, only 48 points from our goal of 4th. Joe Reed ran an incredible race, placing 11th overall with a time of 16:57. Ruiz placed 29th with a time of 17:25, followed by O'Connor with a sore ankle in 36th with a time of 17:33. Neil Winter and Matt Woodford came in at 55th and 64th with times of 18:05 and 18:10 respectively. Huge Props to Neil Winter for PR'ing by 26 seconds on such a tough course. Sophomore Colin Donovan, despite a tough race and some frustrating workouts, came in with a strong 18:48 in 88th.
The Junior Varsity (freshmen combined) raced an hour later and placed an impressive 5th place. Patrick Sanchez led the JV with an impressive race, placing 22nd with a time of 18:56 (a significant PR). Nolan Shannon also had an impressive race, finishing in 25th and almost breaking that 19:00 barrier running 19:03. The next three scorers were Thomas Linhares finishing 55th with a time of 19:42, Tim Abbenhaus, finishing 61st with a time of 19:44, and Ralph Skitt finishing 65th with a time of 19:48. All of these guys listed above either set a PR or ran extremely close to one, which on this course, as stated above, is an impressive accomplishment.
Full results are linked below:
Varsity: http://www.trxctiming.com/Hancock/2015_Results/boys_varsity_class_4.htm
Junior Varsity: http://www.trxctiming.com/Hancock/2015_Results/boys_jv_class_4.htm
DeSmet XC is back in action this Saturday in Jefferson City for the state preview meet. Stay tuned
-Adam Boehm
