Season Finale

We finally reached the end of a exciting and record breaking 2008 track season. Despite the unusaully cold and windy spring, there were so many things to brag about.

Last I left everyone, the girls were getting prepared for their conference meet. Although were were a bit shorthanded, they ran tough as nails. Junior Emily Gustafson ran the tough 2 mile-mile double, finishing second in both and running a season pb in the process. Then being the team player that she is, she lead off our 4x4 which also finished second. Sophmore Cassie Lohmeir ran the 800/1600 double, placeing 2nd in the 8 and winning the 1600 with season prs in both! She also came back to anchor our 2nd place 4x400. Both girls earned All-Conference honors in the process. Freshman Ashley Schmitt fought through a bad case of asthma placing 5th in the 3200, then came back in the fresh/soph mile and got nipped at the line by .05 for the win. Not to shabby for a little fresh who had never run a competitive 2 mile in her life!

The girls then went on to the state qualifying sectional meet where both Emily and Cassie qualified for the state finals! Emily placed fifth in the 3200 to qualify on time, running a season best of 11:25. Cassie qualified on time as well, running 5:17 to finish for a hard fought third in the mile. I cannot tell you how proud I was of both of them to run though the frustration of not being in the hunt for a win, and to dig in when they both were having an off day to still qualify for the meet. It showed a lot of character.

The state meet was not as exciting as I would have hoped, as both girls ran right off season and personal bests to finish respectable. As it is at any big race though, if you are not one of the stud top dogs coming in, you are really just racing at the mercy of everyone else. It is pin your ears back and pray to God! What we took away from it though is that we do have the talent to compete at a state level, we just need the training to back it up. I really thought the girls would want a long break after a tough, grinding season, but they were asking for summer workouts before we even got back on the van to head home. That just goes to show the kind of competitive, hard working kids that I have been blessed to coach and mentor. I told them, as I have told thousands of young runners, they have the talent and the desire, they just need some CONSISTENT hard work to back it up.

Where to start with the boys? I have to admit, as badly as I wanted to think that the they were capable of running 8 min for the 2 mile relay, we really hadnt done much throughout the season to justify that. But one thing I have learned about high school runners is that they somehow find several gears which I have no idea existed at the most random of times. Thank God all 4 decided to find those gears at the conference meet! With 4 other teams capable of running sub 8:10 in our conference, it seemed a long shot that we would win. I really believed on a good day we were capable of running 8:08-8:12. But after a 1:59 lead-off leg by senior Nick Leiby, a 2:03 leg by senior Brock Kingsland, a 2:01 3rd leg from soph Hugh Gill and a 1:56 leg by senior Shane Lieby we came away with a conference title and a huge season best of 8:02!!! I do not believe I have ever seen a happier group of runners than I did after that relay. Not only was it good enough for the win, but it was the 7th fastest relay in the state of IL! Shane Lieby then came back in the 800 to get nipped for second by the state cross country champ, still running a school record 1:56.5! That was the real highlight of the meet, as the rest of the relay team ran like complete poo. My fault as a coach to let them get too excited at the beginning of the meet.

The fresh/soph kids had an excellent meet as well. Cody Margetis ran a pb in the mile, clocking a 5:12. Sophmore Drew Thomas ran a pr in the 3200, breaking 11 min for the first time. Alex Cortes ran just off his pbs in both the mile and 2 mile, scoring in both. The fresh/soph 4x400 also won, conisisting of two distance kids and two sophmore jumpers. I was really glad that the young kids got an opportunity to see that winning relay though, as it was proof to them that if they just commit 2 hours out of their day, 6 days a week, they can accomplish anything. To some so far in just a short amount of time just reinforces to everybody that there is plenty of talent in this young group.

On paper we were the favorites leading into the state qualifying sectional meet in the 4x800. But I knew it would not be that easy. Getting 4 17 year-olds to perform their best all on the same day is a real challenge. The boys went from the Rocky 1 attitude of "nothing to lose" to the Rocky 4 attitude of "well, all we can do is screw up". That is where perspective comes into play. What I have found after coaching at this level is that high school kids running is so much more mental than physical, and their margin for error, as well as for improvement, is scary big. Just putting the moment into context and helping them realize that this is just a small step in their lives, I think helped calm a lot of their anxiety. Helping them realize that we do not have to all run 5 second prs to make it to the big dance, but just running what we did at the conference meet is all that was needed out of them.

Anyhow, long story short, we ran 8:05 and placed second to our arch rivals, qualifying the first distacne runners from East Peoria for the state meet since 1995 (that being me)!!! Man alive were those boys excited. It wasnt our best time, but it got the job done. Actually, had we not gotten so pumped up and went out in 55 for the first 400, we probably would have run 8 flat. Just like the conference meet, Shane came back shortly after to win the 800 and the rest of the guys ran like poo. But we got the job done.

The state meet was quite anticlimatic, as I held Shane off the relay to run the open 800, in hopes of running 1:55. I really thought we were ready for it, but everybody looked really tired and nervous. Actually, every guy bombed, so I guess I am to blame. Not sure if all the big races had finally caught up with us, or if it was the pressure of the meet, but I guess you cannot replace experience. We had a wonderful time at the meet though, despite the stares and comments that the guys got for dying their hair white!!! We looked like a bunch of little Eminems : ) Although it wasnt our best effort, it is a memory that will last a lifetime for the boys.

Looking back on the last 18 months, I do not think we could have accomplished much more. Regional cross country champs, missing the state xc meet by 10 points, qualifying the first indivilual to the state xc meet since 1995, school record in the 4x400, 400, 800, first distance individual and relay to qualify for the state track meet since 1995, conference champs and a whole lot of personal bests. I do not claim to be an expert coach by any means, in fact I am learning most of it on the fly. Coaching high schoolers is a whole different beast than coaching a handfull of elite athletes. But what I have found at the high school is that there is a lot of talent out there, and if you just give them a little attention and give them some hope and direction, you can make a world of difference. As much work as it has been, I am extremely grateful that ITA has given me the opportunity to get out and touch so many young lives.

Enough of the sappy stuff. Its back to the grind. We have lost a lot of senior talent, but we also have gained a lot of experience and confidence. Unofficial practice starts in a week, so I am going to go fishing and enjoy my break! Happy Running

p.s. I will try to post a few videos of the races taken over the last few weeks later today or tomorrow. They arent exactly Spielberg, but I will get the hang of it.