IHSA State Meet Recap

IHSA STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET

Detweiller Park, Peoria

Saturday, November 7, 2015

SPLITS | MILE SPLITS | UPDATED FINISH TIMES

COMPLETE RESULTS | PHOTO ALBUM (thanks Ashley Eiermann and Jasper Requiron!)

On Friday morning, just before we were to set off for the IHSA State Cross Country meet, we were informed of the terrible news of the sudden passing of Charlie Donovan, a recent graduate from Westmont. Charlie was an outstanding baseball player and athlete and an even better person, and an amazing representative for the Sentinel athletic program. It is in tough times like this that we are reminded that we are part of a special, tight-knit community. So with heavy hearts, we set off for Peoria, intent on running this race for and in memory of Charlie and to do as well as we could, not just personally, but also for our team, and our grieving community back in Westmont.

Before we get on to Saturday’s race, we’d like to take a moment to commend the ladies – in lieu of recent events as we set off for state, we could not be prouder of them and the way they handled themselves. They did everything that Coach Wolf or I asked of them, there were absolutely no problems all day Friday and Saturday. It has truly been an honor to coach each and every one of these ladies this season.

So on Saturday morning, the ladies stepped to the line in box 27 for the 2015 edition of the IHSA State Final. The usual inspection and final run outs proceeded as IHSA officials made their way across the starting line. At precisely 9:00 am, the starter’s pistol fired and the first of six races on the day was underway.

Over the past several years, we have watched the IHSA State meet become extremely fast—across all three classes. This year, given the perfect conditions – upper 40s (and as the day wore on, into the lower 50s) and bright, clear, sunshine with light winds—though the wind did pick up in later races—meant that conditions were conducive to running extremely fast times.

Halle Nash again was our first Sentinel across the finish line, turning in an amazing 18:57 finish to grab the last spot in the top 50. Her sister, Peyton Nash, followed as our second Sentinel lady across the mats with a finish time of 20:16 for 118th place. Lisa Niemiec came home third, finishing with a 20:49 clocking and 143rd place. Shortly after Lisa finished, Lily Arndt was our fourth runner on the morning, turning in a time of 21:05 for 158th place. Freshman Frankie Fabry turned in a huge new PR of 21:27 to take 170th, and Hannah Abbatacola and Brittany Eiermann rounded out the Sentinel attack in 22:13 and 22:15, respectively, for 188th and 190th places.

The ladies scored 31-84-109-123-135-(153)-(155) for 482 points to finish in 22nd place for the second year in a row.

While we are disappointed in the result at the state meet—we honestly believe without a doubt that we were better than a 22nd place team this season—there is nothing whatsoever to be disappointed about this season as whole.

The girls trained for a return trip to the State meet. They earned that trip. Along the way, the ladies:

• Finished 8th at Peoria in a field of over 45 teams
• Earned a 4th place trophy at Bureau Valley
• Finished a strong 4th place to three 2A/3A teams at ACC
• Finished a strong 3rd place to Sandwich and Seneca at Conference
• Won the first Regional title since 2011
• Finished 2nd at Sectional to Chicago Christian, scoring under 100 points.
• Qualified for State for the third year

So while the 22nd place finish certainly stings a bit for the girls—everything we did this season indicates that we should have moved up in the standings at Detweiller—it simply just wasn’t in the cards on Saturday. There is nothing to be disappointed about the season as a whole—it was another successful season.

The same can be said for the guys and their 8th place finish at the Sectional meet this year. We knew it was going to be a tough year for the guys, considering all the talent we lost from last season—but they fought the fight until it was over.

The future of Westmont Boys and Westmont Girls Cross Country is extremely bright and dripping with sheer potential for the next few years.

Coach Wolf and I were talking after we arrived home from Detweiller Park on Saturday afternoon and the kids left. The 22nd place finish for the girls and the 8th place Sectional finish for the boys left us feeling empty and unfulfilled. But as we talked, we quickly realized that what we had just been handed was an enormous opportunity. We’re talking about an opportunity to run with a chip on our shoulders  for the next year until we return to Detweiller Park. That should be a huge chip.

The Class 1A girls race really set the tone for the day as it turned out to be one of, if not the fastest IHSA cross country state championships in history. That right there is the key to 2016—for both the boys and the girls. Moving forward, we will retool and readjust our training so that when we return to Detweiller Park on November 5, 2016, we will be much more prepared for what is almost certain to be one of fastest fields in the history of the State Cross Country meet. We will share some of our final thoughts on the season and our ideas for next season at our final team meeting.

So, while we are ending a season and a journey, we’re starting a new one, a journey that can—and will—lead to great things, if each and every athlete on this team commits themselves to achieving great things.

If you want to achieve great things next year as an individual and as a team, it takes a commitment to a lot of different things:

It means keeping up with your winter running—even if it is mind-numbingly cold out.

It means pushing yourself during this coming track season—in every meet and every workout.

It means dedicating yourself to a productive summer of running in June, July, and August.

It means eating right—every meal of every day.

It means getting at least eight hours of sleep—every night.

It means stretching properly and thoroughly—at every practice and at home every night.

It means communicating about a potential injury—no matter how small it is.

It means cross-training at a high intensity if you do have an injury—every practice.

It means showing your teammates just what it takes to bring yourselves to the next level.

It means recruiting and encouraging potential runners here and across the street to join our team.

It takes a great commitment to achieve great things. We know that each and every one of you can do these things. We will help you get there. That is our goal as coaches. If you commit yourself to greatness, AND do the things that are necessary to achieve greatness, you WILL achieve great things.

As I write this on November 11, 2015, there are 360 days until the 2016 State Cross Country meet. What are you doing today to prepare for those 15-20 minutes of chaos at next year’s State Final?

We’re already very excited about the potential we have for next season. The sky is truly the limit with the team we have. We know we can surprise a lot of people next fall. They’ll be surprised but we, as your coaches, won’t be.

Are you ready for this new journey? It’s going to be a heck of a lot of fun, and we hope you join us for the ride.

**************************************************

IN MEMORY OF CHARLIE DONOVAN

1996-2015

#PlayForCharlie #RunForCharlie #0IsMyHero