I went in with high hopes and I was full of confidence. I had a calm about me because I thought I had everything dialed in. I was completely expecting, albeit never assuming, that we would get out of the regional and be getting on the bus as a team for the state meet next weekend. However, sometimes even when you think you have crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s, an x or a y gets thrown in your path. 

I read recently, “You can keep punishing yourself for falling down, or start celebrating yourself for getting up. Choose wisely.” I’m going to choose to celebrate getting back up. I won’t pretend to not be disappointed in not being able to get this team to state. In fact, I’m a bit heartbroken because they have worked so hard all season, preserved through set-backs, and then just fell short of making it to the big dance. 

Having said this, part of getting back up is looking at what we have to celebrate, and we have plenty to be grateful for. We were able to compete in the regional final, we finished in the top four, we qualified two athletes for the state meet (nearly three), and we had several standout performances.

Emelia MacDonald who has been rising to the top all year long worked her way through the field, meeting up with Jessica Durkee toward the end of the race, who had been battling at the pointy-end all along. Ultimately they both finished with season bests of 19:49 and 19:50, with Emelia crossing the line first, and both of them qualifying for the state meet!

Freshman Holly Velting ran a PR of 20:10, really gave it all she had, and was only 10 seconds short of qualifying for state herself. She was followed by Madison Nagel, who ran a PR of 21:33, Emma Thompson, who ran a PR of 21:36, Lucy VanDemark who ran a hard fought 21:39, and Lindsey Velting, who ran a PR of 22:00.

You know it’s not all about time when six out of your seven runners run PRs and it’s not enough. We were edged out this year, like last year, by our rivals from South Christian. We ran fast, but they ran faster. South got out and was in position early, and we just couldn’t bridge the gap. Congratulations to them for having the day they needed, but we are looking to return the favor next year.

As you can see, we have a lot to be grateful for and we have a state meet to look forward to next week with Emmie and Jessie. Before we do that though, we will be taking our frustrations out on the field at the Barry County meet on Monday. 

All of the girls put their best foot forward on the day, and as you can see, they put up great numbers. However, I need to make note of Emma Thompson. Emma was called up to sub for Kendall Snyder at the Pre-Regional, and she ran a PR of 22:35, she then turned around and ran about a minute faster, for a PR of 21:36. Furthermore, she was prepared to give Kendall her spot back if we had qualified for the state meet. She is one of the most selfless people I know. She gave everything for this team in more ways than one. She is a class act to say the least. Fortunately, this is a strong representation of the kind of girls we have on our team. They really care about each other and will do just about anything for each other. This is a great team to be a part of and I am thrilled to have the privilege to be their coach. I know I say this kind of thing a lot, but it’s true every time. I’m very proud of them. Great job today ladies!