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Thornapple Kellogg High School

go trojans!

Thornapple Kellogg High School

Game Summaries & Headlines.

Game Summary

4.0 years ago @ 8:33PM

Girls Varsity Cross Country vs. OK Gold Jamboree #2

Game Date
Oct 2, 2019

 

OK Gold Jamboree #1 @ South Christian

I’m not going to tell you about times today, and I’m only going to mention place a little bit. I’m not going to tell you about individual athletes either. It wasn’t the kind of day to be telling you about those kinds of things. What I am going to tell you about is an experience; a genuine cross country experience.

To say that we raced on the same course as last time we had our OK Gold Jamboree would be a joke. Yes, it was at South Christian again, but no, it was not the same course. After days of rain, everyone’s course was a sloshy mess, and yes, South Christian’s was complete with wet clay, squishy-heavy ground, and a monster puddle; dare I say a pond! By the way, kudos to them for hosting us last minute after Grand Rapids Christian was told by Calvin College that we could not run at the Gainey Sports Complex. 

Before the race started there was a little reluctance from the girls to explore the course, knowing what would be found would be precipitaionally monumental...if you don’t mind me taking liberty with the English language. Sure enough, I sent the girls out to warm-up in one direction, while I did recon on a different part of the course. When we met up my feet were drenched and I had some mud creeping up my shins and calves. The girls on the other hand, not only had wet and dirty feet, but they were mud splattered from head to toe. We all kind of chuckled at our respective reports of the course, knowing it would be an interesting day at the office.

My pre-race chat was intended to supply a certain amount of focus, but really I missed the mark. I was talking about having a smart start, challenging people in the race, staying focused, and other “normal” race-type things. I should have simply said…”Enjoy the course ladies,” because even though they knew they would be putting their best foot forward, that is exactly what they had in mind.

It was a sloppy mess from the gun. Water and mud was splattered far and wide. The girls were taking mud and water like splatter from the brush of a modern artist, throwing paint at her canvas. 

As the race developed, the course got more and more interesting as they doubled back on the places they had already trod, which was a whole lot of nearly shoe-sucking muck. There were parts of orange jersey, and patches of skin and hair that you could see, but mostly the girls looked like they had rolled in mud. 

A couple things were very evident to me. One was that these girls came to race, regardless of the conditions. As usual, gettin’ after it is just what they do, which is just one of the many reasons I am such a big fan. They knew they had a job to do and they were getting it done. With this said, through the labored breathing of their efforts, it was clear that a whole lot of serious fun was going on.

There were slips, there were slides, there were falls, and this is the kind of day they will never forget. This is the kind of day that binds them together even more. This is the kind of day that makes cross country what it is. Cross country was never intended to be run on a clean, clear, and precisely measured track; grass and mud over hills and turns so slick that it takes everything you have to be upright, along with the challenge of trying to actually race somebody...that’s a fun day. Do we want every race to be like this? No. But if it was, our girls proved they are up for the challenge. 

I am very well-pleased with these girls, as to not overuse the word proud. They were victorious in our half of the conference, showed vigilance in the face of adversity, and dang it all...they had a lot of fun!!!


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