I was nearly bouncing with excitement. I had been for the past week, ever since our team qualified for the state meet by placing second at regionals. We were a seven man army, we ran tough and as brothers. We were the first St. Louis men’s cross country team to qualify for the state meet in six years. Only two girls had qualified but the varsity of both teams went to the meet.
The day before the state meet, the teams met at the high school to take off for the state meet. The school had formed a spirit tunnel for us yesterday and today we did not have school, giving us a relaxed sendoff. After everybody’s luggage was loaded into the crimson school vans, our head coach, Coach Puffpaff, got everybody around for a picture. The picture had fourteen excited varsity runners, eight enthusiastic fans, and one assistant coach, Ms. Halfmann.
After the picture, we loaded into the vans and started toward Brooklyn. The drive down to the state meet mainly involved lot of laughter and singing along to the same three songs over and over. I did not like the music but it did not matter because the team was so hyped up. Eventually, we made it to our pit stop before Brooklyn.
The team traditionally stops at a park in Jackson to run before arriving at the hotel. This year was no different. Both teams headed off for a relaxed run while the coaches chilled at the vans. Everybody was joking around and throwing out suggestions of which direction to go. It was great fun. The air was crisp and there was a gossamer layer of clouds across the whole sky. It was a phenomenal day for a pre-race run. After about three miles, the boys team stopped at the top of a hill leading down to the parking lot. It was a long downhill, perfect for rolling down. So, of course, we rolled down the hill several times.
At the bottom, there was an amphitheatre with an angled roof that reached about head height above the ground. One of our senior runners, Zack, decided he would climb up the back of the amphitheatre. When everybody finally reached the bottom, they stood looking at the top of the amphitheatre. Zack was being his usual genius self. He was standing at the peak, terrifying us the afternoon before the state meet. We had all grown to know each other pretty well over the course of the season. By this time, we knew Zach was a smart guy but had many poorly thought out ideas. He enjoyed climbing trees and goofing off. This climbing was not out of the ordinary, but we did expect him to show more caution the day before the state meet.
“Hey guys. Look at me,” Zack shouted down from above our heads.
We replied with: “Get down from there. It’s the day before the state meet,” and “You can do stupid stuff after tomorrow; we won’t care.” We turned and began to walk back to the school vans because he would come down sooner without an attentive audience.
We reached the vans and waited for the girls team to arrive. Puffpaff come up to me and gestured to my knee with concern, “So, uh, what happened here?” I looked down and saw that my leg had lines of red, slightly crusty blood running down from the knee.
“Not sure. I didn’t notice. It must have happened rolling down the hills over there,” I said, motioning over my shoulder. “I’ll get it cleaned up while we wait for the girls.” By the time the girls returned, I was cleaned up.
Puffpaff talked to us and got us pumped for the next day. We had worked hard for the past season, year, maybe more, all cumulating in regionals and the state meet. We had to worry about making it out of regionals, but now it was time to relax and go with the competition. After rehydrating, the vans pulled out, headed for the day’s final destination.
We pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and sat while Puffpaff and Ms. Halfmann went in to make sure everything was in order. As the teams sat in the vans, the windows fogged up and were used for communication. By the time the coaches returned, the allure of the foggy windows was gone.
The coaches passed out room keys and room numbers. The boys had two rooms. I was in one with Michael and Alec while Connor, Collin, Zack, and Parker were in the other. After we dropped our luggage, we walked back down to the vans. Traditionally, the teams then go see a movie and eat spaghetti.
This year, the movie was later than usual, so we went for dinner beforehand. Unfortunately, the restaurant was too busy. Instead, we resorted to Pizza Hut. There were a few arguments on topping choices. Zack and the girls team were on widely different pages. Eventually, everything was figured out and we ate our pizza in the hotel breakfast area. It was a warm, cheesy affair.
When dinner concluded, the team piled back into the vans for a trip to the movie cinema. The film for this year was Free Birds. The general consensus was that the story was absolutely horrible. However, none of us cared because it contained hysterical one-liners and allusions to other films. By the time the team filed out of the cinema, everyone was laughing but ready for bed.
Back at the hotel, everyone prepared for bed. This included Zack and Collin using our bathroom and making it reek. Everybody chatted and reminisced about the season. I learned how funny Alec was, which was surprising considering I had once run his first ten-mile run with him. I listened to the story of how Collin had stayed awake playing Xbox the night preceding the previous state meet. We all wished our injured teammate Matt had been able to come. As lights out grew nearer, the banter died down and became a little more serious. We discussed predictions for the next day by stalking Athletic.net and painstakingly laid out goals. By the time it was lights out, I had realized how much I was going to miss my teammates the next season.
We had three-quarters of the school year left, including track season. In spite of the fact, I was already regretting the fact that four of our top eight runners would be graduating in the spring.
I realized how close we had grown over the course of the season. From being mere acquaintances during the dead week immediately before the season, to becoming a team at cross camp. From the first invitational we won, to winning conference, to qualifying for state at regionals. Flashing ahead to track, we described ourselves in cross country as a freshman, a miler, an 800 runner, two wrestlers, a cripple, a sophomore, and a guy who looked like a super senior. We were not much more than potential at the start of the season, and now, at the finish, we were a top-of-the-line team, an intimate family.
A key quote that I live by is, “We go with goal-oriented people.” These athletes, these runners, my teammates, were goal-oriented people. By being ambitious and driven, we pushed ourselves and each other to be the best we could be. No matter what happened the next day, I was grateful that I had this time to know these wonderful, driven people.
The day before the state meet, the teams met at the high school to take off for the state meet. The school had formed a spirit tunnel for us yesterday and today we did not have school, giving us a relaxed sendoff. After everybody’s luggage was loaded into the crimson school vans, our head coach, Coach Puffpaff, got everybody around for a picture. The picture had fourteen excited varsity runners, eight enthusiastic fans, and one assistant coach, Ms. Halfmann.
After the picture, we loaded into the vans and started toward Brooklyn. The drive down to the state meet mainly involved lot of laughter and singing along to the same three songs over and over. I did not like the music but it did not matter because the team was so hyped up. Eventually, we made it to our pit stop before Brooklyn.
The team traditionally stops at a park in Jackson to run before arriving at the hotel. This year was no different. Both teams headed off for a relaxed run while the coaches chilled at the vans. Everybody was joking around and throwing out suggestions of which direction to go. It was great fun. The air was crisp and there was a gossamer layer of clouds across the whole sky. It was a phenomenal day for a pre-race run. After about three miles, the boys team stopped at the top of a hill leading down to the parking lot. It was a long downhill, perfect for rolling down. So, of course, we rolled down the hill several times.
At the bottom, there was an amphitheatre with an angled roof that reached about head height above the ground. One of our senior runners, Zack, decided he would climb up the back of the amphitheatre. When everybody finally reached the bottom, they stood looking at the top of the amphitheatre. Zack was being his usual genius self. He was standing at the peak, terrifying us the afternoon before the state meet. We had all grown to know each other pretty well over the course of the season. By this time, we knew Zach was a smart guy but had many poorly thought out ideas. He enjoyed climbing trees and goofing off. This climbing was not out of the ordinary, but we did expect him to show more caution the day before the state meet.
“Hey guys. Look at me,” Zack shouted down from above our heads.
We replied with: “Get down from there. It’s the day before the state meet,” and “You can do stupid stuff after tomorrow; we won’t care.” We turned and began to walk back to the school vans because he would come down sooner without an attentive audience.
We reached the vans and waited for the girls team to arrive. Puffpaff come up to me and gestured to my knee with concern, “So, uh, what happened here?” I looked down and saw that my leg had lines of red, slightly crusty blood running down from the knee.
“Not sure. I didn’t notice. It must have happened rolling down the hills over there,” I said, motioning over my shoulder. “I’ll get it cleaned up while we wait for the girls.” By the time the girls returned, I was cleaned up.
Puffpaff talked to us and got us pumped for the next day. We had worked hard for the past season, year, maybe more, all cumulating in regionals and the state meet. We had to worry about making it out of regionals, but now it was time to relax and go with the competition. After rehydrating, the vans pulled out, headed for the day’s final destination.
We pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and sat while Puffpaff and Ms. Halfmann went in to make sure everything was in order. As the teams sat in the vans, the windows fogged up and were used for communication. By the time the coaches returned, the allure of the foggy windows was gone.
The coaches passed out room keys and room numbers. The boys had two rooms. I was in one with Michael and Alec while Connor, Collin, Zack, and Parker were in the other. After we dropped our luggage, we walked back down to the vans. Traditionally, the teams then go see a movie and eat spaghetti.
This year, the movie was later than usual, so we went for dinner beforehand. Unfortunately, the restaurant was too busy. Instead, we resorted to Pizza Hut. There were a few arguments on topping choices. Zack and the girls team were on widely different pages. Eventually, everything was figured out and we ate our pizza in the hotel breakfast area. It was a warm, cheesy affair.
When dinner concluded, the team piled back into the vans for a trip to the movie cinema. The film for this year was Free Birds. The general consensus was that the story was absolutely horrible. However, none of us cared because it contained hysterical one-liners and allusions to other films. By the time the team filed out of the cinema, everyone was laughing but ready for bed.
Back at the hotel, everyone prepared for bed. This included Zack and Collin using our bathroom and making it reek. Everybody chatted and reminisced about the season. I learned how funny Alec was, which was surprising considering I had once run his first ten-mile run with him. I listened to the story of how Collin had stayed awake playing Xbox the night preceding the previous state meet. We all wished our injured teammate Matt had been able to come. As lights out grew nearer, the banter died down and became a little more serious. We discussed predictions for the next day by stalking Athletic.net and painstakingly laid out goals. By the time it was lights out, I had realized how much I was going to miss my teammates the next season.
We had three-quarters of the school year left, including track season. In spite of the fact, I was already regretting the fact that four of our top eight runners would be graduating in the spring.
I realized how close we had grown over the course of the season. From being mere acquaintances during the dead week immediately before the season, to becoming a team at cross camp. From the first invitational we won, to winning conference, to qualifying for state at regionals. Flashing ahead to track, we described ourselves in cross country as a freshman, a miler, an 800 runner, two wrestlers, a cripple, a sophomore, and a guy who looked like a super senior. We were not much more than potential at the start of the season, and now, at the finish, we were a top-of-the-line team, an intimate family.
A key quote that I live by is, “We go with goal-oriented people.” These athletes, these runners, my teammates, were goal-oriented people. By being ambitious and driven, we pushed ourselves and each other to be the best we could be. No matter what happened the next day, I was grateful that I had this time to know these wonderful, driven people.