High School Cross Country 2017 Season

03 Nov High School Cross Country 2017 Season

Posted at 09:18h in Recent by

High School Cross Country 2017 Season

by Tim Tsuei, HS XC Coach

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Cross country is a unique sport. Since the competitive season starts just before actual classes begin, conditioning and practicing must begin during summer months when rigorous schedules, commitment to standards, setting of goals, and getting out of bed do not come so readily. But this is the sport that 11 Archers high school athletes chose. Starting on a typically cool Oregon summer morning in early July 2017, this group began meeting three mornings a week at 7:30am to run 3-4 miles. These weren’t just random distances and paces, but instead the beginning of a program that Coach Tsuei and Coach Hickey designed to culminate with peak performance in late October. Soon, long 6-8 mile runs at verdant Leif Erikson trail contrasted with grueling hill workouts on the dusty trails of Cooper Mountain. Incoming freshmen Maggie B., Lydia E., Seth B., and  Luke W. were joined by transfer sophomore Aiden S. Veteran Archers included seniors Claire B. and Elizabeth O. Annaliese O. also came back to build on a strong freshman campaign. On the men’s side, Colton S., Evan T. and Josh W. rounded out the full roster for the 2017 Archers as the competitive season began in September.

The theme for the 2017 season was the single word: RISE! Maybe at first it was just another way of saying “get out of bed!” but the theme grew to have deeper meaning to the team. Rise to the challenges, the opportunities, and the performance goals! Rise in spite of pain and discomfort! Rise in love and encouragement for one another!

The competitive season opened with some unusual meets:  a big metro-area 3k at Wilsonville and the Ultimook adventure XC race on the coast, both before school classes began. The coaches’ stated expectations were that the team would train 5-6 days per week, even though official practices were only held 3 times per week. XC is definitely a sport where personal responsibility for success is required and rewarded. To run fast, one must run far and do so often in order to learn how to manage the inevitable pain. By early October, the Archers team started showing real progress, as every team member began setting new personal records (PRs), sometimes in consecutive meets.  While the team was led by tri-captains Elizabeth O., Evan T., and Josh W., the speed performance standards were set by rookies Seth B. and Lydia E. On the women’s side, both seniors set substantive new PRs before Elizabeth O. was sidelined for the final 3 weeks with a stress fracture. On the men’s team, the Archers performed strongly as a team, highlighted by a team victory as the highest finishers in the 3A/2A/1A division of the massive George Fox XC Invitational meet, the final meet before the District championships on October 26.

Headed into Districts on October 26 with the opportunity to advance to the State championships, the Archers men’s team was ranked 5th in the district. The top 3 finishing teams would advance to state, along with the top 5 individual performers. Confidence was high as the Archers took the course on a sunny day at Tualatin Hills Parks & Rec in Beaverton. Before the races began, Coach Tsuei shared this with the team:

“We don’t race today for personal accolades or PRs. We race for our team and our school. How you match up to those competitors today will determine whether we leave with regret or with a sense of exhausted satisfaction where you did absolutely everything you could do.

Believe in the process of this season. Believe in your teammates. Believe in yourselves! Your sport, that you chose, is what other sports give out as punishment! But you guys are special: you run because you want to. You pursue that edge of pain and conquer it so that next time, that pain is even less of a factor. Remember, the race begins today when your body tells you that you want to give up. Overcome it and don’t let it defeat you. RISE to the challenge of the day. RISE to the opportunity of this race. We have 5 kilometers to achieve our team goals; 5 kilometers to making all the sacrifice worth it; 5 kilometers that you will remember for the rest of your lives.”

And so these Archers ran and competed, many to the point of exhaustion and physical breakdown. While the men’s team wasn’t able to overcome the points deficit to qualify for the State Championship meet, some individual highlights brightened the day. On a tough course, Lydia E. ran the best race of her season to finish 6th overall, just one place from qualifying for state. Seth B. finished his freshman season as the fastest freshman in the overall district, placing 10th overall. The men’s team held on to a 5th place finish, the highest ever achievement on the team level for St. Stephen’s Academy. The Archers followed through on their promise to RISE to new levels this year and are all excited to build on this season in the coming year.