It's been a busy stretch with the State XC meet taking place last weekend along with the Raider Mile/Team Awards this week and then Nike Heartland Regionals next week. Additionally, we have people coming off their two week break and getting back into action soon!
THE SENIORS
This year's team was lucky to have a group of seniors that were quite simply the best.
From left to right:
Isaiah Geffre- Isaiah was running 23:00-24:00 minutes for most of his sophomore season and then had a breakthrough race at the Nike Heartland Meet where he ran just over 20 minutes. What separated Isaiah from other kids running 20 minutes for 5k is that he took improvement into his own hands and started running with the varsity kids during that track season. What can you learn from Isaiah? Stop being afraid of hard work, make your team better and give yourself a chance. It will pay off. Thank you, Isaiah.
John Achter- When John started the summer of his freshman season, he had a hard time completing any training run. However, John set a goal to make the "Colorado Trip" and showed up every day that year (in-season and out)...and still does. It's the secret, guys: show up. John went sub 17:00 in the 5k last season and is coming back strong from an injury. I am excited to see what John is going to accomplish in track. John, the "Strava-Post-Liking" sensation, and has been a great teammate and important component to our success as a team. Thanks, John.
Bella Speidel- One of the things I appreciate most about Bella is that she does every single training item that's on the schedule. I can't tell you how many times this summer that Bella was the last person at practice doing every last rep of goblet squats, med ball throws or whatever else was on the schedule. That's a type of leadership you can't fake and the type of respect you can only earn through effort. I thought Bella's comments on the Pound the Stone Awards were insightful and made the girls team better. Be like Bella. Thank you, Bella.
Miles Brekhus- During 9th grade track, Miles dabbled in other sports, including the triple jump, but he broke 5 minutes for the mile in the final race of the season in track after running around 20:00 that year in Cross Country. Everything changed his sophomore year, where Miles started running full-time. He was the surprise of the state meet, scoring in the 1600m and the rest was history as Miles is now one of the top runners all-time at Stevens. I think what I appreciate most about Miles is that he's coachable, pays attention to detail and he really cares about this thing. Thank you, Miles.
Aaron Letner- Aaron was the classic, goofball freshman boy. Fast forward a bit and Aaron has become one of the best leaders we've ever had. When I saw Aaron on the individual awards stand at the state Cross Country meet, I couldn't help but think of what a great example he is of what it means to "Pound the Stone". This guy has literally worked his tail off for four years, he's a great teammate, represents our school well...and was rewarded with a huge breakthrough race. Thanks Aaron.
Olivia Boerger- Olivia has earned the respect of her teammates because she works really freaking hard. This is unfathomable, but Olivia has cut about four minutes off of her time since she started running Cross Country. This improvement was the result of Olivia putting in 40+ miles in the off-seasons and setting the example for what training should look like for the older girls. I appreciate Olivia being one of the catalysts in getting the girls going for off-season training when we needed it most. Thank you, Olivia.
STATE MEET RECAP
The streak lives to see another day.
For some of the freshman, our streak of making the podium at the State Cross Country meet dates back to when you were a baby. It's rewarding seeing new groups of runners every year carry on a tradition of excellence.
The Boys- we win most years with this team and with this state meet performance. Three years ago, I could see this Sioux Falls Lincoln team brewing as they had exceptional middle schoolers coming up and a freshman/sophomore group that was already fast. And it turns out...they're still good. On paper, they are best team in South Dakota history with 5 guys under 16:00. There's no shame in getting 2nd to them.
Miles Brekhus cracked the Top 10 for the first time in his career to lead the guys. The key to our trophy was the four second gap between our 2-3-4 guys (Tate, Evan and Aaron), who all finished in the medals.
Aaron, 24th, was determined from the start and led our pack through the first 2 miles. By doing this, he pulled along Tate (20th) to another individual podium. In 21st was 8th grader, Evan Perrigo, who raced with poise beyond his years to earn a medal at his first state meet.
Our 5th man was Isaiah Geffre, who came in clutch after being sick all week. For everyone who has had this fall cold, you know how impressive that is. Torin Jackson's hip flared up and Jeriah Alexander rounded out the squad, earning valuable state meet experience.
This winter, we'll be moving "next year's varsity" into the varsity training group to intentionally get ready for next year. We have a ton of potential in the JV ranks and I am excited, but it's going to take hard work.
The Girls- Cross Country team success is largely influenced by the performance and emotional boost you get when you're racing with/near your teammates. From the gun, we didn't have the tight pack we experienced all year and we slipped in the final team results because of this. I know if we raced again, it would be different, but that's the beauty of sports; everything doesn't always go to plan.
Individually, I thought we had some good stuff happen. Brinna Sheldon (16th) and Kadance Holso (21st) earned spots on the award stand. You could see from the start of the race that Brinna was there for a fight... and fight she did all the way to the finish. Kadance has improved throughout the season and I think you'll see a big performance out of her this weekend at the Nike Heartland Regional meet in Sioux Falls. I am excited to see what these two do this winter and into next spring.
Whitli Adams was caught a little far back at the back at the start, but moved up throughout the race to place 31st. Adison Armstrong (43rd) and Vi Sietsema (64th) rounded out the scorers and I have a feeling they would take a re-do race if they could. Maddie Carcamo and Emerson Buchholz were our 6/7th runners with Emerson posting a season's best time. I think we have some medalists among these girls next season and I'm excited to get to work.
Coach Ben and I are eager to see which girls will step up and become leaders for the team, particularly in the winter off-season and into next spring and summer. Our big push for the girls will be to increase numbers next season; having more kids on the team is fun and it makes everyone better.
TEAM AWARDS
All- State (AA, A & B Top 25)
Miles Brekhus
Academic All-State
Miles Brekhus
Aaron Letner
John Achter
Bella Speidel
Olivia Boerger
Team Captains
Miles Brekhus
Aaron Letner
Olivia Boerger
Bella Speidel
Top Newcomer
Jocee Krebs
Evan Perrigo
Most Valuable
Miles Brekhus
Brinna Sheldon
Most Improved
Josh Piper
Whitli Adams
Doc Michel 1st Class Award
Miles Brekhus
Brinna Sheldon
RAIDER MILE
The Raider Mile was a lot of fun. We love seeing how people compete and this year it was also great to interact with the future Runnin' Raiders. We'll likely bring back the "Predictor Mile" next year for those that are on their break. I appreciate everyone that ran, even if it was your first step since Best of the West.
I will say, having not raced (or likely have run) since October 8th, the middle schoolers were impressive!
The next update will be after the Nike Heartland Race and include off-season training information.
Coach Coy