Presented By Wildcats Head Cross Country Coach Dr. Mike Gallagher '71 and Posted By Eddie Dwyer.
FROM COACH GALLAGHER: Following a fantastic send off by the student body, the Cross Country team pulled away from Saint Ignatius for the State Meet with high spirits and great expectations.
Race day broke cool and overcast with a slight drizzle, and when the team arrived at The National Trail Raceway, the course was soft and muddy following Thursday's thunderstorms.
Saint Ignatius was slated to race at 3 PM, following 5 earlier races. As the team stepped to the starting line, sandwiched between Twinsburg and Hilliard Davidson, we could hear the roar of the Saint Ignatius fans in the distance. In spite of the conditions, the race went out lightning fast with the leaders hitting the first mile in 4:40.
The Wildcats held back, knowing that pace was not sustainable. In a typical race, the runners relax and find a groove somewhere around 2,000 meters. Unfortunately, the team found itself boxed in on the tight turns and narrow straight-a-ways on the course. With 800 meters to go, the team started to accelerate, but ran out of real estate and were unable to close on the lead teams. True to form, the state meet is pretty simple; it's just never very easy.
Eliott Thorkelson and Jim Rogers led the charge to the finish in 16:25 and 16:26, respectively. Tim Trentel 16:36 and Luke Wagner 16:40 followed close behind. Tom Sullivan 16:52, John Nemes16:57 and Jeff Foerg 17:30 closed out the scoring for the team.
When the team results were announced, the Wildcats came up a little short of their expectations, finishing 7th overall. As the team left the finish area and headed back to the tents, its disappointment was eased by the cheers and applause from its teammates, fans and parents who recognized its efforts. The runners had not eaten since breakfast, so thank goodness for the epicurean buffet from the parents to ease some of the pain.
Special thanks to Kelly and Tim Foerg, Vida and Jan Thorkelson, Mary and Paul Meler, Mary Ellen and Rich Huesken, Kathy and Dan Drellishak, and all of the parents who contributed.
You should be receiving an invitation to the Fall Sports Banquet, which will take place on Tuesday, November 19th at 5:30. The banquet recognizes all of the runners on the team. If you do not receive an invitation, please contact Jennifer Fight in the Athletic Office at jfight@ignatius.edu.
Looking forward to seeing all of the runners and parents there. Thank You, Doc. Go Cats!