Today, the Potters raced the Eagles of Dunlap and the Can-Openers of Canton in their first Mid-Illini Conference (double) duel meet of the 2009 season, held in the hills of Something-or-Other Park in Canton. And race, they did. I shall share my account of the tale to you, oh brothers and sisters in Potter fan-dom.
But first, I must warn you that I have not seen the results, so I will offer no finishing times or team scores, and my details are sketchy at best, as they are all from memory. So I might have a few people out of order, or a few places wrong, but the general picture is accurate. I think I have figured an accurate idea of team placement, though, so I'll report that as I believe it to be, but with no scores. I know y'all complain if it takes us awhile to update the blog, so I give you my memory tonight, and you can see the official results tomorrow.
Before I start, though, a reminder that this site is for the fans and parents as well. Share this with them all, as we all want to support you. Plus, some of your parents can't make it to all of the meets, especially the weekday ones, so they might appreciate an account of what they miss. So far, the only 'Followers' of this blog are the members of the mens varsity top 7....oh, and Dave Getz, of course. Let's get a few more on there.
One more thing before I start. I need to give a nod to Coaches Zehr and Conklin and to the family of the Morton Potters. This is a sport where teams are not just teams, but become families. The team has grown this year, and I know there are some new faces whose names I don't all know. But I know I see a team that gets along and that supports each other. Today, a couple parents were discussing needing Potter fan club T-shirts. I've been to several of these meets, and I see parents showing up carrying armfuls of food. The first thought when I see that (after 'how much of that food can I take down while the athletes are racing?') is: that'd be sweet if we had that when I ran. The Potters are putting together a team and a family, and it couldn't be done without their families. Well done, Potter coaches and Potter parents!
The Lady Potters
First up were the ladies, and after the Coach Conklin-led warmup, the race started out as normal, with Ashley Pribble charging hard. She was followed closely by Dunlaps top girl and Canton's top girl, and sister Caitlyn. After that came a pack including another Canton runner or two, and an intimidating number of Dunlap runners, This pack was followed closely by the Jankowski-Bennett partnership and then a gap to Ashley Coon, Hannah Behle, and Nicole Lockwood, running as the 5th, 6th and 7th Potters.
The first time up one of the large hills, the contenders started sorting themselves out from the pretenders as Grace and Macaela moved up past the large Dunlap pack to start chasing Caitlyn. However, Dunlaps top girl had moved into the lead, and Dunlap had 7-8 runners in front of Morton's 5th, so the race was not locked up yet. A runner had to emerge from that trio running in 4-5-6 positions for the Potters, and start picking off that Dunlap pack. That runners name was Hannah.
As several of the ladies started struggling with the hills of the second loop, Hannah started picking them off until there were only 4 or so Eagles ahead of her, lowering the score of the Potters and bumping up the score of the Eagles. I think the duo of Ashley Coon and Nicole Lockwood finished in the 6th and 7th positions for the Potters. Ashley Pribble held on for second overall, and while Canton had several girls near the front of the race, I don't believe they were a factor in the team score. I'm not even sure if they fielded a whole team.
While I don't know the scores for sure, I believe Morton defeated Dunlap, and a fair share of the credit needs to be given to Hannah for an excellent second loop of the hot and hilly course. Not to minimize the other Potter ladies, as they all ran great, but I think it's important to note how a strong fifth runner can be as crucial to a team victory as the girl that wins the race. If you'd scored the race at the mile mark, before Hannah's charge, Dunlap might have won the meet.
The Men
It's been a joy to watch this team develop from young novices, to an upstart team that started realizing they could win some races, to a confident, savvy squad that knows how to take control of a race. The top 7 Potter men, per Coach Zehr's instructions, ran all together for the first mile in a pack with several other competitors. The Potters were content to let a trio of Dunlap runners lead the race, simply keeping a leash on them so as not to let the gap grow too much. As they approached the mile mark, there was a stark contrast between the relaxed look on the face of the Potters and the labored breathing and slowly sloppifying (that's a word if I say it is) stride of their competition only steps ahead. Some Potters were later overheard saying the first mile felt like walking.
Just about at the mile mark, the word was given, and the Potters were gone. They quickly shed the pack they were with and started easing past the front Dunlap trio, demoralizing the competition with their sudden move on the toughest hill of the course. It was an impressive sight to see, and it was no longer a question of whether the Potters would win, but how much they would win by. These men were in control. As they came by the start/finish area again, the Potters held the top 4 positions, with Nathan fighting Dunlaps top man for 5th. For a brief moment near the end of the second mile, it looked like the Potters might drop a 15 on one or both of the opposing teams.
As they started climbing the hills on the second loop, Joe Zeller and and Nick Piper held the top two positions, followed by Dale Domnick. Austin Bradford and Nathan Smith were not far behind, mixing it up with the Eagles and the Can-Openers top runners. As they pressed the hills in the third mile, the hard, fast surge set by Joe and Nick began to take it's toll on some of the Potters as well, and some of the opposing runners moved up.
Joe and Nick held on to take 1-2 for the second time this season, while the Potters held 3 of the top 5 positions and put all their scorers in the top 10, with their top 6 closed up by Dan Getz in the top 12. Andrew Young continued his excellent senior campaign to finish as the Potters 7th man. The underclassmen were represented well with top finishes by Alex Stowers, Nick Steffen and Walter Jankowski. These men will likely be called upon next year to continue the Potters tradition of excellence as 4 of the Potters current 7 man lineup of varsity runners will be graduating.
Dunlap Invite
Next up, this Saturday, is the Dunlap Invitational, on a course that alternates between hilly wooded trails and flat loops around the Dunlap sports facilities. The Potters will see several of their area competitors, run some races, and will likely eat a lot of bananas.
The Potters will see many of the top area squads, including Dunlap again. Dunlap sat all-star runner John Crain today, along with one of their other top runners, so while the Potters comfortably won today, Dunlap can't be taken lightly, nor can the rest of the conference. The second half of the season gets harder.
An answer to an age-old question
Finally, we have an answer to a question that man has asked for eons. No, the answer is not 42. And the question is not "Would rough runners still run rough at the Woodruff Invite?" Rather the questions is this:
If you take a world class racewalker and chase him with deadly, sword-wielding samurai, will he run away or walk away really fastlike?
See the following video for the answer.
via videosift.com
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