So wrote Charles Dickens in his timeless classic "The Tale of Two Christmas Expectations"....or something like that. Whatever the case, the quote above really sums up Morton's experience at the Mid-Illini Conference meet.
Worst of Times
Unfortunately for the Potters, 76.pi% of the high school seems to have been stricken with a frustrating illness this week. As a result, Morton was without 19 of their team members when they arrived at Detwieller Park on Friday night. Of the Varsity squads, both Men and Women's teams were without 3 of their usual scoring 7. On top of that, several of the Varsity Potters were racing despite impaired health.
Despite the cards being stacked against their favor, Morton still gave 100% on Friday. Although the final results were not an accurate depiction of the kind of season that Morton has been having up to this point (both Men and Women placed 6th), there are still two weeks remaining in the season to run some fast times.
Best of Times
Those who were healthy to run did a great job. On the Ladies' side, with the Pribbles both sidelined with illness, Grace did a great job of stepping up and being the Alpha runner. Behind her, Hannah Behle continued to improve by running 6 seconds faster than she did at Peoria with a PR of 21:09 (all times are unofficial). Nicole also PRd in a time of 21:36, as did Emily Ogden in 24:29. Ashley, Lauren, and Rachel rounded out the remaining healthy Lady Potters.
For the guys, they got to run two races. First came the Fresh/Soph race. Walter Jankowski (8th? 9th?) and Isaac Ackerman (11th? pith?) all ran swell enough to recieve ribbons! Behind them was a solid pack of up-and-coming Potter talent. Grant, James, Matt, Matt, Austin, and Potter #239 all had great finishes. Big PRs on the day came from Joe Doan who eclipsed the 21-minute mark in 20:56, and Jordan Goodyear who destroyed his old PR of 25:49 by running a whole 1:20 faster! Also, the Potter Who Shall Not Be Named ran a great race as well.
In the Varsity Men's competition, several more impressive performances were performed. One involved me risking my life to bring you footage just before the 1-mile mark. Another was Joe Zeller running 15:39 en route to a 4th place All Conference Finish. With Nick still out due to complications with his baby cow, Dale stepped up to be Morton's Beta runner. Austin, Andrew, Smitty, Nick, and Alex rounded out the Scoring 7, but the fun didn't stop there. JT busted out a PR by running in the low 18:10 range, and Dan and Alex and Andrew L. came very close to PRing as well; we'll have to wait for the official results to see.
Not to point fingers or anything, but....
I think in the back of all our minds we know that Morton's teams are not the 6th best teams in the Mid-Illini, but this is a good wake-up call to realize the following truth: when the gun goes off, all ranking are set aside and all that matters is you and the three miles until the finish line. It's easy to point fingers at this meet and say, "Ah, we were all sick this meet; we should've place higher," and I agree, but never forgot that the other teams in the area want to keep racing into November just as much as you guys all do. Keep training hard, keep your head's up, get healthy, and you'll be right where you guys and gals need to be in a couple weeks.
Tribute to Underclassmen and Seniors
From here on out, the Varsity is shouldered with carrying the load for the Potters, but everybody knows that the wolves are only as strong as the pack. Congrats to all who have raced this year. I have immensely enjoyed following this team this year, and I feel like I know twice as many people half as well as I should. Although this season is far from over, I hope that you underclassmen are realizing how valuable to the team you were this year, and how you can build on that to get us off to a great start in 2010. Also, congrats to all Seniors who raced their last on Friday. You guys probably can't see me right now, but I'm giving you a standing ovation.
Next Up
Regionals at Maxwell Park! After twisting some arms at the IHSA office, they agreed to let you guys race in Bloomington so that I don't have to travel to watch you next weekend.
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