"Dave, I am your Father!" -Steve: A Recap of the Galesburg Invite....by Dave "Dale" Getz

Today was a day of triumph. Today was a day of discovery. Today was a day of conquest. Today was also Saturday, which meant it was time for the Galesburg Silver Streak's Invitational at Lake Storey Park. For the Morton Potters XC team, this meant of day of testing newfound abilities at a grander level. And they didn't disappoint.

For the first time in recent history (since 2007 A.D.), all four Creators of the MHS Runners Blog were present to witness the races today. When we arrived on the scene, we immediately made our way to Morton's box to offer some well-wishing to our running friends. What we expected was to find an eager bunch of Potters anxious to run fast. That we discovered; what we didn't expect to discover was that Steve is also my father. However, after a quick trip to Dave's world, we were able to solve any uncertainty that still lingered in the air.

Girls Varsity Race

Once again, Ashley Pribble took it from the gun for the Lady Potters. Behind her, a solid chase pack of Caitlyn Pribble, Macaela Bennet, and Grace Jankowski slowly formed and moved up through the field. Ashley's 19:50 time was good enough for a 7th place medal, as was Caitlyn's 21:30 (24th) and Macaela's 21:40 (29th). Behind those girls, Grace (22:00) and Hannah Behle (23:30) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Potters, who grabbed 7th place at the Invite.

The girls showed great moments of solid pack running, as well as feeding off of each other in tough points of the race. A solid effort here coming off of the Richwoods meet shows that the Lady Potters definitely have what it takes to put together a successful Mid-Illini season. Let's keep up that effort, ladies!

Guys Varsity Race

As Steve, Ben, Nathan, and I were getting in position to watch the Guys race begin, we carefully observed the competition. We were being so careful in our observations of the Metemora team that Steve felt inclined to ask Ben or I if "we knew which of them were who." Ben and I didn't know whether or not Steve was speaking English, so we didn't answer. Anyway, on to the race...

Joe was determined to show that he belonged with the top runners in the area this race, and he proved it with a 8th place finish in a time of 16:47. Also medaling for the Potters today was Nick (19th in 17:07) and Dale (28th in 17:32). Sadly, Smitty missed a medal by one place, but still ran a great race to finish 31st in the 17:40 range. Austin closed out the scoring with a finishing time of 17:47. Dan and Andrew also looked appreciably stronger since last year turning in times of 18:24 and 18:29 respectively. The guys raced well enough to bring home some hardware; their 125 points scored was good enough for a 3rd place finish!

Girls F/S Race

No Morton girl in this race lost to anybody in the field.

Boys F/S Race

Morton can be proud of its depth of talent this year. Several guys had strong races in the Boys Fresh-Soph race. As the last race of the day, the conditions were a lot warmer for their race, but it didn't seem to phase Nick Steffen who cruised to a 9th place finish to take home a medal. Walter Jankowski also took home a medallion thanks to a 17th place finish. Several other young Potters looked very strong, but as I did not go to High School with any of them, I sadly don't know their names. I think one was named Jake, one was named Ryan, one was named Adam, four were named Herbert, and one was named Quentin. Hopefully I will get to know these fine young men as the season progresses.

Happy Joe's

To celebrate their efforts, Coach Zehr took the team to Happy Joe's as part of the Morton XC tradition that has existed since the beginning of recent history....and actually a little before that. It was a smorgasbord that was well earned and well deserved.

Let's Crunch Some Numbers:

I don't know if you guys realize this, but the Morton guys did some pretty spectacular work. To help reinforce the point, let me show you what the power of crunching numbers can do. For example, let's say we throw our Varsity guys into the NCAA DIII Great Lakes Women's Regional race run on November 10, 2007. Let's say we convert our boys' times to 6K (based on pace per mile) and compare them to Calvin College, the girls team that swept the field. Look what we get:

Joe- 20:35

Nick- 20:59

Dale- 21:30

Smitty- 21:40

Christina (Calvin)- 21:45

Austin- 21:48

Lauren (Calvin)- 22:02

Jessica (Calvin)- 22:05

Lynn (Calvin)- 22:08

Calah (Calvin)- 22:11

Ta-Dah! Look's like the Guys clean up the Womens DIII Great Lakes Regional that year. Congratulations!

H.E.A.R.T.

...is the pain, the drive, the passion to realize you have no limits. It's the trust in your body to go farther than it should...to push longer than it can...to be faster than you ever imagined.

Cross country is a sport that is requires a lot of you ladies and gentlemen...it is sport that demands a respect and passion. You all have both in my opinion but you have to have it in your opinion too else it means nothing. Nothing truly has meaning if you don't believe it...especially the kind of efforts that require the mind to let go and say "I know it hurts...I know my body says this is the limit but there is more I KNOW IT!" Life is the same way my friends...life has limits if you are willing to live within them but there is no limit to what you are all capable. Richwoods found that out the hard way.

But now what? This is not a dual anymore it's time for the bigger fish...the open water of the sea is waiting at Lake Storey. You are ready...but you have to prove it. Remember you are the product of your own hard work...make sure you flaunt what you've so justly earned.

The eagle flies at midnight...but you have flown higher and farther than that eagle EVER could!
-Nathan

Them Potters open up their season

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009. Remember that date, for it is the day that a team of young men and women showed they will pick up exactly where they left off, the date that a team of boys showed that they have become men, the date that a young upstart team showed that they are no longer content to announce their presence, but that they are here to contend, to qualify, to win. Oh, remember that date, for I will.

Da Ladies
First, to the girls race. Why the girls first, you ask? Because they ran first, that's why. The girls showed they're picking up right where they left off, with the Pribbles up front, and the Potters scoring lower than the competition. Ashley Pribble jumped to an early lead and held it all the way through to the finish, with sister Caitlyn dueling with Olympia's top runner for most of the race, to finish third.

Following in fifth and sixth were the pair of Grace Jankowski and Macaela Bennett, who showed excellent teamwork and ran together for most of the race. As these two improve throughout the season, will we perhaps have a new law firm with four members? I believe Ashley Coon finished as the Potters fifth scorer, as the fifth, sixth and seventh Lady Potters ran together for much of the race. While I don't recall the scores, the powerful punch of the front four young ladies guaranteed the Potters victory over both of their opponents. That gap to the 5th runner will need to tighten up though, especially as we move from dual scoring to invitational scoring.

Da Guys
The guys race started fast, with freshman Alex Stowers pushing the pace, jumping to an early lead and holding it for much of the first half of the race. He was followed closely by the trio of Nick Piper, Austin Bradford, and Nathan Smith, with Joe Zeller patiently waiting a few seconds back in the second pack during the mad early dash. Zeller worked his way towards the front and by about halfway had moved into the lead, with Nick Piper following in second, along with Austin, Smittey and Richwoods' top three runners.

Zeller and Piper would stretch out their gap over the field, while Smittey would take all but one of the Richwoods opponents, with Austin following in 7th. Dan Getz closed well over the final mile to pass a sick Dale "Dave" Domnick and close out the Potters scoring. Dan's time? 17:37, which is about the same time as the fastest Potter at this race last year. Behind the top 5, the Potters all looked good, as Dale and Andrew Young both broke 18 minutes as well, followed closely by Alex and a few other Potters. I could not collect all the names and times, but the depth and times of the Potters looked impressive, an encouraging sign. The Potters will need that depth of young runners next year as they will graduate 4 of their likely top 7 this year.

Joe won the race in 16:30, with Piper in second in 16:48. At least 3 of the Potters ran PRs, a rarity in early season races, while most all of the Potters ran close to their PRs, and I'm sure pretty much everyone ran faster than they ran on this course last year. The Potter men defeated both of their opponents, beating Richwoods 22-37 and scoring a near perfect 16-42 over Olympia.

Among the best?
Guys, I've watched the Potters for quite some time and have seen some good teams before. Teams that qualified for Sectionals, teams that placed in the top 3 of the Mid-Illini. And I'll tell you what, I can't recall seeing any of those teams look this good at the first race of the season. In fact, some of those decent teams barely looked this good at the end of the season. I'm pretty sure I can confidently say that this was the best season opener I've seen from a Potter team. Well done.

I just looked at the times from the Richwoods/Olympia meet for Morton's 1999 team, a squad that went undefeated in regular competition and won the Mid-Illini. While it's hard to compare times on different courses and different days, I'm pretty sure you would have wiped the floor with us.


Can you hold it?
Here's the catch though. Last year, Morton defeated Richwoods early only to fall to them later in year. Similar scenarios played out with a few of the other better central Illinois teams. These types of seasons have happened before. Can these men hold on throughout the season, and deliver at the Sectional meet, where so many teams have failed before? I believe this team has what it takes, but they can't be complacent. The fire, the drive, and the mileage need to stay high throughout the season.

Running high miles together over the summer is what got you where you are, and it needs to be what keeps you there all season. If you let that hard work drop, a few weeks later the performances drop off too. Be proud of what you've done, but remember you've only done half of the work. Keep the fire and the work up until the final weeks of the season. We know Joel can guide you there, but it's up to you, the Potters, to decide if you want to do just enough, to do not quite enough, or to do whatever you can.

That's what's going to keep the men going strong, and to close up the gaps on the girls team. That's what'll see those times dropping into the ranges they'll need to be at come Mid-Illini, Regional and Sectional.

An ending note
And finally, because I know Nick Piper and anyone named Getz will like this, I leave you with this:



Peace out.

-Steve

H.E.A.R.T.

...is the striving for your best, nay achieving your best when your body says enough is enough and pain says stop. It's when nothing less than your best can sate the hunger to run.

You are the new generation of Morton Cross Country and on behalf of those that ran before you, I humbly welcome and thank you for coming out for the team. You are all one giant family and I hope that you feel that way...and if you don't just comment and Zehr, Smitty, Dale, Ashley, and Lydia will get a thrashing with a wet noodle. Seriously though welcome and I hope you know what awaits you. The team that will assemble tomorrow and jump on a bus is one of the finest groups of kids Morton could ask for. You are lead by your respective captains all deserving of their roles, and a mighty fleet of seniors who know the path to greatness. Every step you will take over the coming months has been tread before and you are now ready to lend your feet to this path.

I will keep this short sweet and to the point (due to an academic need):
You are all part of Morton's great cross country family the moment you toe the line tomorrow...but that title comes with a price. Never give anything less than your best...never stop pushing until the chute is behind you...and never think for one moment that the man or woman two steps ahead deserves that spot more than you do.

YOU ARE MORTON...you have a strong kick, a strong Coach, and a Team unity to be rival by none. Give it everything....give a Heroic Effort Against Reasonable Trammels.

The eagle flies at midnight...but you have flown higher and farther than that eagle EVER could.
-Nathan