State!

On a beautiful early November day at Sanders Ferry Park, MBA's varsity cross country lost the state championship to Chattanooga McCallie by 8 points.  Beating McCallie - the four team state champs - was always going to be a tall order.  Yesterday, it just wasn't to be for MBA or any of the other challengers from across the state.  

MBA's runner up finish was impressive with three runners in the top 12.  Jack Wallace (7), Samuel Trumble (10), and JP (12).  An eighth point deficit is not a lot, obviously, but McCallie is a strong cross country squad and there's no shame in finishing second to them in a meet that could have turned out differently with a break here or there.  

I missed the earlier race at Sanders Ferry, so it was my first trip there.  It's a beautiful park nestled along the banks of Drakes Creek in Hendersonville.  The cross country course undulates thought the park, so it's not an easy course by and stretch.  Two laps, too, which means the runners see each hill not once but twice.  

I arrived early, about 8:30 a.m., and walked part of the course.  It was chilly but not cold and I was comfortable in my joggers, pullover, and running gloves.  Most of the school has arrived and were assembling their tents and setting up camp near the starting line.  I got JP and Joe some swat - screen printed hoodies and t-shirts - and got ready to watch the varsity girls' race.

There's always a palpable feeling of nervousness - anticipation, really - before a cross country race.  You can feel it and see it on the faces of the athletes, parents, and coaches.  It was more noticeable before yesterday's race or so it seemed to me.  There was more at stake and for many athletes, it was the final race of their high school careers.  

I bumped into Jude, Joe, and he parents on the inside portion of the course after the varsity girl's race, which saw two Father Ryan young ladies finish 1 - 2.  Impressive.  Jude and her parents were comfortably ensconced in camping chairs and Joe was bouncing around the course, excited to be missing a day of school and to watch JP race.

After speaking to them for a moment, I walked up the hill and over to a pavilion with a view of the river on the back side of the course.  I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, as is my wont before JP's races.  I sat on a picnic table, closed my eyes, breathed deeply, and mediated for a few moments.  Then, after a silent prayer, I walked down to a spot I had identified at almost the one mile mark.  

A few minutes alter, I heard the starter's pistol fire in the distance, and I started the stopwatch on my Garmin.  As the leaders rounded the corner, I saw Sam Trumble running with them in a group of seven or eight.  I saw Jack Wallace, too, tall and lanky, easily distinguishable among the other runners.  Somehow, I never saw JP, Mitchell, or Gabe in the pack of runners that ran by next, still bunched up after the start.  

I hustled across to the back side hill and I was able too see JP, Mitchell, Gabe running comfortably together in what was becoming a smaller group of runner behind the leaders.  JP looked comfortable but intense.  Focused.  He looked the same when I saw him come up the hill near the finish of the first lap of the course.  No recognition as he ran by me and I yelled for him.  He stared straight ahead, running strong along with his teammates.  

One of memories I will take from this season is that of JP, Mitchell, and Gabe running side-by-side, as they did in the last three races.  There's strength in numbers in cross country races and to watch them run together, stride for stride, one senior and two freshman, was special.  I hope they remember it, too.

On the final pass across the hill before the home stretch, JP had pulled away from Mitchell and Gabe by few yards.  I ran down to the finish line and watched the leaders finish.  I leaned out to video JP's finish while I tried to avoid the runners as they rounded the final curve on the inside of the course, sprinting to the finish line 15 yards to my left.  

I saw JP running toward me, alone, with a McCallie runner trailing behind him but not gaining on him.  I yelled for JP, he flashed by, and just like that, the race was over.  

JP finished 12th in the state.  15:57.  

I walked over the finishing chute, greeted JP and the other MBA runners I bumped into, then walked away, alone in my thoughts for a few minutes.  I was proud of JP and proud of all of his teammates, too.  What a season!

After the award ceremony, I found Samuel Trumble and Mitchell Chaffin, the senior co-captains and team leaders, and shared a brief moment with them.  As my voice choked with emotion, I thanked them for their leadership, mentorship, and for showing JP the way.  They made him feel welcome this season and gave him the freedom, I think, to develop as a runner and competitor.  He looks up to both of them so much.  It's meant the world to him, I know, for Samuel and Mitchell to treat him as a peer, as a friend.  

I think Samuel and Mitchell established a bond with JP that will last long after they graduate this May.  I think - I hope - they feel good about entrusting to JP and Gabe their legacy of hard work and leadership to her passed on to other, younger MBA runners in the years to come.  In many ways, I think that's a large part of what being an MBA student and athlete is all about.  

Leadership.  Legacy.  Tradition.

I'm proud of JP and I'm proud of his teammates.