In what was the last local race of his cross country career, JP won the Nike Metro Cross County Championship for the second year in a row.
It was a warm but beautiful fall day at Vaughn's Gap, MBA's home course, as the boys ran against, David Lipscomb, Overton, Hillsboro, Hume Fogg, Ensworth, Brentwood Academy, Nashville Christian, JPII, and maybe a couple of other schools I can't remember offhand. Father Ryan was notably absent - by design, probably - as they ran at the Hermitage course in a different event on Saturday.
MBA easily won the JV and Varsity races, as expected. It was cool - really cool - to watch Cullen Weaver, an 8th grader, run with the junior varsity. He ran well, I thought, although I could tell he was nervous at the beginning of the race. I found him at the starting line and gave him some encouragement. As is Cullen's way, he ran the 5k distance, for the first time, a little cautiously. He looked great the third mile and in all likelihood, had more left in the tank than he realized. Cullen is a very talented runner who will figure it out. It's a great opportunity for him to be able to run a few races with the high school team.
When I asked JP Monday night what his race plan was, he simply said he planned to run to win it. "That's the goal, isn't it?" I guess that is the goal and that's what he did.
As was the case at the race last year, JP and Gabe left the rest of the boys early in the race and ran together. Gabe was right on JP's shoulder at the first mile as they ran past us and he remained there when they rounded the turn near Old Hickory Boulevard and ran toward us to complete the first lap on the course. Gabe looked great at that point and I thought he might be tracking JP and looking to out kick him on the last half mile.
My thought was that JP probably needed to put some distance between the two of them on the hills during the second mile. I think that's what happened. When JP came into view on the back side if the course, parallel to Highway 100, I could see that he had opened up a gap between him and Gabe. He widened the gap a bit on the back side of the second lap and won comfortably in 15:38. Not blazing fast by any stretch but a good time on a course that isn't particularly fast.
I was in my feelings before and after the race, as the kids say. The feeling of nostalgia was so strong, as I walked the course, awash in memories of all the summer mornings JP and his teammates have trained at Vaughn's gap. I also thought about the junior school races JP ran at Vaughn's gap, all wins.
And, of course, I thought about the three previous Nike Metro Championship races. His freshman year, their was so much talent in the race. Two boys from Brentwood Academy and Thomas Arender from JPII, all of whom are running in college. From MBA, Samuel Trumble, Mitchell Chaffin, Jack Wallace, Gabe Guillamondegui, and JP. That was a stacked field.
What hit me the hardest, though, was when Gabe hugged JP in a private moment after the race, just after he crossed the finish line in second place. Those boys have pushed each other for four years. They've made each other better runners. Although my perception is they run in different social circles, on the course they're so tight and supportive of each other. It's been a joy to see them grow up.
I snapped a couple of photos of them together. When I showed Gabe's dad, Oscar, the photo of them hugging, he choked up with tears and I did, too. I hugged him, told him I loved him, then quickly tried to compose myself. What a ride it has been with Gabe and his parents, Tara and Oscar, and JP and our family.
What a ride indeed. Roll Red.
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