The End of the Line

And just like that, it's over.

Four years of MBA cross county early morning workouts, after school practices, out of town trips, and races.  

As JP lay on the ground, exhausted after a third place finish in the state meet in which he held off two Baylor runners by less than a second, he looked up at me and said, "I can't believe it's over."  

I can't either, I thought to myself.  I can't either.  

"I know I've still got track in the spring," JP continued.  "But that's different.  Nothing is like cross country, where the guys are all together all of the time."  

I couldn't agree more.  I love everything about high school cross country.  The work the athletes put in.  Their dedication to the sport and to each other.  The fact that it truly is a team sport in that the third, fourth, and fifth runners are just as important as the top two runners.  I love watching the boys race on courses in town and out of town, often on golf courses, city parks, and state parks.  

It takes courage to stand at the starting line with six of your teammates, toeing the line as you wait for the start, knowing the pain is coming, followed by exhaustion, then exultation at finishing another race.  

I've been spoiled, I know, especially the last three years.  Every race JP lined up to run, I knew he would finish in the top 5 or 10 and, maybe have a chance to win.  My experience as the parent of a high school cross country runner was different because of JP's talent, desire, competitiveness, and discipline.  He's built different, as they say.  

It's funny,  I normally get nervous - nervous as hell - before all of JP's races.  This year, it's been better.  I'm not sure why but it might be because he had scholarship offers so I knew he would have an opportunity to run in college.  Especially after he announced his decision to run at Davison College, I felt less pressure for him than I had in the past.  

For the state meet, JP got out of school early on Wednesday, around noon, and he and his teammates rode an MBA bus to Memphis.  Wednesday night, like last year, they had dinner at the home of Coach Roderick Russ's brother, who graciously hosted the entire team.  I think they turned in relatively early at the hotel, as the Division II AA race was the first of the day, Thursday, at Shelby Farms Park on the west side of Memphis.

Jude and I stayed in an Airbnb about 15 minutes away from the park.  It wasn't quite as close as where we stayed earlier in the season for the Frank Horton Classic but it was close enough.  We got up early on Thursday morning, grabbed a coffee for me from a nearby coffee shop, and made the short drive to Shelby Farms Park.  Parking was easy, since JP's race was the first of the day.

We walked over to where the schools had set up their tents and found MBA's tent.  Coaches of various teams were milling about, talking with each other, while JP and his teammates relaxed under the tent.  Most of them had AirPods in and were listening to music, I suppose, as they got mentally prepared to race.  We talked to JP briefly and I took a few photos, then we let him get back to it.  

When the boys went for a warmup run, I had a long talk with Gabe, who was injured an unable to run.  I know he was disappointed and I hurt for him to miss the last cross country race of his high school career.  Still, not racing was the right thing for him in the long-term.  He's such a talented runner and has track season, and a college running career, ahead of him.  I didn't want him to hurt himself in this race and be out for longer than planned.

I told Gabe how much I had enjoyed watching he and JP run together the past four years.  They challenged each other, every day.  Both are better runners, I think, for having been teammates and running with and against each other for four years.  Co-captains this year, deservedly so, JP and Gabe are two of the most accomplished runners in MBA history.

When the race began, Drew Beroset quickly took the lead and I could tell he wouldn't relinquish it.  On this day, the battle would be for 2, 3, 4, and 5 and for the team title, not for who would win the race.  True to form, Drew ran away and won with a blistering 14:45:57, a new course record.  

The rest of the top runners stayed together in a pack for the first two miles, until they began to separate a bit on the last mile.  

JP was in that group, running comfortably with Noah Mullenix (Christian Brothers), Cade Duncanson (Knoxville Catholic), and Cash Carlson (Baylor).  Gradually, JP and Noah pulled away from the others and ran together, fighting for second place.  When I saw JP with a half mile or so left, Noah had pulled ahead of JP and was clearly going to finish second.  What I saw, though, was two of Baylor's runner, Cash and Harrison Stroud, closing on JP, who was struggling a bit.

I ran across the filed toward the finish line and set up farther back than I normally do when watching JP finish a race.  I knew JP would be devastated if he let the Baylor boys pass him at the finish line, so I found JP at the last 200 - 300 meter mark, and began yelling.  "Go!  Go!  Go!  They're closing on you!  Go!"  

He glanced over his shoulder, saw Cash and Harrison, and began running harder.  As he neared the finish line, they continued to gain ground on him.  JP glanced over his shoulder a final time, and crossed the line in third place at 15:28:44, less than a second ahead of Cash and Harrison.  Third place in the Division 2 AA for the second year in a row.  

And just like that, it was over.  

The season.  JP's high school cross country career.  My time as the parent of one of the top cross country runners in the state of Tennessee.  

JP finished his career as only the second four time all-state cross country runner in MBA history, which is quite an accomplishment.  2-time co-captain of the cross country team.  When you include the fact that as a freshman, he was on the only team in MBA history to qualify for Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, OR, I submit JP is the most decorated cross country runner in MBA history. 

Later in the week, he was named the Most Valuable Runner in the mid-state region and first team all- region, along with Gabe, and Wynn Humphrey.  Three other runners, all seniors, were named second team all-region.  Reid Fletcher, Charlie Griffin, and Justin Guo.  This group of seniors is going to be hard to replace next season, for sure.

What a privilege of a lifetime for an old runner like me to watch my son run for the Big Red the past four years.  I can't wait to see what all of these boys, JP included, do in college and beyond.