366 days...

     

     That is how long the Holy Savior Menard Eagles had waited for another chance to take another bite of that oh so sweet fruit that is a State Championship. 366 days is the length of time that every member of the team has poured their hearts and souls, their sweat and tears, and even their blood into training to compete for that ultimate prize! This year was one like no other for sure. The ups and downs of a regular season was somehow overshadowed by the lurking shadow of an opponent that we could not see, Through all of the distractions and tribulations these athletes somehow found a way to stay focused and preform week in and week out, always moving to the next challenge ultimately landing them on the start line at Northwestern State University. 14 runners (7 boys and 7 girls) had one goal in mind, GIVE EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE FOR THE TEAM AND FOR GOD'S GLORY, and that is exactly what they did! As a coach I could not have been more proud!

 

     The boys race was 1st at 1:45 p.m. and at the end the Eagles found themselves with an impressive 3rd place finish as a team! Charles Beard finished his incredible Sophomore season with ALL STATE honors, ALL STATE is determined by the top 10 finishers in each race, with a 7th place finish and a time of 17:06 (16:31* - converted for 3 mile a new 3 mile PR)! He led his team all year and lifted each of his teammates up every single week! in the 2020 season Charles dropped his PR 47 seconds! Eli Watkins was the next runner to cross the line for the Eagles wrapping up his Senior Season with an astounding 18:03 (17:26* new PR) As the teams lone Senior his presence and leadership will be greatly missed next year but the team will continue to march forward as he becomes a member of the programs long and storied Alumni group finishing his HSM Cross Country career ranked as the 18th fastest time recorded by a Senior and the 30th fastest time ALL TIME at Holy Savior Menard! Right behind Eli was Mikey DeRosa who wrapped up his Freshman Season in 22nd overall with a time of 18:06 (17:29* new PR). This PR dropped his 2019 season PR by 59 seconds! This Freshman gave everything that he had and has as bright of a future in this program as anyone! Aaron Cantrell finished his Junior season with a 31st place finish and a fantastic time of 18:25 (17:47* new PR)!!! Next year he will be a Senior and he will look to continue the trend that he established this year where he saw his PR drop an incredible 2:19!!! Carter Byers, like Mikey, finished his astounding Freshman season with a 37th place finish and a time of 18:34 (17:56*) Although he did not PR at this meet his season PR of 17:28 set a mere 3 weeks earlier improved his 2019 PR by 1:51! He is a shooting star in the making and will continue to progress towards the top of any leaderboard he puts his mind to! Matthew Hawthorne making his State meet debut as well dug deep and found a new level of competition! With his 48th place finish he cemented his place in the top tier of this program with a time of 19:07 (18:28* new PR)! This PR dropped his 2019 PR by 2:57! A natural runner Matthew will continue to grow and progress into a force to be reckoned with! The last runner for the Eagles was Austin Siebeneicher who finished in 51st place as a 7th grader! This was the highest rank by any 7th or 8th grade runner in the entire state with a time of 19:33 (18:53*). A truly heroic effort by the 7th grader who has not even begun to discover what he is capable of! I could not be prouder of these young men and I hope that if you see any of them around you remind them that they are amazing and how proud this community is of their efforts! CONGRATS GUYS!

 

      The girls race began at 3:15 p.m. and although they had a hard battle to fight they found themselves coming out of the meet with a very strong 5th pace team finish! The path was not easy but these young ladies refused to back down to the challenge and recorded 4 new PRs! First to finish for the Lady Eagles was Emma DeRosa. Emma stepped up huge for the team this year as a Junior and led her team with an incredible finish of 13th, only 3 spots out of ALL STATE honors, with a time of 20:48 (20.05* new PR) After a tough Sophomore season Emma found a focus this season and would not be denied in accomplishing her goal of driving down her PR by 48 seconds! As one of the 3 Juniors on the Girls team she looks forward to her Senior year with her eyes on the ultimate prize in 2021! Kannin Cole was next across for the Lady Eagles and finished the 2020 season with a 20th place finish and a time of 21:05 (20:22* new PR). She had a chip on her shoulder all year after ending the 2019 season with what she believed to be an underperformance at the State meet last year at the state meet, and she made sure that would not be the case this year running 1:26 faster than last years race! As a Freshman there are many great things still to come from Kannin as she looks to continue to grow as a team leader. Quinn Brown finished as the 3rd Lady Eagle across the finish line with a 24th place finish and a time of 21:30 (20:46*) She gave 110% in the race and found herself fighting through pain but refused to give in to it, instead she fought with every muscle she had to set that example for the other girls that no matter what happens during a race you must always PUSH FORWARD! As a Senior next year she will continue to lead this Lady Eagle team to greatness! Chesney Mathews crossed the line next with a 38th place finish and a time of 22:17 (21:31* new PR)! As a newcomer to the team she quickly found a place in this tight knit group of girls and will ne a fixture of the program for years to come as she moves towards her Sophomore season. Abbey Scalisi finished right behind Chesney in 39th place as an 8th grader! Her time of 22:27 (21:41* new PR) pushed her 2019 PR down by 2:14 and set her up for a Freshman season that will surely be astounding! Abbey never gives up even running the last 2 miles of the race without a shoe that she lost in the 1st mile! Meredith Seeling, the 3rd of the 3 Juniors on the team, finished in 60th with a time of 23:40 (22:51*) She brings an attitude every single day that lifts up every member of the team and her Senior season will certainly be one for the books! Finishing out the team was Amie Cochran with a 75th place finish and a time of 25:08 (24:16*)! Amie gave everything she had during the race and as a Sophomore will look to the 2021 season as she continues to push her times lower and lower! GREAT JOB LADIES! i AM SO PROUD OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

 

Thank you everyone for your time and commitment to these athletes and I hope you stay tuned for everything going on with these amazing runners!

 

ON TO INDOOR!!!!!

 

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!