One of the first sports at Jesuit to begin training, Cross Country requires a great amount of time and physical effort. Practicing at 6:30 in the morning, the Jesuit Cross Country team, sometimes called distance crew, puts in an immense amount of training to say the least.
After an impressive outing at the Greenhill Relays, the first meet of the season, the inspired distance crew followed up with two equally impressive showings.
Led by captains James Butterfield ’15, Nick Lorocco ’15, Michael Spamer ’15, and Connor Garvey ’16, the Jesuit Cross Country entered the second meet at Plano ISD with a determined mindset. Coach Robinson explained that these captains “provide much of the emotional leadership our guys rally around.”
The race totaled three miles, which is two hundred meters less than the usual 5k, a notable benefit for the runners. The Jesuit Varsity team placed an outstanding third overall, with Connor O’Neill ’17 placing second individually and Connor Garvey placing fourth. The other three top finishers included John Garvey ’16, who placed twenty fifth, Michael Spamer ’15, who placed twenty sixth, and Gus Baldwin ‘17, who placed thirty first.
Varsity runner, Ethan Brownlee, stated that “we were pleased with our performance but not satisfied.”
Not to be forgotten is the performance of the Junior Varsity team, as they finished second overall, led by Miles Burrow ’17 and Zachary Schutze ’15.
The following week, Jesuit faced a much more challenging task: topping their third place finish in a top notch meet. Jesuit not only had to defeat the local cross country powerhouse of Southlake Carroll, but they also had to compete against Oklahoman juggernaut, Jenks High School.
Jenks High School dominated the meet, sweeping the sixth through ninth spots in individuals and finishing in first place in the team portion. South Lake Carroll also performed well, as they ran their way to a second place finish.
Jesuit finished in a respectable eighth place, which is extremely impressive considering there were fifty teams total in the meet. Once again, the Connor tandem, O’Neill and Garvey, led the team in points.
When asked about this meet, Ethan Brownlee commented that “the whole race was a grind, but our varsity team found a way to power through.”
Coach Robinson, agreeing that the distance crew has lived up to the hype this year, said, “I am pleased and encouraged by our team’s performances at recent meets.” He continued to speak positively about this year’s group of runners when he said, “We are farther ahead than we were last year at this point.” Although, he wasn’t shy of criticism: “Having said that, I feel there is still much to develop and accomplish.”
As the distance crew continues its patterned success, the runners hope to translate this success come track season, anticipating a fourth straight district championship.
