61 teams, 2000 runners, but one purpose: compete and win the race. On Saturday, October 3rd, schools from around the metroplex travelled to the Jesuit Classic cross-country meet to prove their strength on a tough cross-country course. Among these teams were Allen, Frisco Wakeland, Mesquite, and the Jesuit Rangers, the Rangers hoping to dominate their home cross-country meet.
For some, however, the meet began long before race day. The Jesuit cross-country team had been preparing for their success all week, practicing on the course and planning their races against the other teams. The previous Wednesday, Coach Doug Robinson took the team out to Norbuck Park, the meet location, to practice the 1000 meter (over half a mile) hill everyone would have to struggle up, building confidence and determination for his runners. They ran this hill not once, but three times that day, expelling their anxiety over the notoriously difficult course. Norbuck Park has been Jesuit XC’s practice field for years, so the upperclassmen knew this hill and the rest of the course like their backyard. “We had run this hill hundreds of times, so we knew this course better than anyone,” said junior Connor O’Neill.
Some Jesuit runners were putting a lot more than practice time into preparing for the Classic, spending even more time mentally planning for the race. For example, O’Neill explained how he matched himself up with other runners before the race: “I always check out those teams like Allen because they have always been able to compete with us. I build virtual meets on Milesplit.com to get an idea of where people might finish.” By checking other teams’ times online, O’Neill’s spygate strategy helps him figure out who he needs to beat and how he can beat them. He justifies, “we all do our research.”
No matter how much prep work is put in, however, one race still decides all success and failure. With this in mind, the Jesuit cross-country team arrived at Norbuck Park Saturday morning, determined on beating the other teams and winning the meet. The varsity team began their warm up at the starting line and followed the course, simulating the race ahead of them and perfecting their strategy. Then, they jogged back to the team’s tent to put on racing spikes and drink a few last gulps of water, and headed back over to the starting line, now crowded with 270 other varsity runners. Under the intense anxiety every runner was feeling, the Jesuit cross-country squad was ready to race: “I was really confident, and I really wanted our team to win the podium spot,” said O’Neill.
Soon enough, the starter fired the gun, and Jesuit sprinted off the line to get out of the muck of hundreds of runners converging on the narrowing course. With an early lead, the Jesuit runners settled into their 5k pace for the rest of the race. The first mile consisted of a large loop and the beginning of the menacing 1000 meter hill. O’Neill remembers, “I think everyone was a little slower than what they wanted to run, but it was a little hilly, and there were a lot of runners to pass. At that point, I wasn’t sure how the race was going to turn out.” Although the starting line could accommodate hundreds of runners, the course narrowed after a few hundred meters, slowing down large groups of runners.
The second mile began with the 1000 meter hill, a mental barrier to those unaccustomed to its length. The ground also became rocky and rutted, adding to the difficulty, but bumpy dirt was no match for a team with the will-power and determination to attack the hill like an enemy. For O’Neill, it was a tool to pass the frontrunner: “I just sat on this kid from Allen, a senior. I knew I could pass him because I’d run that hill so many times, and I passed him at the top.” In first place, O’Neill got to run through the “fun part,” a downhill slope through the forest. “I love running through the forest back there. It’s my favorite part,” said O’Neill.
As each runner emerged from the forest, he received encouragement from watchful family and friends, sometimes simple words such as “C’mon, you can do it,” other times more intense cheering reflecting the competitive atmosphere, such as “Let’s go, YOUR TEAM NEEDS YOU!”
Leaving the forest marks the beginning of the final loop of the race, which includes a shorter but steeper version of the first hill. This section also requires the most focus because it is easy to get comfortable and slip into a slower pace. O’Neill explains, “During the toughest part of the race, you get to a point where you feel comfortable, but if you want to be successful than you have to push yourself past that point.” Eventually, the last hill came, testing the endurance of each athlete to see who could keep up the effort through hardship. “The hills are hard, but it’s all worth it when you get to the finish line and see your time, and you see your teammates cross the line,” said O’Neill.
After the hill, the finish line came into view, unleashing a burst of energy as each runner frantically tried to out-kick the other. Although Connor O’Neill won by 15 seconds and Connor Garvey ’16 took 13th place by 4 seconds, John Garvey ’16 barely edged out a Plano Senior for 16th place by one-tenth of a second, passing him within ten meters of the finish line. Miles Burrow similarly beat Carrollton Prince of Peace for 26th place by four-tenths of a second. As a team, Jesuit had 14 athletes beat other teams by less than a second.
As the varsity team staggered back to the team’s tent for Gatorade and breakfast tacos, Coach Robinson herded the JV runners to the starting line for some final pre-race strides. Then, right on time, the starter fired the gun, and 374 runners pounded the earth with their shoes and fought for space with their elbows. “I thought the first mile was the hardest mile, just getting into the routine and trying to find someone to pace myself with,” said Dawson Moore ’18, although he did not find the hill too difficult: “The hills we did on Wednesday helped me a lot with that.” Benny Otiniano ’18, however, found the hill harder than expected, describing it as a “life-changing moment.”
After the first hill, the JV cruised through the forest and finished the 2nd mile. Moore analyzed, “that mile was probably the easiest, because most of it was downhill through the forest.” Only one more loop remained between the JV runners and the finish line, including the final hill, a short but steep test of each runner’s determination. Moore found the last hill “much harder.” Otiniano also found this hill difficult, remembering, “It demoralized me. I couldn’t believe I made it. It was really a ruse, I didn’t know that we had to run up that hill.” The only thing worse than running up that hill at the end of a race is running up that hill unprepared, but every Jesuit runner made it up and back down. Finally, the finish line came into view, and any ounce of energy not already spent propelled each runner through the finish. Although the race is over three miles long, it became a matter of meters at the end, with a few Jesuit runners beating other teams by less than a tenth of a second. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.
After the race, the JV team jogged a cooldown and went back to the tent in search of breakfast tacos and Gatorade, a well-deserved reward for a grueling race. Once the middle school races finished, the meet finally came to a successful end, and after everything was cleaned up, the Jesuit runners left after a six hour race day.
As a team, Jesuit varsity placed 3rd and JV placed 6th. The team’s frontrunners were Connor O’Neill, placing 1st in the varsity race, and sophomore Max Murray, placing 21st in JV. O’Neill examined, “The race as a whole was great. This course isn’t set up for PR’s [Personal Records], but we all looked really strong. Personally, my goal was to win the race, because when you run for competition, the time comes.” The time certainly came for O’Neill, now ranked among the best cross-country runners in Texas. Dawson Moore analyzed, “I met my goal for the race, but not for the season. I set a PR, but I wasn’t quite able to break 19 minutes.” For most runners, the race was progress, a stepping stone on the way to an ultimate goal.
Once again, the Jesuit Classic Cross Country Meet brought fierce competition from around DFW, and was hosted excellently by Jesuit coaches and volunteers. Although this was the last Classic for Jesuit seniors, many future cross-country runners will have the opportunity to run in this outstanding meet.
View Official Results: Varsity and Junior Varsity
