Summary: Week 1, Tiger Run

Thought for the week: “What matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it.” by Ezra Pound

The Tiger Run is typically interpreted as a first test of fitness. It’s the first race of the season for many people, so it’s very easy to adopt that perspective. Although this view is obviously correct, I think it’s incomplete. The Tiger Run is also a test that leads to a very important choice. If you’re happy with how you ran, then understand that others will be working hard to beat you. This is where you ask yourself, are you willing to work hard enough to hold them off? If you’re unhappy with how you ran, then realize that improvement will come with a cost and ask, are you willing to work hard enough to overtake others you want to beat? Everyone wants to do well, but not everyone is willing to work hard enough to make that improvement happen.

Last year, we had our most successful team performance ever at a Tiger Run. We won both the JV and Varsity races, with the Varsity win being a 100 point margin. This year, we were beaten in both races, and suffered maybe our second loss to a Kentucky team in the last two years. Getting beat is part of the game, however, and we need to learn from that loss. What is very apparent right now is that we have a large gap between our top three Varsity girls and our fourth Varsity runner, and then another large gap between our fourth Varsity runner and fifth Varsity girl. That gap needs to be closed, which provides an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves and ask, “Who’s willing to work hard enough to close this gap, and when can we expect to see evidence of that desire?” I believe we have the talent level and desire to run with any team in the State, so consider this an opportunity for some of you to show me I’m right.

We began the day with the Varsity girls. Anyone who watched the race knows that we had a stellar performance from our top three girls. Ashley El Rady was the biggest surprise of the day, coming on in the middle of her race to surge into second place. Ashley’s time was one of the fastest 5k times ever run by an Assumption girl and it came in the first race of the season. This is clearly something we want to build upon. Similarly, Sara Davis and Allison Riedling ran on the same high level we’ve grown accustomed to getting from them. Both girls ran right where they finished in last year’s race, and did so on several weeks of pretty tough practices. Sara and Allison are coming into the season more slowly and deliberately than last year, and so their finish at Tiger Run is a significantly positive signal for us. We got solid races from many of the girls in the Varsity race who finished behind these three. Olivia Harlow, Taylor Dadds and Amanda Day had very solid races, but I was especially happy with how Laura Hellman and the Pikes ran. Laura was over a minute under last year’s time, Michelle 30 seconds ahead and Abby was just faster than last year. Our new CC girls, Angela Edlin and Sara Pardue, also deserve recognition for running well in what was their very first High School Cross Country race.

In the JV race, we got strong performances from Caroline McCaslin and Lindsay Marko, both of whom finished quite high for us. Caroline ran her first High School Cross Country race and should continue to get much better. Lindsay also provided a glimpse into the hard work she’s been putting in this summer. Another huge surprise was Amanda Vokoun, who also never ran Cross Country before this year and yet performed on a very high level. Colleen McKiernan had a hard race, but we’re proud of her for hanging in there (not an easy thing to do when you’re hurting). Melanie Strothman and Carol Donnelly did well, and I’m definitely very happy with how Katelyn Sandell, Sarah Doerr and Brittany Passanisi ran. Not far behind, Ellie Herp and our Super Sophs did a great job of stepping up and running tough.

Girls, we know you will all want to improve upon this race, but let’s close this experience off with one last important thought. All of you should be proud that you went out there and at least tried to make something happen. The measure of any athlete is not in the achieving, but in the striving to achieve. You represented our program well, and we’re very proud of you for doing so.

Meet MVPs

JV race: Caroline McCaslin, Lindsay Marko, Amanda Vokoun, Katelyn Sandell,

Brittany Passanisi, Sarah Doerr

Varsity race: Ashley El Rady, Sara Davis, Allison Riedling, Michelle Pike, Laura Hellman