H.O.P.E.

Hope: How many times don’t we use this word? As in, “I hope I do well on this exam.” Or, “I hope I have a good race.” What we’re really saying is that we need some luck because our preparation had been less than adequate. If we are to successfully meet our goals, we need to think of Hope as an acronym for Heed, Obedience, Patience, and Energy:

H – We are willing to HEED the words of wisdom from those who have gone before us. We need to listen to our teachers, coaches, parents, and older siblings. They have experienced what we’re going through and can lead us to…
O – It produces OBEDIENCE because we have the confidence that the outcome will be good. Confidence comes with proper preparation. It’s not easy, though, so we have to have…
P – It gives us PATIENCE as we persevere through the temporary hardship. Training can be hard and cause temporary discomfort. Studying properly takes mental toughness, too. But with the goal in mind and proper preparation, we will have…
E – It gives us renewed ENERGY to keep working hard toward achieving that goal.

Goal setting is the process of H.O.P.E. Hope alone is like playing the lottery. Choose the former.

Running in the "Cold"

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING

70 above zero:
Floridians put on a sweatshirt for a run
Runners in Wisconsin get out by 6:00 am to avoid the heat.

60 above zero:
Californians get out the spandex
Runners in Wisconsin run bare chested or with a sports bra.

50 above zero:
Georgians don 2 thermal layers, gloves, and wool hats.
Runners in Wisconsin may put on a short sleeve T-shirt.

40 above zero:
North Carolina schools postpone cross country meets because of the cold.
Wisconsin runners put on a long-sleeve shirt and go for an extra 5 in the ideal conditions

20 above zero:
People in Miami get frost bite.
Wisconsinites finally get out the gloves; sweat pant optional.

Zero:
All runners except those in the upper Midwest forget about a run and switch to video games.
Runners in Wisconsin put on a hat.

10 below zero:
Wisconsin runners may wear a skin layer to go under the sweatshirt.

20 below zero:
Runners in Wisconsin say that the air is refreshing.

30 below zero:
Wisconsinites wait until noon to get out for their run.

40 below zero:
Wisconsin runners have trouble seeing through the frost buildup around their eyes.

50 below zero:
Cross country races in Wisconsin may be delayed 2 hours.

Kayla Christ signs to be a Cougar

Kayla Christ, a senior from Elmwood High School, has signed a national letter of intent to run with the ICC Cougars this fall.

Kayla led her team to a second place finish in the Class A state meet at Detweiller Park last November by finishing in 16th place with a time of 18:40 for 3 miles. Her place earned her All-State honors.

Since cross country started at ICC 2002, the team has never failed to have at least one Elmwood alum on the roster. She joins former teammate Elizabeth Isbell on what should be an exceptionally strong team this fall.

Welcome Kayla!

Awards Banquet

Over 50 teammates, family members, and friends attended last night's Cross Country Awards Banquet. Receiving the Cougar Awards, voted by their teammates for work ethic, leadership, and total impact on the team, were Sophomore Billy Miller and Freshman Alyssa Imig. The Golden Shoe Award, for personality, camaraderie, and enthusiasm, went to Olivia Coker (pictured). The Coaches Award was given to Brittany Carius, who became the first NJCAA All-American for an ICC cross country team.
Besides all the good food, the highlight of the evening was the viewing of a DVD prepared by Brittany using photos taken thoughout the season and video taken by her Dad. It was choreographed nicely with music and deserves an Academy Award!
A special thanks to all the parents and family members that followed the team throughout the season - all the way to South Carolina in many cases. It was a year with many firsts - the first time we had an All-American, the first time we had eight male runners under 29:00, and the first time four different women had broken into the list of top 10 times ever. With only one sophomore woman and 3 sophomore men on the team, expectations are high for next year, when nationals will be hosted by ICC at Newman Golf Course in Peoria.

History Made at NJCAA Nationals!

It was the end of their ICC cross country careers for sophomores Billy Miller, Darce Knapp, and Michael Donini, but it was a couple of freshmen women that entered the record books at the NJCAA Division I national championships held at sunny, warm Spartanburg, SC.

Led by Brittany Carius, who set a school record of 18:43 and became the first Cougar NJCAA Cross Country All-American, the women's team finished in 11th place and tied the highest finish ever for an ICC women's Cross Country team. Finishing behind Brittany in 29th place was Alyssa Imig, who ran 19:36, the 4th fastest ICC time ever, and earned a Coaches' Association All-American award for being one of the top 25 American citizens to finish the race. Brit and Alyssa become the second and third ICC women to earn this distinction. Not to be outdone, Carrie Bunting ran a PR of 20:24 to finish in 68th place. This was the 11th fastest time ever by a Cougar woman. Backing up the top 3 were Bonni Martin in 103rd place, Olivia Coker in 125th, Elizabeth Isbell in 154th, and Darce Knapp in 171st place. There were 33 teams and 246 finishers.

The men's team, led by Billy Miller's 27:22 in 80th place, finished 20th of the 32 teams. Billy was followed closely by Frederick Kiprono, who ran a season best of 27:31 in 89th place, and Shane Leiby, who clocked 27:43 in 104th. Michael Donini in 133rd, Robert Deatherage in 145th, Kyle Lueken in 172nd, and Cory Shoopman in 182nd completed the team. There were 253 men finishers.

With 6 of the 7 women and 6 of the top 8 men returning next year, expectations are high for a lofty team finish when ICC hosts nationals next year.

Save the date: Saturday, November 14, 2009 at Newman Golf Course. Note: This is one week AFTER the IHSA state meet at Detweiller, so there is no conflict. Alumni: We would love to have you come back to help. Contact Coach Herold (Gherold@icc.edu) if you are able and willing.

Nationals Preview

For the sixth year in a row, both the ICC men’s and women’s cross country teams will be competing in the national meet, being held this year on Saturday, November 8 in Spartanburg, SC. Both teams are coming off second place finishes at the Regional meet, the men behind top top-ranked Rend Lake College and the women behind fourth-ranked Rend.
Both teams will be relatively inexperienced at the national level. Sophomore Billy Miller of Metamora is the only male runner to have run last year, finishing in 82nd place. Darci Knapp of Eureka in the only female with nationals experience, finishing last year in 127th place.
Miller and freshman Shane Leiby of East Peoria lead this year’s men’s team. Leiby led the men at regionals with a seventh place finish. Miller was the early season team leader, but ran into some mid-season injury difficulties. He now appears to be back at full strength and both he and Leiby should be battling for All-American finishes. Behind these two, the team is deep and talented. Frederick Kiprono of Kenya has firmly established himself in the number 3 position and is improving weekly. Sophomore Michael Donini of Henry has been battling leg problems, but has remained in the number 4 spot, ahead of freshman Robert Deatherage of Washington, who has moved up from the number 8 position in the last month. Cory Shoopman of Metamora, Kyle Lueken and Matt McKinney, both from Limestone high school, give the team great depth. Going into nationals we rank 17th and look to improve greatly on last year’s 25th place finish.
The women’s team this year has also been dominated by freshmen. The lone sophomore, Knapp, is coming off of an injury but should be ready to run at nationals. The team leader this year has been freshman Brittany Carius of Morton. She set a school record for the 6 km distance this year and came within 2 seconds of the 5 km record in her 3rd place finish at regionals. The time ranks 16th on this year’s NJCAA performance list. Brit is capably backed by fellow freshmen Bonni Martin of Eureka and Alyssa Imig of Tremont. Martin claimed the 4th best ICC 5 km time at regionals while Imig moved into the number 8 spot. All three have a good chance of attaining All-American status at this year’s national meet. Carrie Bunting of Washington, Olivia Coker of Peoria Richwoods, and Elizabeth Isbell of Elmwood, all freshmen, have been capably holding down the number 3 through 6 positions. Strong finishes by them should help the team to improve on last year’s 16th place finish. The team is currently ranked in the 12th spot.
The national meet is hosted by Spartanburg Methodist College. Race times are 10:00 (women) and 11:00 (men). ICC will be hosting the meet at Newman Golf Course in 2009.

NJCAA Region 24 Meet - Lincoln

Both the men's and women's teams finished second in the regional meet at Lincoln last night. Both races were won by the highly ranked Rend Lake teams. The women gave Rend all they could handle with all 6 runners scoring major PRs and placing 3 in the top 8 and 5 in the top 15. Brittany Carius (3rd) came within 2 seconds of a school record with her 19:04 time and Bonni Martin (5th) became the fourth fastest Cougar ever with her 19:42. Alyssa Imig ran for the first time in a month and recorded a 20:15 PR in 8th place. Completing the PR sweep were Carrie Bunting (20:39), Olivia Coker (20:57), and Elizabeth Isbell (21:32). The ladies are definitely ready for nationals.

Shane Leiby and Billy Miller led the men to a second place finish by medalling in 7th and 9th places, respectively. Rend Lake took 4 of the top 5, and 5 of the top 8 to take the title. Frederick Kiprono scored a season best with 28:07 in 14th, just ahead of Michael Donini with 28:11 in 15th. Bobby Deatherage again secured the 5th spot with a PR 28:21 in 17th place. Seven Cougars ran 28:42 or better.

Running his last race as a Cougar was Nick Reed, who took 51 seconds off his best with a 30:48.

Adam Howe also ran a big PR in his third race with his 35:36

Next Race: Nationals, November 8 at Spartanburg, SC.