XC Times: September 15th, 2017

Our Next Meet Friday September 22nd

The XC Times

Brissman-Lundeen Invitational Rock Island, IL 3:00p

The Following Week Friday September 30th

Dan Huston Invitational Waverly, IA 10:30a

Down the Road Saturday October 14th

Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational La cross, WI 10:30a

Simpson Storm X-Country 2017 “We Need More Cow Bell”

Grand View Invitational Simpson Storm X-Country FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK and Twitter

September 15, 2017

In the Chute Katie McKenzie Our journey as parents of a student athlete on the Simpson College Cross Country team has been a delightful and fun adventure. We have enjoyed supporting the athletes at the cross country meets, getting to know the other families and coaches and confirming for us that Simpson College has absolutely been the right place for our son, Ian McKenzie.

Simpson Storm Grand View Invitational September 15 Tonight’s Preview Tonight’s meet will feature teams in addition to Grand View, we will face William Penn, and the community colleges of Northern Iowa Comm. College (NIACC) and Iowa Lakes Comm. College.

This year the race will be run for the first time on SE Polk’s brand new dedicated cross country course. The athletic department for SE Polk invested a lot of money and resources into having a high caliber cross country course right on their campus.

There are not many high schools that have their very own cross country course and it a great credit to SE Polk for making cross country a priority for their athletic program.

When Ian went to college we hoped he would find good friends, challenge and passion in academics, and that he would continue to develop as a student athlete in a culture that strives for excellence. With senior year already going strong, it is safe to say he has found all three at Simpson College!

Here’s What to Look For

As a parent, there is no greater satisfaction than watching from afar as your college student learns life lessons around hard work, discipline, leadership, handling disappointment and the richness of success all through opportunities with the Simpson College Cross Country team. When we look through the lens at what is to come we are confident that these experiences will be the foundation for his future successes!

Being a Simpson College Cross Country parent has been a great run!

Following our Iowa preps, collegiates and pros as they take their talents to the next level! www.nextleveliowa.com

Men’s Race The Simpson Men will not be running at this meet. It is important to remember that the men will be running 8k’s throughout the second half of their season and this takes its toll, so Coach Moenck has ordered the men to stand down this evening, making sure they’re healthy and hungry for the big meets coming up.

The Women’s Race Tonight, we will be running a partial crew. While the women are also pointing to the end of the season and are equally concerned about being fresh for the championship run, tonight’s 5K will be a reasonable distance that should not pose much of a hit for the women’s overall fitness. For the same reasons as the men, we are going to be careful with a few of our runners tonight. Audrey Klein, Courtney Neundorf, Kate Derrick and Ashlie Litterer will not be running due to some bumps and bruises and we’d rather be safe than sorry.

Up front watch for Sadie Timms and Mary Wood to lead the group. Sadie comes into the season in very good shape and Mary, relatively new to cross country is establishing herself as one of our top runners. The driver of the bus for the second pack is junior Shelby Hunemiller. Her job is to keep everyone on the bus until they get to mile one. The bus riders are seniors, Mandy Brown, Kelsey and Lesley Roquet, Lauren Beckman; sophomore Rebekah Brainard and freshman Emily Bucheit.

Even shorthanded, the Storm women should fair quite well. While we are always ready to compete, but we are more interested in being wise. “"Find though she but little, she is fierce”

William Shakespeare

Here’s What to Look For Schedule of races: (times are approx.)

5:30p Women’s Race 6:00p Men’s Race XC 101: “The Curious Sport of Cross Country Some of you may be new to the, sometimes mystifying world of cross-country. It is sometimes a seemingly chaotic and weird event resembling more of a civil war reenactment than a high school running event. Fear not! Becoming the wise and savvy cross-country fan can be yours by simply mastering the simple guidelines of the “Master XC Fan.” Scoring: The numeric value of the 5 top places for each team is added together and the team with the lowest score wins. In case of a tie the 6th runner’s place is included and if there is still a tie the 7th runner’s place is included. Low team score wins.

Example: Storm Individual Results: Heath Moenck 1st Jamie Busby 3rd Katy McKenzie 6th Steve Prefontaine 8th Jenny Simpson 10th 1+3+6+8+10=28 points Team Score Simpson 28 (Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner!)

Stanford 35 Oregon 40 Colorado 51 In short, the team who gets their 5 runners across the finish line first generally wins. So, we like to see the long Red and Yellow line coming into the finish line area ahead of the competition.

Spectating: It is way too easy to only watch the start of the race and then go camp at the finish line.

This is minimal and your runner would much rather see your smiling and encouraging face out on the course where they probably need you more. The savvy xc fan plans their race ahead of time, determining how they can see their runner as many times out on the course as possible. Failing to leave the start and or finish line areas will possibly subject you to the mockery and scorn of other more seasoned xc fans.

Cheering: Parents: It is generally a good rule of thumb never to include pet names such as “honey,” “darling,” lovey,” “snuggle bunny” or “sweetheart” in any of your cheers. This will likely have a negative effect on your son or daughter. Also, telling your runner to sprint is never advised until perhaps the last 200m of a race. As a rule, be positive and supportive to your young runner while never saying derogatory things about any of the other competing runners. Simpson athletes and fans are always supportive and encouraging to all runners regardless of their team.

“The only thing we knew how to do, was to keep on keepin’ on”-Bob Dylan

At the Start line Sadie Timms If anyone told me growing up I would one day be a runner, more specifically a distance runner, I probably would have laughed and told them no way.

Yet, here I am today in my 4th year as a collegiate runner. Weirdly enough my running career happened by accident. I only chose to go out for cross country my 8th grade year because I was looking for a school sport to fill my time after my gymnastics career ended. It only took an announcement, a meeting, and some encouragement of others telling me it was fun and I said why not. This was the start of an amazing new journey.

8th grade and high school were full of success individually and as a team, but there were also many struggles along the way. I suffered two stress fractures during my time in high school which set me back both physically and mentally. It was hard knowing where I should be and feeling as though I would never get back there. Everyone had been telling me college running would be great for me and how much I would love it and excel, but with injuries my belief in myself began to fade. Due to my love of the sport, I decided I would not give up. Despite having a low point Junior year, I came back strong my senior season and with the help of my family, coaches, and teammates started to believe I could make the dream possible. I looked at schools D1-D3 and got great advice from those around me on what to look for. Academics are very important to me as is being involved.

This is how I decided Division 3 would be the perfect fit for me. When I came on my visit Simpson felt like home to me. I loved the girls and we clicked easily, they had just what I needed academically, and I had a good feeling about the running program and philosophy.

At Simpson, I have made some of my best friends, excelled academically, and increased my love of running. That isn’t to say I haven’t had bumps in the road mentally or with injuries, but with the support of my teammates, coach, and Simpson faculty I came out on top and stronger than ever. For anyone looking for a well-rounded college experience complete with athletics, academics, and extra-curricular activities, Simpson is a great choice! I don’t think I could have gotten this much of an incredible experience anywhere else. I have gained skills, knowledge, and friends for life and cannot thank everyone enough for all the love, support, and advice I received along the way.

By Sadie Timms

FINISH START

Women’s 5K Course

Men’s 8K Course