XC Times October 27, 2018 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
The American Rivers Conference Championship XC Times Editorial Board
The Women’s Race The women’s race features a healthy and hungry group of women for the Storm. As we have talked about with our team, all of the work, all of the effort and all of the sacrifice has pointed to this race. “everyone gets a PR today!” is our moto for conference. Our women have worked hard the last two weeks and have had great workouts.
We will know right away how things are going for our women. We will likely see SO. Emily Buchheit, SR Shelby Hunemiller and JR Audrey Klein up front followed by JR Ashley Literrer, Kate Murano, MacKenzie Laughlin, Kylie Orr, Cat Lucht and Abby Loeke. It will be important for our women to identify our key opponents early so we can run them down later.
Men’s Race We should recognize our seniors Kaylee Wilderson and Shelby Hunemiller wno are winding down their careers at Simpson. We are who we are because of our seniors. TRhank you Kaylee and Shelby.
The race we've been workings towards since last track season is here, and I couldn't be more pleased with our men and their attitudes, effort, and work ethic. They are in terrific shape and have done a tremendous job of doing the "little things" well all season long. I am thrilled for our four seniors and how well each of them have been running. Trey Thompson, Chad Carter, Drew Roen, and Logan Egeland are all running better then ever and are ready to have a great race. As always, the conference will be extremely tough! As long as we focus on running our best race of the season, we will be satisfied with the results. Our men have displayed great depth all season long, and we're going to rely on that during the race. I'm excited to see how our Top 7 runners will shake-out! We are ready to roll!
XC Times October 27, 2018 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
XC Times October 27, 2018 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
In the Chute By Drew Roen
My name is Drew Roen, and I have not cut my hair since my freshman year. I understand this may seem like an odd choice for an opening sentence in a cross-country newsletter, but please allow me the opportunity to explain myself. In my first year of collegiate cross country, I crossed the finish line in our conference meet as Simpson’s slowest runner, timed at 32 minutes and 20 seconds. After a similar track season in the spring, I considered a variety of ways to push myself to improve in the coming years. Eventually, I came to the solution that I would not cut my hair until I broke four minutes and thirty seconds in the mile, which would require me to run nearly thirty seconds faster than my personal best. Running a mile under 4:30 is a straightforward answer to the endless number of relatives and friends asking when I am “planning on getting rid of it”. While I have not accomplished this goal, I have also come to realize over the years that this goal was never a true endpoint. Deep down, I understand the real goal I’ve been searching to accomplish has been to perform at a level that I could not previously imagine was possible for myself. This is a common theme among many of us on this team; very few of us started our collegiate running careers with astonishing personal bests, yet this has failed to keep anyone from accomplishing incredible feats on both individual and team levels. Over the years, I’ve come to recognize and appreciate the unique culture Simpson Cross Country possesses; this team is a group of motivated individuals, both inside and outside of athletics, who genuinely and wholeheartedly enjoy what they do. This team has never had a special trick or “secret weapon”; those that succeed on this team, and in this sport, enjoy running and the process that surrounds it. This culture begins with great coaching, where the focus has always been to ensure that running is something we truly appreciate and love, and extends to the athletes, who maintain and continue this incredible culture year after year. Time and time again, members of this team have refused to let others define their limitations. It is very common for runners at Simpson to have incredible breakthroughs and improvements during the season that seem impossible to those who look in from the outside. Make no mistake, these improvements aren’t quirks or accidents; these are direct results of our culture and the values that runners at Simpson possess, including a motivation to be their best selves. As the conference meet approaches, we have team members who are running their final cross country meet, as well as members who are competing in their first collegiate championship season. I’m proud and excited to have the opportunity to compete alongside my teammates on Saturday; continuing the momentum generated in the past few years, this year has the potential to be the best season Simpson Cross Country has had in a long time.
XC Times October 27, 2018 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
We Blinked By Jeff and Kelly Roen
It seems like such a cliché to say that time goes fast as we raise our kids, but it is SO true. It’s hard to imagine that our son only has a couple of Cross Country meets left. After all, didn’t we just drop him off at college? Drew, who has always been willing to try new things, was urged by a friend to join the track team as a freshman in high school. That first season was a lot of learning, and more running than he had ever done. He hung in there and enjoyed it enough to agree to give Cross Country a try. Welcome to summer training, long days, hill workouts, after-school practice, quick Jimmy John’s dinners, marching band, homework, sleep, repeat. Whew! As parents, two things stand out as we look back on those days— camaraderie and self-confidence. The team always welcomed all ages and all abilities. That’s what runners do. It was gratifying to watch. We believe that acceptance helped Drew become more outgoing, and he was more willing to get out of his comfort zone. We could see the change in him. He was growing—literally and figuratively! Then it was time to choose a college, and he began talking about running Cross and Track. We were a bit apprehensive about the time commitment of collegiate athletics as a freshman leaving home for the first time, learning the ropes of college life. He also planned on playing in the band and orchestra. Could he handle school work, music, and sports? We were assured by everyone that we asked at Simpson that, yes, he could. All of the faculty at Simpson know that these young men and women are students first. About a week after dropping him off at Simpson to begin cross country camp, we were checking out the Storm athletics website, and we found him--decked out in red and gold, officially a member of the Storm. We don’t know if he felt the sense of pride that we did, but it was very selfassuring to see him settling in to his new life. Fast-forward 4 years, and here we are. We blinked, and he is now a Senior. His experience with Simpson has been wonderful. We truly feel that it was a perfect fit for Drew, and he has thrived in every way since he has been here. We are sure that the friends and connections he has made will be life-long. Thank you Coach Heath, Coach Keith, Coach Busby and Coach Kirby for your commitment to helping him become a better athlete and person. Roll Storm!
XC Times October 27, 2018 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
Our Next Meet
Saturday November 10th NCAA D3 Central Regional Waverly, IA Women-11am Men-12pm
Down the Road Saturday November 17,2018 NCAA Division DIII Nationals Oshkosh,WI
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Women’s 6K Course
Men’s 8k Course