On Saturday, Nov. 9, both the Ida B. Wells (IBW) girls and boys varsity cross country (XC) teams traveled to Lane Community College to compete in the Oregon School Activities Association State Meet.
Oregon is one of the most competitive states for cross country in the nation; for IBW athletes and the team, even getting into the meet is an achievement. Spectators from all parts of Oregon came to watch their teams race and compete.
Six divisions defined based on league and school broke up the meet into 12 races. All races had athletes pushing for personal records, team times and/or pride for their team.
Like any other sport, jitters and nervousness found their way among many of the athletes: being the meet that finalizes their season, expectations ran high.
The varsity boys looked for the top finish, planning to be more aggressive and assertive. Spectator and JV runner Clark Bradley said, “[Their mindset is to] win…don’t be the nice people of the meet… in the past meets, we were the nice people in the race.”
Enthusiasm and anticipation ran through IBW athletes, too. Assistant coach Aaron Olsen said, “I thought the vibe was better this year…this is a big day, so people do get nervous and a little bit upset sometimes…[though] I thought the vibe was really positive.”
With many, running at State for the first time came with a sense of new opportunities and excitement, but also the pressure to perform well for the team.
Before IBW raced, spectator and JV runner Miles Crane said, “No matter what, I feel like both teams are going to give it their all, like everything they got.”
IBW runners ran in the 6A division for the 5k, which is highly competitive. Divisions are made by OSAA, based on school size and location, having six different divisions to define Oregon high school teams. 6A largely consists of Portland Interscholastic League and some private schools. 32 teams were selected based on team times to be entered and to race in, 18 in the girls 6A and 18 in the boys 6A.
To the relief of many, the skies remained clear and there was a pleasant temperature for runners throughout the whole day.
The course consisted of starting on an open field that transitioned to crossing the track to get up onto the main large loop. Athletes completed this loop twice before finishing hard on Lane’s track. The runners traveled through mainly rolling grass hills that had some mud, and bark chip trails.
After the gun went off, IBW runners charged across the field. Constantly working with and helping each other, the girls team placed a respectable 12th and the boys team placed an impressive 3rd. More results and individual times can be found on Athletic.net.
Being such a tough and competitive sport, going to state was more for the team than for the individual. The athletes who ran at state aimed for higher team placing, rather than standout individual performances.
Jane Coffey-Read, a varsity runner for the girls team, said, “I definitely think there’s definitely more expectation and that we would place a little higher… some people didn’t get the race they wanted and that’s okay, but the reason you have a team is so [your teammates] can really support you if you don’t have the race you want.”
Some athletes wanted more from their performances, but will channel that into their training for the future.
“I know the guys were hoping for that number one spot, and us girls, we wanted to get in that top 10. Which, both of us, we didn’t quite reach that goal but you know, you always have to come back to state next year hunting for more,” said Coffey-Read.
IBW XC is versatile in showing up with grit, but also humility. Regardless of their performance on any given day, the whole team holds a sense of pride and accomplishment for each other. “It’s just, like, super supportive…the energy’s so great, and everyone’s always supporting each other,” said Crane.
14 varsity runners were selected from IBW XC to run at the state meet, but that held a higher meaning. These athletes represented the entirety of the program, from the JV runners up to the parents and spectators who came to watch. These runners, along with seven alternates who made the journey with them, had a long hard season of strength and determination.
Olsen discussed the resolve many XC athletes have and what our community should know about the IBW program. “Just how amazing the student athletes we have, not just from our number one runners, but all the way down to you know, our 150th runner, so to speak… just the work ethic and how much effort goes into putting out individual races is impressive.”
