Looking back . . .

This past weekend I spent some time considering whether to attend an upcoming class reunion.  I had actually forgotten about it, but I had an appointment with my dentist last week, a classmate, and when I arrived he had posted flyers in the waiting room in anticipation of my visit and immediately applied a little pressure for me to go.  It is easier to say no following an appointment with your dentist, so I made a half-hearted commitment to be there.  Over the weekend I pulled out the class yearbook and made the decision that if I could find 10 people with whom I wanted to hold a meaningful conversation I would attend.  To make a long story short, I found precisely 10.  Unfortunately, two are deceased, so October 5th is still an open date on my calendar!

But one of the eight people I thought I might like to speak with was a Cross Country athlete named Paul. I had known Paul since grammar school and was very friendly with his twin brother for a time.  Paul was different than his brother in that he was a little thinner, a little smarter and a lot quieter.  When we were young I had far more contact and conversations with brother Joe.  But both were great kids.  Industrious, intelligent, athletic and ultimately very successful.  Paul was a remarkable runner.  Our high school had grades 10-12, and during his three years there Paul led his team to League championships each year.  (Culminating 8 straight years of league championships for the school.) Over the three years Paul won EVERY dual meet race he competed in.  He and his team NEVER lost!  Having coached cross country for some time now, I put away the yearbook with a couple of thoughts. I would love to ask Paul about his training all those years ago and find out if he continued running as an adult. And while I have no real regrets, I think I probably would have enjoyed Cross Country more than football if I had gone in that direction.  That is real, and not some romantic notion in my golden years.

That said, I thought about Whitman-Hanson teams of the past and vividly recall the Girls All State Meet in 2011.  At another school, I had two runners qualify, both who went on to very good collegiate careers at Brandeis and St. John's, but fell just short of qualifying the team.  It would not have mattered so far as winning a State Championship was concerned because the best D1 team by far that year was Whitman-Hanson.  Incredible kids with incredible times.  And their results that day . . .

Abby Baker, 19:27
Gianna Cacciatore, 19:42
Jenny DiMascio-Donohue, 19:44
Kelsey Tierney, 19:44
Rachel Baker, 19:47
Caroline Mulrey, 20:24
Casey Egan, 21:23

I'd like you to think about those kids.  As much as my high school classmate, Paul, motivates me years later to think about running, those girls should motivate YOU.  Each was an outstanding athlete in her days at WH (and in some cases beyond high school.)  Those times and those results ARE attainable.  Comparable times ARE attainable on the Boys side as well.  I know the common denominator to the success of the kids at my school, your school, any school for that matter is hard work. You'll get a lot of it once we start up August 22nd.  In the meantime . . .