Southeast cross country has plenty to smile about
PALMYRA TWP. — There is a relentless positivity surrounding Southeast cross country these days.
To be fair, cross country tends to be a delightfully positive sport.
But these Pirates, in particular, were flashing big smiles at Saturday's Portage Trail Conference Championships.
And for good reason.
Pirates junior Carter Evans was among the happiest runners at Southeast Middle School Saturday after securing a top-five finish.
"We have been working so hard this season to get him to where he ended up today, especially getting that sub-19 because it's such a difficult course," Pirates co-coach Julia Dillon said. "Just all week, we spoke to him every day about things that he needed to do better, things that he needed or places he needed to pick up and to surge and to focus on, and I think today he did that."
Evans, who crossed the line in 18.48, wasn't just smiling after his race Saturday.
He was happy during it as well, per Dillon.
"He was in such a good mental state," Dillon said. "I know when I saw him around the course several times, he goes, 'I got an 800 in me,' and those were his words. It was so good and so positive, and I think that's what helped him stay, because Mogadore is tough and Caleb Cutright from Rootstown is tough and he stayed right with it."
Not that Evans was the Pirates' only cause for celebration Saturday, or even their only top-five finisher.
In fact, Southeast freshman Julia Wheeler (3rd, 20.36) and sophomore Kristen Campbell (4th, 21.04) both finished in the top four, just behind Mogadore's powerhouse duo of Katie Lane and Rachel Whetstone.
"I thought both Julia and Kristen went out strong," Dillon said. "They took off fast and I saw them pair themselves in the very beginning with the two top Mogadore girls, which I think helped clinch them that third and fourth spot."
There is an undeniable youth movement at Southeast with three underclassmen (Campbell, Evans and Wheeler) snagging top-five finishes; junior Christian Schoblocher and sophomore Julia Frick also landing in the top 10; and the middle school girls snagging a team title as well.
It didn't hurt that those young runners were grizzled veterans when it came to Saturday's course.
"We have home-court advantage," Pirates co-coach Monica Kiskadden said. "We knew who we had to target and we know their weaknesses and we know ours, but we've been working on our weaknesses so that helped."
But it wasn't only about the underclassmen Saturday as the Pirates also figured out a way to pay tribute to their two seniors, Kate Campbell and Remie Stammitti, with a post-race ceremony.
"That's our goal and the other teams would love to join it the next time," Kiskadden said. "We're going to be celebrating seniors, maybe not at PTCs, maybe at Super Duals, but we need to."
"They deserve it because football players and basketball players and everybody else gets their senior night and cross country kind of gets pushed to the wayside," Dillon added. "So we decided this season that that wasn't going to happen and we were going to honor our seniors. So we will continue to do that in the future."
Southeast scorers at a glance
Boys (3rd, 72): 5. Carter Evans 18.48, 10. Christian Schoblocher 19.14, 16/18. Braydon Rader 20.29, 19/22. Brice Schoenbaechler 21.01, 22/25. Dylan Evans 21.34
Girls (2nd, 49): 3. Julia Wheeler 20.36, 4. Kristen Campbell 21.04, 9. Julia Frick 22.04, 15. Kate Campbell 23.14, 18/19. Claire Dillner 23.46
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Southeast cross country savors Portage Trail Conference Championships
