State of the State

We have spirit, yes we do
For all those boys in ROYAL blue!
Carter Austin he'll do great
running with those boys at State!
Do your best and Run, Run, Run
In our hearts you're #1!
– Carter's Aunt RoAnn

DATELINE: The Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids...

When the temperatures are in the mid-teens at dawn, you know it must be State Cross Country Day!

The Division 3 boys were supposed to run at 11:30 and, since the temps were below freezing still, the race start was delayed 'til 12:30. It seemed logical to dress in long underwear, hats, gloves, boots, and even a new Royal scarf I made last night. Oh and don't forget hand warmers in the boots and the coat pockets.

The sun and lack of wind, however, made for a glorious and quite tolerable day! Good thing our boys didn't have to suffer through the weather – just the incredibly hilly course on the back 9 of The Ridges! In their first trip ever to the WIAA State Cross Country Meet, our boys made us proud.

Here are some highlights... (Mind you, I was almost as nervous as the runners, so I only had my camera phone on me. I let two other very qualified individuals take "real" photos and I will share them when I get them some day.)

Our new tent!

We had dozens and dozens of Assumption fans there to support them. That means the world! These creative fans show their cool two-sided signs...

Flip over and you are face to face with our state runners!

Carter's friend Olivia (our girl runner) helps pin on his bib / number. I had to take the picture since her mom is usually the one who pins on corsages at every AHS formal gathering!

Father Menzel blesses the team and we all read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 together … “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

It's state. There are hills. It's tough. Very tough.

Down hill seems easier but you don't want to fall on your face. I don't know if you can see the crowd lining the course. First time the guys have had a constant wall of spectators on the course.

Leave it to Mom to have her finger over the lens. And I make fun of Jim's photography! My bad.

The finish line had people 3-5 deep so I could not get photos of our first two finishers. I had to go way down the hill to find a spot for a short fan like me. Here are Seamus and Theo coming up in the 3rd and 4th spots on our team. 

Out of gas.

All the runners have to go up hill in the "finishing chute." Seems cruel, but they ARE state runners after all.

Our finishes ranged 99 spots from Connor at #43 to Carter at #142.

That is not a good finishing time for Carter. Way off his PR, but I think he just started too fast, which I imagine is hard NOT to do when everyone is out for a state championship!

Tired but happy be done and have the honor of saying, "I ran at State!"

As a team, they finished 12th of 16, exactly as Coach predicted Friday in the Pep Rally. We finished ahead of the team that beat us last week at Sectionals, so they felt good about that. The top 3 teams in Division 3 have a history of dominance. The guys are hoping to come back again next year and see what they can do about that.

The dedicated team!

Proud momma moment. I had Jim take the picture so no "photo-bombing" this time. Ha. You can almost see my new scarf!

That's the last I saw of Carter before he went off to bond with two girl friends from Oshkosh there to cheer him on. Then it was a trip to the awards presentation so they could be inspired for next year. After that, it was a well-deserved steak dinner for the team.

This is HIS day, but it will be nice to have him home to give him another congratulatory hug. First or last, we are proud of him and how hard he has worked to get this far. And proud of the whole team and their accomplishment!

Thanks for coming along for the ride, er, run!