The Woodberry Harrier 2016: Volume 6

Like a Junkyard Dog

I never thought I would be a Cross Country runner. In middle school, I played soccer and wasn’t really the “athletic” type since I was barely 5’5 and weighed almost 170 pounds. When I came to Woodberry, I tried to be on the Varsity team but I couldn’t take the strenuous practices and competitive races, so I dropped down to JV.  By the following year I had earned my way back to Varsity. I became a Woodberry Harrier.

In the last three years, I’ve had a rough but irreplaceable journey full of hundreds of demanding practices, dozens of races, and a few life lessons. The first lesson: you get out what you put in, and the harder you work, the more you improve.  For example, if you want the huge PRs and wins, you have to put in the long, hot summer miles. 

Another lesson: Nothing great can happen without first the dream. This season has been a constant example of that. At early camp as we sat around the fire on our final night, we talked about how our dream of this season was to be our very best at Preps and States. We especially wanted to redeem our poor performance at States last season.  And ever since that night, we have been working hard and taking care of the little things and pushing to make that dream come true.

The most important lesson of all: Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Success in this sport is simple: who can run the fastest and endure the longest. Coach Hale has ingrained into our minds that you have to be like a junkyard dog in a fight, the kind of runner who will not quit till he has either defeated his opponent or collapsed trying. The dog fight usually comes in the final mile of the race, when you cannot allow anyone to pass you and you are fighting to pass the next guy. You must race with grit and determination and give whatever it takes. I know what it is like to win one of these challenges, and also know what it is like to lose one. My most memorable loss was my junior year in a dual meet against Fork Union in the last quarter mile of the race, when I didn’t have the fight in me.  My loss in that challenge allowed Fork Union to win the meet. There is nothing more demoralizing than losing that way.  It’s a good thing to remember the day before the State Meet.

In this my final season, James Carrington and I have served as captains. It has been a highlight to my Woodberry career.  We have had the privilege and honor of leading thirteen of the toughest and most determined guys I know, and they have helped me grow both as leader and as a person.  We have formed a tight bond, and we have become a real team, accomplishing far more than we thought we were able to at the start.  I am proud of what the group has accomplished--not just in the races but also in how we have come together to help each other to be a part of something larger than any one of us.        

We seniors race our final one tomorrow at Fork Union. Though we ran well at the Prep League meet, we could’ve done better and we plan on fighting like junkyard dogs in this one.

-Parker Jacobs ‘16

The guys ran very well last weekend here on our home course, only the third time they’d raced on it this year, winning our first Prep League title since the current seniors were freshmen.   Here are those results:

Virginia Prep League Championship
Woodberry Forest, VA
4 Nov, 2016
1st out of 6 teams 1-5   spread: 1:09 1-7 spread: 1:34
Varsity Race	Time	Place out of 80
Carrington	17:26	3rd	All Prep; 21 sec. course PR!
Rich	17:41	5th	All Prep; 16 sec. course PR!
Clark	18:33	11th	All Prep
Tydings	18:34	12th	All Prep
Singleton	18:36	13th	All Prep
Jacobs	18:38	14th	All Prep
Lindner	19:00	20th
Dearborn	20:09	40th	29 sec. course PR!
Duke	20:!3	42nd
Wall	20:44	51st
Kacur	20:54	54th
McKay	21:04	57th
Sompayrac	21:40	68th
Richard	DNF
Watt	DNR
Ross	DNR

Tomorrow we make drive down Highway 15 to Fork Union to run in the VISAA State Championships. The canon goes off at 2:20.  Wish us luck!