The Woodberry Harrier 2018: Volume 2

The Big Day

Any member of the team who has taken the time to listen to me complain knows I maintain that every major race should be hosted by Woodberry. Be it an invitational, Preps, or States, Woodberry does it with attention to every minuscule detail, and this was indeed on full display week before last at the WFS Invitational.

On Wednesday I walked out of the Dick Gym and smiled upon seeing that the race flags were already set, a clear affirmation that the big day was close. By Thursday the course lines were painted and Friday we saw the ropes that protect our precious tee boxes and greens. The golf course was trimmed and manicured, uniforms were washed, and the team was ready to run.

Saturday morning brought the usual flurry of test taking, lunch inhaling, and spike hunting before hustling to the wrestling room to change and warm up. Meanwhile, Mr. Hale was busily giving last-minute orders to the visiting teams and brandishing his starting pistol while complaining that it would probably not work (and it didn’t).

As the team got loose on Grainger Field, I sat, stopwatch and clipboard in hand, knowing that for this race I would be a mere observer.  When the varsity girls race came clomping by, struggling up Parrot’s hill, the team looked on in silence knowing that they would soon be there, and I wished I could be with them.

An hour later, after the excitement, adrenaline, pain, and disappointment had come and gone, we all sat behind the Barbee Center listening to Mr. Hale’s old megaphone garble the results. For some of us Harriers, it was an excellent day, PR’s were made, opponents were beaten, but for others, the results were less satisfying. That is the nature of this sport we have all chosen.  Our eighth place finish was a far cry from extending our streak to three victories in a row, but we were hardly at full strength this past weekend. 

Injuries had limited training for some in the preceding weeks (with some sidelined entirely), and the SAT took one of our small number. Still, we came together and gave it all we had. And we know the season is still not over. We still have Fork Union and Episcopal, Preps, and States, and our goal is to have everyone running and giving it our all.  

–– Henry Singleton ‘19

Woodberry Forest Invitational
Woodberry Forest, VA
6 October 2018
8th out of 17 Teams 1-5   spread: 3:53
	Place out of 136	Time
Fletcher	4th	17:17	Course PR
Watt	26th	18:37
Garza	34th	18:55	5 sec. season PR
T. Mills	93rd	20:47
Boney	103rd	21:10	36 sec. season PR
Coppa	114th	21:39

My old coach used to talk about having times when he felt snakebit (his phrase for feeling downed by bad luck) and I was feeling that way last Saturday when I found out that the PSAT meant that we would not have a full squad in the varsity race at Albemarle. It was just the latest in a series of hard disappointments, which began in the summer with two runners dropping off an already lean team. Since then we have had a series of frustrations: new injuries, old injuries refusing to heal, major meets rained out, scheduling conflicts, you name it. There was one day when I had only two kids out with me doing the workout. Now, if that’s not snakebit, I’m not sure what is.

But last Saturday reminded me that windows really do open when doors get slammed. We may not have had a full squad in the varsity race at Albemarle, but we had across-the-board PRs. I was especially proud of Cylus, Lawrence, Thomas, and Neil who rushed down from the PSAT, arriving only five minutes before the gun. They raced well without even warming up. I was very proud of all of them.

Albemarle Invitational
Earlysville, VA
13 October 2018
	Place out of 246	Time
Fletcher	14	16:30	Lifetime PR
Clark	34	17:05	Lifetime PR
Watt	52	17:22	Lifetime PR
	out of 325
Garza	10	18:14	East Coast PR
Mills	91	19:57	Season PR
Boney	138	20:52	Season PR
Coppa	191	20:57	Season PR