St. Peter Rockets find their own success at state meet
On the surface a 27th-place finish would seem like a disappointment. However the girls from the St. Peter cross country team were all smiles after finishing their race at the IESA Class 1A State Cross Country Meet last weekend at Maxwell Park in Normal.
Just getting to the state meet took a lot of determination and perseverance for the St. Peter girls. With a team of fifth- through eighth-graders, they had to keep working hard together all season long, the older girls teaching the younger girls how to work together as a team while some of the younger girls raced faster than their older counterparts. To top it off some of their best runners didn't return from the 2015 season. If that wasn't enough the team had a rash of injuries and illnesses come up. Through it all they never gave up and it was this willingness to fight through the adversity which ultimately led to their success.
Eighth-grader Mary Tork was the glue that held the team together. She always gave good advice to her younger teammates even if they were running faster than her. She was able to keep the team focused on the end goal of qualifying for state. It was not an easy task with such a wide range of ages on the team. Tork's focus on team over individual performance was a key factor in their success and it's unlikely they could have kept it together without her tremendous leadership.
So it was no surprise that just being at the state meet had the team grinning from ear to ear. The girls enjoyed every aspect of the weekend from practicing on the course Friday afternoon, to the team pictures, the team dinner, all the time on the bus together and even lining up for the race on Saturday morning. Their togetherness kept their nerves at bay and they were able to race well together.
All of the girls on the team achieved a season best time with some of the girls running personal bests. Almost the entire team ran around a minute faster than they had all season. The top five runners finished within 30 seconds of each other and they had each other in sight the entire race, keeping the team concept alive and getting through the biggest race of their young running careers together.
Overall the state meet was a successful event for the St. Peter girls and a great finish to an exciting and adventurous season. Their 27th-place finish was a relatively insignificant part of their story. The journey that got them to state, the team's perseverance and determination followed by eventual individual and team success is really what the 2016 season was about for the St. Peter Rocket cross-country girls team. Surely it will be a day they will all remember for a long time.