Cross country runners make school history
History: River View High School’s Boys Varsity Cross Country team will run at the state cross country meet Nov. 1 for only the third time in school history. The last team to make it to state qualified in 1985. Beacon photo by Josie Sellers
WARSAW – Steven Scheetz summed up how it feels to be part of River View High School cross country history with one word – “awesome.”
“The fact that we are the only team to do this in the past 29 years says a lot about us,” he said.
Scheetz is one of seven members of the varsity boys cross country team who will run at the state meet Nov. 1, at National Trail Raceway in Hebron.
One of the keys to their success this year was the fact that they see themselves as more than just teammates.
“We have a brotherhood,” said Chris St. Clair. “We have a love for each other and we were determined to make history.”
The team just missed qualifying for state last year and was determined to make it in 2014.
“Knowing that we could be one of the best pushed us,” said Michael Hardesty.
Jakob Eick said the team ran at some tougher races this season to help them prepare for the state meet.
“We wanted to get in the right mindset,” he said.
They also kept each other motivated, especially during tough spots in the season.
“We never gave up on one another, no matter how much pain we were in,” Scheetz said.
Head Coach Gwenna Neal is very proud of how well the boys did this year.
“The only other two times the school did this was in 1974 and 1985,” she said. “Qualifying as a team is very difficult to do. It requires a whole different level of commitment. They made the decision to accomplish this though and began a plan of action to do it.”
Neal said the team started working toward the state meet at the end of last season.
“We should have made it out (of regionals) last year,” she said. “The mental part of cross country is so intense and we just fell apart. They said that wasn’t going to happen again and they implemented every little portion of their plan. I couldn’t ask for a more dedicated team.”
Scheetz hopes the younger kids learn from the 2014 varsity team’s success.
“We’ve been running since seventh grade and now as seniors we are one of the top 16 teams in the state,” he said. “Anything is possible.”
The team consists of six seniors and one sophomore.
“We run to win,” Neal said. “It’s all or nothing and they gave it every single thing they had this year.”
Category: High School, Sports
Josie, you were a great inspiration to many of us veterans for all the articles you did about us. In today's world where less than 1% of the population gives of themselves to serve in the military forces, it is important to keep the public informed of their efforts. You have done an outstanding job. Thanks for this article on the youth of River View Cross Country and reporting the achievements of one of my cousins, Michael Hardesty. We are all proud of him in the family. Thanks for all you do!
Ed Johnson, Colonel, USAF, retired
Georgetown, Texas (formerly of Plainfield, Ohio)