Cross country does not allow for time-outs, bench replacements or a half-time break. Nathan Aswege has been running for six years, up to 50 miles a week at times. Aswege has dedicated himself to cross country for six years, never stopping and on Saturday he will compete in his last race as a high school student.
“The state meet as a senior is bittersweet,” Aswege said. “It’s saddening knowing that it will be my last cross country meet ever, but it is also great knowing that in theory it should be one of the fastest 5k’s of my life.”
The boys team took first place in the state tournament last year and head coach Jerome Bailey has hopes for great finishes this year as well. Coming out of the Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC) meet, the girls team took third while the boys finished second, 20 points behind Davies.
“We are still ranked in the top five teams in the state in both divisions,” Bailey said. “I would like to bring home a top five trophy in both boys and girls.”
Preparation is a key part in competing in sports. For many runners, preparation begins the night before with a healthy meal.
“To prepare for big meets we usually have a pasta feed and just spend time with the team,” senior Leah Hermanson said.
The day of the meet is a time to mentally prepare themselves. Whether athletes listen to music or find other ways to mentally prepare, most find it necessary to be “in the zone” before their race.
“The day of the race I try to focus only on my race, going through how I should feel at each of the checkpoints along the route,” Aswege said. “Music is nice on the bus, but once I set foot on the course I need silence in my head.”
From start to finish the cross country team practices for the end of the season to get to the state meet. They run between 20 and 50 miles a week at the high point, cutting down before their biggest meets, state and EDC.
“We cut back our mileage 10 percent and stop lifting weights,” Bailey said.
The girls team fell short to both Fargo South and Davies at the EDC meet, but for senior Christine Baltezore preparing for the upcoming state meet is what they have to focus on now.
“With running there are always ups and down,” Baltezore said. “Sometimes you run well and sometimes you don’t, but the important part is that after every race you want to work harder to do even better the next race.”
As a senior, Aswege has been through many years of competing at the varsity level. He was a part of the team last year that took the state title and after losing to Davies at EDC he is looking forward to the state tournament this weekend.
“Davies got the best of us,” Aswege said. “We had a good team this year, but they had the better day. All we can do is look forward to competing at the state meet.”