Top Sports Story of the Week:
Cross Country Team
To the Dunes!
Written by Justin Celmer (Captain, 12 grade)
Edited by Jana Hillegonds (Captain, 12 grade) Over the weekend, the Clinton Cross Country team went on their annual camping trip to the Warren Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan. The camp out spanned from Thursday, July 13 to Sunday Morning, July 16. Upon arrival, the team departed for the first run of the trip to the beach. The first workout was circuit training in the water: athletes ran through the water while the parents sprayed and splashed the kids. For the walk back to camp, teammates were paired together and given questions with the purpose of getting to know one another better. These topics were then used for the first fireside chat, where the teammates shared each other’s responses. On the second day, the team enjoyed a lot of free time on the beach and around camp. In the afternoon, the team embarked on a trail run that included a steep dune, with a beautiful view of the surrounding forest and beach. The second fireside chat took place that evening, where they talked about who has inspired them and why. Saturday morning the team participated in the YMCA 5k race in St. Joseph, sponsored by SWMI Racers. Despite the rainy weather, athletes, coaches, and a few parents, ran and completed the race. Congratulations to Cole Hillegonds (Freshman), Kurt Hillegonds (Coach), Rich Dewald (Coach) and Allison Bowles (Senior), and Sami Coots (Senior) for earning medals. Following the race, the team had a couple more hours of free time before it was time for the most difficult workout of the trip, running the dune. The workout calls for each team member to run up and down the dune as many times as they can in an hour. In order to earn King of the Dunes, the boys must complete 10 dunes, and in order to win Queen of the Dunes the girls must run 8. Congratulations to Cole Hillegonds, who ran the dune a remarkable 18 times this year, being the highest amount on the team, and to Allison Bowles for running the dune 15 times, the highest amount for the girls. After the workout and a short dip in the lake, the team gathered for the final fireside chat. The final chat we had was about setbacks and how we overcame them, then a few members shared their struggles with injuries, but how they eventually prevailed and trained harder to get back into shape and good condition, and Coach ended it with the buffalo story. In short, the story goes there are cattle and buffalo in a field while a storm is rolling in, the cattle run in the same direction the storm is going while the buffalo run through it. The lesson is that the cattle run away and prolong their challenges while the buffalo face and conquer their obstacles - be like the buffalo when facing life’s trials. This subject was about setbacks, and how each person overcame them. A few The trip could not have been possible without the help of the parents, who volunteered to provide rides, meals, and assistance with chaperoning the team. Thank you to Steve Adams, Hilario Chavez, Jeff Shankland, William Morgan, Samantha Sczcepanski, Danielle and Tom Bowles, Terry Strand, Rich Dewald, and Jamie Mercer. And finally, thank you to Coach Hillegonds for planning and organizing another successful Clinton Cross Country camp out. |