Manhattan Coach Praises GHS X-Country

Dear friends in Glasgow,

As I headed home from the state cross country meet last weekend, I thought about your kids. This was the most emotional state cross country meet I have ever been a part of. That's partly because the race was so close, but more than that I think it was because we saw two teams that really cared. They didn't just care about their individual performances, they cared about their teams. You could see it in our boys' faces, in their races, and with their teammates after the race. When I say "our boys'" I mean Glasgow's and Manhattan's collectively.

I've been on the other side of close races before and I know the pit that takes over your stomach after that. In 2010 our boys tied Missoula Loyola and lost the state championship on a tie-breaker. I thought of that bus ride home and each kid blaming himself. The memory made me sick all over again, and it made me sick at the thought of your boys going through that. On days like those it's hard to get kids to see the million things they did to help the team and how much you appreciate them.

So I need to tell you, it is a shame that someone had to finish second in that race in Missoula on Saturday. I told your boys Friday at the walk-through and again Saturday that if we didn't win, I hoped it was them. And I absolutely meant it. After our races over the last couple years it wouldn't have been right for it to not come down to Glasgow and Manhattan. I know Glasgow dealt with some illness this year and we lost three boys from last year, but kids on both teams stepped up to make it the race it was.

As a week has passed and the boys have had a little time to reflect, I hope they can see how much they have earned the respect of people across the state, and I hope they can look back on the journey with fond memories. I also hope the people of your school and community know how well those boys AND girls represented Glasgow. We think the world of your kids. We feel blessed to have gotten to know them. They have made our teams better. Your kids are classy, talented, hard-working kids, and we have nothing but respect for them as competitors and as people. Most importantly, your kids are kind.

Those in attendance at state were treated with the rare gift of witnessing two teams that deserved to be called champions that day.

We look forward to seeing you in track this spring.