On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Rolla High School Cross Country team set off to St. Clair for the Class 5 District 3 races. With only the top 30 spots in a 5 kilometer race making it to State, the competition and nerves were high. Out of the team, three runners took a qualifying spot: junior Cameron Martensen with 3rd place, junior Braydon Shenefield coming in 12th, and senior Tommy Pratz coming in 24th. Cross Country Coach Rhett Cook was very pleased with the runners’ performances as well as their determination as a team.
“These kids run forty and fifty miles a week. They really stick together and push through on their bad days. Good days are good, bad days are bad. So it takes that other guy having a good day to really bring up the bad day for the other one. So I feel like they really bring each other up, and myself included, on some days. And they’ve got a lot of spirit for sure,” Cook said.
Cook believes leadership from individuals (like Pratz) helps to encourage and lift up the whole team.
“Tommy’s done a really good job of leading them, and I think leadership is just [the key to] team bonding and trying to stick together when we have all those tough long mile weeks,” Cook said.
All three runners performed at State on Nov. 8, and just qualifying for that State spot is a huge deal and accomplishment according to Cook.
“It’s hard to tell what is the best part because it’s all so good. It’s just all so good. [It’s] all hype…and I feel like our team is just one big family,” Cook said.
Even though runners are placed individually, Cross Country is still a team sport and they can place and receive awards as a team. Having one another and motivating each other is very important to Martensen.
“I mean, just seeing how dedicated and motivated they are, it’s inspiring,” Martensen said.
Similarly to Martensen, Pratz also values the determination and ambition he receives from his team during a race.
“Thinking about my teammates is encouraging…because I know that my teammates are counting on me. You perform for your team,” Pratz said.
A strong support system that encourages and provides confidence is important for any athlete, and, besides one’s team, an athlete’s family can play a crucial role in that system as well.
“My dad supports me, he gives me a lot of prep, getting ready for races, and just [is] like always talking to me, even when I don’t want to be talked to during a race, which encourages me,” Shenefield said.
Staying focused is also very important in high-pressure races, especially one that can qualify the athlete for State. Pratz uses some strategies to ease his mind during races.
“I just think to myself that everyone around me is hurting just as bad as I am, so I just have to be tougher than everyone else, and I just think of how much work I’ve put in for the race,” Pratz said.
Even though running everyday will improve any runner, Pratz expresses how it is the little things that make the difference in a race and throughout the season that make the biggest impact, especially in crucial postseason races such as during statewide tournaments.
“Just doing all the right things every day matters, doing all the little things, staying consistent with my sleep, and doing my ab routine and core and everything, doing what maybe other people don’t do, going the extra mile and all those sorts of things is, I think, the biggest thing,” Pratz said.
