Standing on a starting line over 100 miles from home on a chilly fall day, waiting for a whistle and then the pop of a pistol to start the state final race … all that could be terrifying for some.
Not for Roosevelt Middle School eighth grader Brigitte Drab.
That was just the beginning of a great day for Drab and her teammates Oct. 18 at the Illinois Elementary School Association state cross country meet, where the Bulldogs took second with 83 points, just 10 behind winner Metamora.
What was Drab thinking on the starting line that day as things got awful quiet?
“I’m just telling myself positive things, like I can do it, just keep going,” said Drab, who clocked 13:13.1 for the two-mile run, good enough for 66th place. Seventh grader Lilia Fobes turned in the Bulldogs’ best time, 12:28.0, and took 10th.
“It will only last like 13 minutes and then it will be over, and I just want to do my best, so just focus on that,” she said.
Fellow eighth grader Nora Gundrum took 22nd in 12:37.4. She took a bit more of a philosophical approach at the starting line.
“We had been talking about this is our last race with this team and I wanted to make it worth it,” Gundrum said. “I was thinking do it for the team and try to do better than the last time.”
But no doubt there were nerves, said eighth grader Maci Sardon, who finished just behind Drab in 68th place at 13:14.8. How did she overcome them?
“My nerves were bubbling up,” Sardon admitted. “I was like, once you start running, those nerves will go away and all you can do is do your best.”
The nerves, and elation, weren’t limited to the girls’ team. The Roosevelt boys took 11th place in their race, with 329 points, and were led by eighth grader Julien Caulliez, who finished 27th in 11:14.5. Fellow eighth grader Nick Bevan was 41st in 11:34.1.
Bevan is an observant one, and he took in the whole situation as if he wanted to make sure he remembered it years from now.
“I think about the wind, because it’s usually very silent,” he said. “It’s probably one of the quietest places you can get, to get that many people to be quiet. You can hear the wind, you can feel the wind.
“I focus on my heartbeat, I don’t like the waiting around for the race. I like to get it over with.”
Roosevelt head coach Louisa Starr and her coaching staff oversaw 110 runners this fall in grades five through eight. Those students benefit from the fact that cross country is a no-cut sport. Everyone is invited to compete but also enjoy being on a team. In other words, culture is key, and the Bulldogs had plenty of that.
Culture comes down to two things, Starr said, important because running ain’t easy.
“This is an inclusive program and I think it’s incredibly important to create an accountability culture,” she said. “They have to be there for practice, they have to be there for meets. Being accountable and tackling hard challenges percolates into other areas of students’ lives.”
The other one is leaning into community, including Starr and her staff, district support and a strong PTO. That includes Roosevelt principal Tina Steketee.
“I am so proud of our cross country teams,” she said, “for their exceptional honors and for their dedication and team spirit which contributes so much to the special culture of our Roosevelt school community.”