The middle school Cross Country season has officially ended! We saw some amazing things last night at
the meet with some kids really stepping up and handling pressure in a big way. Particularly, the way the
7th graders performed was unbelievable! The boys ran with a fire and determination that took them to win
their first meet of this season ... and become District Champions! They wanted it very badly ... and
that was obvious by watching them race! When they heard the news about winning this morning. Coach Kelly
says they exploded into a huge cheer!! SO AWESOME!!!! The 7th grade girls were no different. I saw girls
step up and run beyond anything they've done so far this season ... it was just awesome to watch. Amiya
Callicutt took nearly 30 minutes to recover because she literally gave everything she had to earn her
silver medal!!! 7th grade girls ended up third overall ... but unfortunately, our girl who's been
running number 1 all season got sick during the race around the mile marker. She was sitting in 5th, and
she's been in the top 10 every meet. With her healthy, according to my calculations ... those ladies
would have put 4 in the top 10 and taken the top spot by 2-3 points. So I'd say it's a win! 8th grade
boys also took the win ... taking them to an UNDEFEATED season, and 8th grade girls were 2nd in a very
tight contest!
I have a 5th grade daughter at SCIS, and she will be teammates with all of these kids one day. I
can't think of a better group of kids I'd want her to be surrounded by. As a parent, as you all
know, we want our kids to be a part of something great.... and that is what we have here. Great,
hard-working kids who take care of each other and run for each other. It's so exciting to see our
Cross Country program continue the tradition of excellence!
Thank you for sending us great kids to coach every day, and thank you for your continued support of
our program.
Below are pictures of the top finishers from each race. Jim McGuinness, who is awesome and amazing,
has taken pictures of EVERY runner throughout the season! Please click here for the meet photo album and find your athlete in action. THANK YOU JIM!!!!
Carly
WSMS Meet Recap
At the XC Banquet a couple weeks ago, I spoke about how healthy our program is as far as having talent
in every grade level and how prepared the Willow Springs runners will be when they get to their first HS
workouts in May. Carly and Logan have done a great job this fall with them. Yesterday at the Willow
Springs meet was a great example of that. Click here for the results. The 8th grade teams both won, and the 7 grade teams both took 2nd. In
each grade level we coaches see athletes who are hungry to fill in and contribute to the legacy ... it's
exciting to watch. Especially for the girls team, the cavalry is definitely on its way ... Next Tuesday
is their Championship race at Myers Park in Rockwall ...
Performances of note:
8th grader Alex Pedersen went 10:27 !!! Outstanding for 8th grade ...
8th grade girl Amelia Carruthers won in a very tactical, but hard fought race. She sat patiently
and outkicked her opponent ... we really like her competitiveness and desire to win.
Last night as I was watching "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (can't beat clay-mation) I was reminded that most of
the team were probably fine tuning their letters to Santa instead of homework. If you are looking
for gift ideas for your runner, you will find some good ideas in the link from Flo-track. Basically
make sure they are ready for some cold weather runs. Hats/gloves/tights/rain-wind proof
jacket/shoes/and a watch ... (it doesn't have to be a fancy-schmancy GPS watch, just something to
catch their own splits in workouts) When we get on the track. A watch will be very helpful for them.
I hope everyone is off to a good week ... if there is anything I can do to make your son/daughters
experience more positive, please let me know.
Greg
WSMS XC Home Meet Results
What a great meet yesterday by our WSMS runners! It was clear that MANY of our kids got some good
running in over the break ... I am so proud of their commitment and dedication!
Results are similar to the last meet ...
7th grade boys and girls were 2nd overall
8th grade boys and girls both took 1st place overall
We have two BIG practices over the next 2 days!! These will get their legs ready to turn over and be
FAST for next Tuesday's big District race! Our goal is still to sweep District and win all 4 titles!
VERY POSSIBLE!
Tuesday will be a regular meet day - Report to 1st period dressed for school.
We will celebrate our fantastic runners next week, and we would like for all to be in attendance;
parents are also welcome! A huge THANK YOU to Cindy Bittlestone, our Booster Club liaison, for
putting this together for our kiddos!!!
We will be celebrating the successful WSMS Cross Country season on Thursday, December 8th from
7:30-8:15am in the WSMS cafeteria with a team breakfast. Please help by provide breakfast items for
our 90 awesome 7th and 8th grade runners. Parents are welcome to attend.
Breakfast tacos, fruit and other asst items will be served beginning at 7:30. Please bring items by
7:20am and signup using link below.
Thank you to the XC/Track Booster club for providing paper products and drinks for our
breakfast! We appreciate their support.
For questions, feel free to contact Cindy Bittlestone at cindybit@pobox.com
Carly Littlefield
WSMS XC Meet Recap/Results
What a great meet by our middle school crew yesterday!!!! WOW!!!! Greg said it was the best results he's
ever seen out of our middle school during his tenure at Lovejoy!!! This is a testament to the
hard-working, motivated youngsters that are out running every day! It is not easy to roll out of bed
early every morning (since August), come to school, and run ... but your kids have made that commitment,
and it is paying off for them and the entire Cross Country program! The thing that stood out to me the
MOST in every race was the way our kids fought and COMPETED. They did not go out for a Tuesday run ...
they RACED!!! I was so excited to see that competitive edge shining through our little runners!!!
I have to admit ... these girls surprised me yesterday!!! I had no idea they would get out there and
compete the way they did! Our top 3 took off strong in the lead pack and maintained a fantastic
finish in the coveted top 10!! Avery Ashley had our top finish for the 7th grade group with Amiya
Callicut and Dinah Thadikonda right on her heels. The rest of the girls ran strong and solid races
that gave the team 2nd overall. I am very proud of that finish from these young ladies!
8th Grade Girls:
We knew we had talent in this group ... and yesterday, they proved that they also have heart! Amelia
Carothers earned the top spot for the team with a 2nd place overall finish! Our next 3 ran smart,
strong races and came in at 8, 9, and 10 to earn their ribbons (4 in the top 10!!!)! The rest of the
girls ran their hearts out ... and together, they earned a 1st place team finish!!!
7th Grade Boys:
Matthew Murry and Andrew Houser had a photo finish as our top 7th grade boys finishers, each of them
earning a ribbon! The rest of the guys were extremely impressive as they came through the line with
outstanding finishes for their team! The boys finished 2nd overall ... by only 1 point!!! This was a
great lesson for them, and after their reaction this morning, I'm sure they will beat that team next
time! It was really fun to see how many more boys our team had up there on the starting line
compared to other schools. We had to line up 4 people deep to fit on the starting line!
8th Grade Boys:
Another close finish between Trevor Malik and Alex Pedersen who earned the 4th and 5th spots in the
race. It is always fun to watch these 2 guys compete against each other in practice and races! The
rest of the team raced HARD and pulled together to earn the top spot in a close one over Utley
giving the Leopards another 1st place team finish on the day!!! Again ... we had to squeeze in on
the starting line due to our massive number of guys!
Well ... in case you haven't heard the exciting news ... our High School boys Cross Country team
finished first in the Texas 5A State Championships this past weekend in Round Rock!!! STATE CHAMPS!!! It
was a very proud day to be a Leopard. We had tons of support from JV runners, the varsity girls team,
the administration team, and lots of parents. Carson Hockersmith was our solo girl to make the State
meet, and she had a great race and set a new PR of 19:39!!! We are very proud of ALL of the kids in our
program, and we are looking forward to your kids joining them as they continue XC throughout their HS
careers! This morning, we had the guys and Carson come by our practice (with their shiny medals and
massive trophy!), and speak with our middle school team! They shared their experiences from middle
school up to where they are now ... their training, their motivation, and how hard work and dedication
truly does pay off! Then, they ran the pre-race day shakeout with our little guys and girls! It was an
awesome thing to get to watch them running out there together! (It's giving me chills now!) We hope your
young athlete benefits from getting to hear them today, and we hope they set their sights high and dream
big for the years ahead of them!
Practice will be 7:30 every day this week. (Practice on Tuesday will be pictures... please send your
child dressed in their uniform with picture forms)
NO PRACTICE the week of 21st thru 25th — HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Please do encourage your athlete
to get out and run 3-4 times over the break so that they don't lose their training. We will talk
with them about this as well.
Practice resumes at 7:30 on November 28th.
Middle school meet at Willow Springs on November 29th. (Info to come).
XC Meet in Rockwall:
We will race in Rockwall at Harry Meyers Park next Tuesday, November 15th. The first race should
start at 4:15 PM.
We will depart from Willow Springs at 2:30 PM. Students will be released after 6th period; they will
miss 7th and 8th periods. Please remind your student to be proactive in getting their work ahead of
time so they do not fall behind.
All athletes will ride the bus to Rockwall. Attached is the travel release form. Please fill this
form out and return to me via email or student if you plan to take your student home from the meet.
This should be done in advance — not at the meet. Thank you for your cooperation with
this.
The meet this Tuesday will be at Harry Meyers Park in Rockwall Texas. The address is: 815 East
Washington Street, Rockwall TX 75087 The 2 mile course will be run near the pond and splash
park.
Carly Littlefield
WSMS XC Update and Info
This is a short week of practices (No practice this Friday), and we had a fun/game day today that the
kids really enjoyed. We have 3 full weeks of practice until we will start competing!! I know many of our
middle school athletes are playing different sports right now, and that keeps them busy! But if they do
have some time to spare on a Saturday or Sunday, please have them try to get in a 30-40 minute easy run.
This will help them see improvements very quickly once competitions start. I am attaching the schedule
in case you missed it.
