The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1158320
The Press-Dispatch Fall Sports Preview Wednesday, August 21, 2019 D-11 CHARGE! Leave the repairs to us! DOUBLE J COLLISION CENTER 350 W. Main, Petersburg (Hwy. 57, south of Petersburg) Good Luck to all Pike Central Teams Open Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • 812-354-9670 Wyatt Seed Company, Inc. P.O. BOX 218, HWY. 57 SOUTH, PETERSBURG, IN 47567 Phone: (812) 354-8542 or 1-800-581-5826 • Dealers in Sports Trail Dog Food • Purina Feeds • Pride Dog Food • Full line of Lawn Grasses and Field Seeds • Variety of Bagged Fertilizers • Bird Feed and Feeders Have a great Season! WHOLESALE DEALERS IN RETAILERS FOR BOYS' XC We finished sixth in regional and they all want to get to semi-state as a team. They can use that as a driving force and stay even more driven to get better. Each year they get a little closer to semi- state. I feel like we can keep that consistency, but build on it." -Coach Josh Roach Charger runners looking to take next step By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central boys' cross country team narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi- state meet last season after a sixth-place finish at the region- al meet. However, Chargers' head coach Josh Roach believes in his team's ability to improve on the success from the past few seasons, despite losing one of the top runners in program his- tory. "This year's team is made up of a group who knows that they were right there last year," Roach said. "We finished sixth in regional and they all want to get to semi-state as a team. They can use that as a driving force and stay even more driv- en to get better. Each year, they get a little closer to semi-state. I feel like we can keep that con- sistency, but build on it. It will be a big challenge this year los- ing Draven [Huff] as our [No. 1 runner] and Colt [Armstrong] as our [No. 5 runner]. That's a lot of the time, but I truly be- lieve this team can get there." Huff, now a member of the Oakland City University cross country team, was an All-PAC performer the past two seasons and was also Pike Central's top finisher at every meet this past season. Roach said the biggest strength of this year's squad is its togetherness. "We have a variety of dif- ferent personalities," he said. "Some are very serious, some like to laugh to stay loose. Some are internally driven and some externally. Some are quiet and some are very outgoing, but they all are close. They drive each other. They want each oth- er to succeed. They care about each other. They don't want to let each other down. This helps us in meets cause they real- ly fight to stay together. They know their limits, but they stay determined to keep packed as closely as they can." Roach said he would like the team to try to stay together in a tighter pack during runs. "The boys all want to go far into the postseason and we all know that in order to do that, our back half needs to be clos- er to the front half of the pack," he said. "Our front will get fast- er as well, but when it comes down to team score, we have to cut as much time between them as possible. We are spending more time letting them judge their energy this year and fo- cusing a lot on saving our best energy for our hardest days. We have utilized cross train- ing a little more for that. We also will give them a range of miles so that they don't have to fight through as much on those days that their body won't ful- ly cooperate. Each athlete can have completely different days. If one had a rough day or didn't sleep well or whatever, we want that freedom to just be consis- tent on that day and save some energy for the next." Pike Central will be led by se- nior Nate Woolery and junior Ijaa Chambers this season. Both were All-PAC honorable mention selections last season and Chambers has advanced to the semi-state meet individual- ly the past two seasons. Chambers has great self- awareness. He knows his strengths and weakness and is disciplined to his strategy. "When he goes out in a race, he is not going to go outside of himself early to run with the pack," Roach said. "He knows where he should be and he sticks to it. He gives himself the energy to push in the end when a lot of other runners don't have that energy." Woolery barely missed out on qualifying for the semi-state meet last season. He finished the regional meet as the 12th- place runner who was not on an advancing team. Unfortunately, only the top ten advanced to the semi-state meet. "[Woolery] has the desire to be great," Roach said. "His passion to succeed is unlike many that I've been around. He applies that to everything he does. He doesn't base his worth on whether he succeeds or not, but he is always looking to improve. He encourages oth- ers. He is a born leader, both by example and with his words. He really brings this team together more than he knows." The team success will al- so depend heavily on develop- ment and performances of Sam Thiesing, Ethan Gorby, A.J. Hill, Lane Potts, Noah Russell and Trent Zimmerman. Thiesing does an excellent job of holding himself and team- mates accountable for their ac- tions. "You never have to wonder if he is cheating himself because he will always get something do- ne," Roach said. "It doesn't mat- ter if he is the last one working, he will still do everything that is asked of him. And if he catch- es you skipping a rep or stop- ping short, he is going to let you know. He won't do it in a way that is demeaning, but he will find a way to get you to want to get it done." Hill has battled through a lot of adversity this summer and he is still going strong. "It would be very easy to be discouraged because you couldn't get the training you want in but A.J. keeps fighting and knows that in the long run, he will be better because of it," Roach said. Potts, the most experienced runner on the team, has shown incredible dedication to the sport. He has been running since he was in fourth grade. "He knows what to expect and there isn't much that will come up in a race that he doesn't know how to handle," Roach said. Gorby is known as a hard worker, who will push himself no matter how he feels, while al- so driving others to work harder because of the effort he shows. Zimmerman has the ability to persevere through pain when others couldn't. "He has that ability to hit the wall and then just focus in more instead of listening to that voice in his head that wants to say slow down or give up," Roach said. "He will fight the whole race. He may look like he has noth- ing left to give but if he knows he has to catch up to the guy in front of him, he's going to give everything he does have left." Russell brings a great person- ality to the team. "He keeps the team from get- ting over stressed," Roach said. "He keeps them loose. Your nerves might be going and you start to feel the pressure, and then Noah will say something to bring a smile to your face or make you laugh and kind of get your head level." Dallas Reutepohler is the only newcomer on this year's team. "We are very excited to have him this year," Roach said. "He has taken to everything we have preached this year. He does what's asked of him and never complains. He puts the work in every day. I really feel like once he makes the adjustment to the difference in distance from mid- dle school, which can't happen without racing it first, he is go- ing to take off." The Chargers placed fifth in the conference and third at sec- tionals, before the sixth-place ending of the season at the re- gional. Roach, who coaches both boys' and girls' cross country, said his main goal is for his athletes to strive for continued success. "This sport really shows you the rewards you can get when you work hard everyday, but we don't settle for just getting there," he said. "We want to get there and then find something new to strive for. You can't do that without a growth mindset. We are always looking to im- prove. Focus on the things that will help us, put first things first, and trust our training. We do those things and accomplish- ments will come." Roach admitted it can some- times be hard to keep that mind- set. "The biggest challenge has probably been to stay true to that growth mindset and get the kids to stay true to it," he said. "It's easy to get focused on the result. There is still going to be a lot of emotions if we don't meet our goal. Sometimes, those emotions are hard to get through. But at the end of the day, those emotions will fade and the truth will come and we will see how we improved, even if it's not the level we were en- visioning. "It just helps us keep a level head," Roach continued. "We enjoy the good moments a lot because they aren't always go- ing to be there. But we also try to never get too high or too low. Stay true to the process every day. I want those good moments to be there for them in the end and the only way for that to hap- pen is to know we have to go through some bad ones at some time." Pike Central's cross country season begins on Thursday, Aug. 22 at the Forest Park In- vitational. Pictured above is the 2019 Pike Central boys' cross country team. They are, front row (l to r): Sam Theising, Nate Woolery and A.J. Hill; second row: Lane Potts, Ijaa Chambers, Trent Zimmerman, Noah Russell and Dallas Reutepohler; back row: head coach Josh Roach, Ethan Gorby, assistant coach Wil Teague and assistant coach Joe Chamberlain. Not pictured: Peyton Chanley.