This Saturday, Broughton HS will compete at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Oregon. The team earned this right by finishing 2nd at the Southeast Regional held in Cary last weekend. Nike puts on quite a show for the athletes. Here are some of the perks of being a national qualifier:
** meet Nike sponsored athletes
** paid flights for team
** decorate team vans
** rock star status, includes hospitality suite
** new team uniform and warm-ups
Like many other Cross Country teams around the country, Broughton's boys team set goals at the beginning of the season. Usually the team sets 3 goals, but early on this felt like a different season. The team decided to set a 4th . . . "the season ends in Oregon," said Coach David Christian.
That's just what they have accomplished. The 4th goal was a lofty one, but one that the Broughton team felt they could achieve. They also were able to meet the other 3 goals, win the conference meet, qualify for the state meet, and win their 2nd state title in a row. That makes Broughton 4 for 4 this season.
When asked what the goal is for this weekend, captain Deaton Jones put it best.
"Despite everyone elses less than steller expectations for us, we want to represent the Southeast well by finishing in the top ten. If people think this is too optimistic, I would say that setting high goals is what got us to where we are in the first place."
Broughton is a team that runs with a lot of confidence and devotion to the sport of running. Coach Christian commented on what impresses him the most about this year's team.
"If it is not their toughness I would say it is the confidence that they train and race with. They believe in the training and they believe in one another. We are a blue collar running team - hard workers. I think there are three things that make a good team: Toughness, Training, and Talent. These men have plenty of the first one and that impresses me."
One of the most important things in our sport of Cross Country is for everyone to believe. From speaking with Coach Christian and a couple of the athletes, Deaton Jones and Burk Staub, I gather that this is the case.
"Past years we have been so competitive within the team that we lost track of our goals, but this year the team truly did work as one, helping each other during races and workouts," said senior Burk Staub.
Deaton added, "We are a team that lives and breathes the sport. We are all friends and, for the most part, hang out together outside of practice, so it inables us to stay really focused and not be distracted when its crunch time. We all feel a sense of responsibility towards the team, and all of us knows what we have to do to succeed, no questions asked."
Chapel Hill HS has been fortunate enough to make it to Portland twice. These schools are not too far apart, so I asked if the teams had talked much about the trip, the race . . . just simply what it's all about. It seems Chapel Hill has been very helpful thus far.
"Taylor Gilland and Jack Marshall provided some really great advice. Jack goes to App State with two of our old teammates, Cheyenne Hite and Sam Mordecai, so some of us were able to see him when we visited Chey and Sam. He just got us really pumped for the opportunity and made us want to qualify more than ever. After we qualified, Taylor called some of us to provide some advice. He said to not go out to fast, as NC runners have a tendency to go out a lot faster than most other areas; have fun, but stay focused on the race when the time comes rather than worrying about girls or staying up late. Tape your shoes and wear 1/2 inch spikes, because, with all of the mud, a lot of runners have their shoes come off; don't worry about obsticles on the course, youre going to be so tired while running that anything you practice won't be of any good use."
The team headed to Portland to represent North Carolina and the SE Region is as follows:
Blake Askin, Sr.
Burk Staub, Sr.
Deaton Jones, Sr.
Brady Lawrence, Sr.
Jeff Shirley, Sr.
Reidy Jones, Jr.
Pierre Malherbe, Jr.
Hayden Parker, So.
As you can see, the two-time 4A state champions are led by a solid group of seniors. Obviously this group has put in a lot of mileage and time to get where they are. I asked Deaton how it feels to go out with such an accomplishment.
"Better than anything. We know that we've done something amazing, and it feels great to enjoy it with some of the guys who have been running together for four years. I'm also really excited that we've been able to set an example for our really talented underclassmen. Very few of us had any serious running experience going into high school. So the fact that we and DC(Coach Christian's nickname) have been able to make our program something really special shows everyone what belief and devotion can do."
Cross Country isn't typically your most talked about sport on campus. However, qualifying for a meet like this must bring some well deserved attention. When they get to Portland they will live the life of a rock star for a few days, but I asked how school is going this week. Are you celebrities?
"HA! I wouldn’t say people are acting like we're celebrities, but this is the most publicity the XC team has ever gotten. Most of the students are really interested in the Nike gear," commented Burk.
Deaton also said, "We have enjoyed a rather large amount of attention. Because people know that we are being flown by Nike all the way to Oregon on an all expenses paid trip, I think people realize what a big deal it is. All of my teachers have taken a minute at the beginning of class to recognize us, and I'll often have people say congrats in the hallway."
So Saturday is another big meet for this team from Raleigh, who will be running under the name "Raleigh XC Club". Coach Christian said, "They were well aware of what was at stake when the gun went off on Saturday." I'm 100% sure that Broughton will be ready to go this Saturday as well.
On behalf of all of us in North Carolina, good luck!