Cross-Country Review - 2007

State Honors

State Championship Qualifiers: Steve Houghmaster/Colleen Smith

Girls Team: #17 State Rank - Class AA

Sectional Honors

All CNY - 1st Team: Steve Houghmaster

All CNY - 3rd Team: Colleen Smith

Sectional Champion: Steve Houghmaster

League Honors

All CNYCL - 1st Team: Steve Houghmaster

All CNYCL - 2nd Team: Billy Gabriel/Tom Hopkins/Colleen Smith/Katie Rothenberg/Sarah Kibby

League Competition

Boys League Dual-meet Record: 6-2(2nd place)

Girls League Dual-meet Record: 6-2(2nd place)

Team Awards 

Wildcat Scholarships: Sarah Kibby/Katie Rothenberg

Senior Awards(3 years of XC): Steve Pietruniak/Ben Siegal/Garrett Smith/Sarah Kibby/Katie Naton/Katie Rothenberg

First and foremost I would like to thank some people in attendance tonight. First I would like to thank Coach Vermeulen and Coach Delsole for allowing me to come onto this team this summer. I’m sure that they were wondering what they were getting themselves into when they let a baseball player join the cross country team for his senior year, but I think it worked out very well. Secondly I would like to thank the parents. Specifically, I would like to thank my parents for all of their support and encouragement throughout this season. I would also like to thank the Reedy’s and the Rotella’s. I thank them because I have never eaten so well in my life while participating in an athletic event. Currently, I am trying to sign them on to do the baseball games but it is not working out to well. Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow teammates, specifically the seniors for all of their support and guidance throughout the season.

Now, since I was only on this team for one year I would like to talk to the underclassmen who are returning next year. I would like to tell the story of the lion and the gazelle. Every morning the gazelle awakens knowing that it will have to run faster than the fastest lion so it will not be eaten. The lion awakens every morning knowing that it will have to run faster than the slowest gazelle so it will not die of starvation. Both awaken knowing that they will have to run for their lives. I interpreted this story as following. The lion is symbolic of us awakening and chasing after our dreams. Your dream for next year is the Sectional Championship. Once you reach the specific goal you set for yourself you should always set a new goal to chase after. You should be chasing your goals for all of your life. The gazelle represents survival and in relation to your goals it represents that someone is always chasing after the same goals that you are. Next year there are going to be other teams chasing that Sectional Championship along with you. You are going to realize that in order to win Sectionals you must fend off these opponents. You must worker harder and be more determined than all of your opponents. Whenever someone is chasing the same dream you are chasing you have to work harder than them and when it comes down to crunch time you have to have more heart than your competitor, so you know that there will be no doubt in people’s mind who the real champion will be.

So as the sun sets on the 2007 season and this summer when the sun rises on the 2008 season I want you to run for your lives. I want you to run with the determination and pride of a lion, with the survival of the gazelle, and I want you to run with the attitude of a champion in your quest for a Sectional title.

Hello. My name is Sarah Kibby and this year I was a captain for the girls team. To start this whole speech thing off, I wanted to thank everyone on the team, but especially the girls. The main reason that I did cross country was because I loved the girls. They felt like sisters to me, and kept me going through the good and the bad., and oh, were there some bad times! Times that I felt I wanted to give up, I wanted to quit because I felt I couldn’t do it anymore, they were there. I feel that cross country not only changed my out look on life but it showed me what I can do when I push myself to new limits. It gave me great running partners, but even more, gave me great friends. As much as I do not want to admit it, I think some of the credit for where I am now should go to both of the coaches sitting up here--Coach Vermeulen and Coach Delsole.

These two men are almost like father figures to me because I see them so much. They brought many emotions including angry, frustration, guilt, sadness, defeat, happiness, accomplishment, fulfillment and hope. They have been there training me, training us to be the best regardless of emotion, making the impossible possible. They have been there to bring us up when we were down and knock us down when we were up. They have been there with their corny jokes and smart remarks. We have survived through pretty much everything.

I remember when Coach Delsole first arrived to coach the team. I thought to myself, "He’s not gonna boss me around like he is my coach. V. is my coach." Oh, how that changed. I got bossed around, knocked down, and yelled at. Dell was the coach that you could make jokes about, and wouldn’t get so much of a death stare back, as commonly occurred with Coach V. I would have to personally thank Dell for making my season so much better with the battles of smart remarks that we had everyday. Dell trying to burn me with a joke and it not working always made my day.

Coach Vermeulen, most would say, is the toughest coach out of the both of them. With his statue face, you couldn’t tell if he was joking or being serious. His mouth, covered by the famous mustache, would leave you clueless to his emotions. After my four years with V. I think I have finally figured out the mystery to this man. He is someone that knows the highest cloud that you can reach, and how to get you there. He will show you how to run with hate, to run with love, to flat out just run. He will tell you when it will rain, and will be right. Coach V can be tough, rough, loud, and bossy. But he can also be kind and there for you when you feel that you couldn’t have let the team down anymore than you have. He will be there when you have run your heart out and still came in second. He’ll be there when you are throwing up. He will be there period. I want to thank you personally V. for being there for me, in all my four years as a runner. You have been a big part of my life and I am proud to say that.

This year especially, I found out what it meant to be a true leader by caring for everyone on the team, and speaking up for the team when it was necessary. The team made this year the best out of all four years for me. Watching people excel to newer, higher levels was a great experience. Cheering the 10 different chants we had together was fantastic. Just being together made things so much more exciting,

As I look out on to the crowd I see this great team in front of me. There are older kids and there are younger kids, there are kids that are right in the middle. You have those that are out-going, those that are dorky, those that ask too many questions. You have people that run for the enjoyment and those that run for competition. There are people who are in the band, in other sports, in math league, and other various things. No matter what type of person you are, you are always a runner when you come to practice. You are accepted and befriended. I love every single person for that, accepting others who are nothing like you. Creating one big breed of runners, of dorks.

Thank you to all the runners, all the parents for being so supportive, and the coaches. It has been a great season and I hope next year will be even better!

Thank you.