Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 47

Description:	^!^ Preparation,cComesSuccessThe boys cross countryteam used intensity to winsectionals for the first timein 16 years.Sixteen years is a long time to wait.And, that was exacdy how long it hadbeen since the Bloomington Southboys cross country team had won asectional tide. With a large group oftalented boys, hours and hours of hard-work, and focused determination, anything was possible in 2008. The countdown ended as the Panthers broughthome the sectional tide for the first timesince many of them were born.The road to victory for the team wasnot an easy one. They started theirpreseason workouts with one key ingredient: intensity. We did a lot moreconditioning this summer, sophomoreJordan Gornall said. He describedthe workouts as difficult and rigorous.This was crucial because they had ayoung team, and as a result, had to acclimate to the grueling work of crosscountry running. Yet Gornall felt that,in the end, the key to success in winning sectionals started with those preseason workouts because they not onlyphysically conditioned the boys, but itbuilt up their mental strength as well. Itseemed that all the hours of hard workand preparation led to a team unitythat isnt always evident with sports thatare largely for individuals.Sixteen years was a long time, butfor the Panther team, it made the sectional victory that much sweeter. Bothboys agreed that the sectional win wasan exceptional achievement, especiallygiven the youth of the team. But, theywere already looking to next seasonwith the hope of even better things tocome. We have a lot of young runners, next year should be good, Gornall said. Given the dedication, talentand intensity coming back to competein the 2009 season, the outiook wasgood that the wait for the next sectionalvictory might not be nearly as long.-EMILY ROGERSThe beat you ran to...Belief by John Mayer—junior Justin ChenWarbora by Black Dahlia Murder—junior Daniel HugginsMathematics by Mos Def—freshman Mark ChandlerBack in Black by AC,—sophomore Zachary ECant Stop by RedHot Chili Pepperssenior Korey DaunhauerAbove: Junior Daniel Huggins, junior Elias Calkins, sophomore Ian Byers-Gamber, andsophomore Zachary Evans warm-up before their race, photo by Elizabeth stienmetzboyscross country \| SPORTS \| 47
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8069
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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