Cross Country State

Never before has Plainfield High School sent a sophomore to boys cross country State -- until this year. Sophomore Ryan Evans and senior Jakob Nehring represented this year -- and despite the fact that they did not place, both boys indicated the experience was well worth the effort to get there.

When asked how they did Nehring said "I ran a solid race and had the support of my friends and family. It was a wonderful experience." Evans said "Definitely not as well as I hoped to, I ran my slowest time of the season and placed a lot lower than I was seeded."

When asked about challenges Evans says "Motivating myself to push at the end of the race. If you don't tell yourself before the race over and over again that you are going to push during the race, it's really hard to come up with that motivation during the race. That's something I've struggled with a lot this year." but Nehring says "I'd say the biggest challenge is running in the face of so much pain. The physical toll it takes to compete at a high level is large."

When asked how they prepare to compete Nehring says " Every Friday evening before the race I generally eat a carb loaded meal to prepare. Then on the morning of the race I have a pre race routine that I do with my team." but Evans' routine is different, he says " I try to relax as much as possible the night before, and in the morning I think about how I'm going to run the race and try not to let myself get stressed out about it. I'll usually listen to music while I'm getting ready and while we're riding the bus to the meet."

Story by Ruth Craig