My Championship Experience is a diary
blog written by Summit League student-athletes detailing their experiences at
each of the 19 Championships.
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Thursday, October 31st
My
roommates and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. in order to eat some breakfast to prepare
for the long trip to Fort Wayne, Ind. The trip there would consist of driving
to Omaha, Neb., to catch a one-hour flight that would take us to Chicago, Ill.,
and then travel the rest of the way in two 15-passenger vans. We got to the
HPER at 6:00 a.m. to load and board Frank the Tank (a single-axle people mover
that has just enough room for the 22 runners and coaches plus our bags) for our
trip down to Omaha. As we began our
three and a half-hour drive to Omaha, I put my headphones on and listened to
some music to drown out the sound of what seemed like a wind tunnel as Frank
the Tank cruised south on I-29. I fell asleep without too much trouble because
we had gotten up so early and it would be dark out for another hour and a half.
We
arrived at the Omaha airport around 10 a.m. while making one stop along the way
for a bathroom break and fuel for the bus. We were flying Southwest Airlines
and the flight was scheduled for departure at 11:15 a.m. so we had to check in
and get through security without too much delay. Once everyone was through
security, we found our gate and sat down to wait until the boarding process
started. I was getting hungry so I grabbed a personal pan pizza from one of the
shops. Soon enough, it was time to board. Our team took up the rear of the
plane. Once in the air, the flight attendants served everyone a beverage and
some roasted peanuts. As we came into Chicago to land, there was some
turbulence, which made it a little rough. After getting off the plane, we made
our way to the baggage claim to collect our luggage. Waiting for us at the
airport were two 15-passenger vans, which we would be taking the rest of the
way to Fort Wayne.
We
left the Chicago airport to go get our run in for the day. I only had to go 5
miles because I front-loaded my mileage for the week. We started our run at Soldier
Field and ran along the Lakefront trail, which followed Lake Michigan. It was a
rainy day so the run left us nothing short of soaked. Nevertheless, we still
had fun on the run trying to chase the friendly geese that would come up close
to the path. It was a nice area to run and I would like to do it again when the
weather is a little more cooperative.
After
we changed out of our soaked running clothes, we got back on the road to Fort
Wayne. Getting out of Chicago took a little while because it was around 5:00
p.m., which meant rush hour. Also, we had to stop at a few tollbooths on the
way out. Trying to fall asleep in the van was not working out for me, as it was
near impossible to get into a comfortable enough position to sleep in with the
amount of room that was available. After driving for a while, we stopped in
Valparaiso, Ind., to get supper. A few of us went to Qdoba, while others went to
Five Guys Burgers and Fries. After eating, we still had about 100 miles to go
plus a time zone change where we would lose an hour. Once we arrived at the
hotel and got our room assignments, I unpacked some things, checked my email
and a few things that were posted online regarding my classes. Finally, after a
long day of traveling, I went to bed a little before 11:00 p.m.
Friday, November 1st
Drew
[Kraft] and I woke up at 8 a.m. and went down to eat some breakfast. A few of
the guys were also down there. My meal consisted of orange juice, milk, french
toast, fruit, yogurt, and a donut, which was all very delicious. After eating,
I went back to the room and watched some TV until it was time to go and run the
course for our pre-meet.
We
got back to the hotel around 3 p.m. I had to do some ironing work on my dress
clothes so they would be ready for the banquet later that night, because I had
to pack them in my bag instead of having them on a hanger for the trip, they were
slightly wrinkled. After finishing with that, I worked on some homework and
looked at other conference results that had already taken place throughout the
nation until it was time to get ready for the banquet. We left for the banquet
at 5:30 p.m. and ended up being the first ones there. It didn’t take long to
find out that it wasn’t supposed to start until 6:30 p.m., which made us really
early. We then proceeded to take about a thousand pictures since we had a lot
of free time. When the other teams showed up, the banquet started and the speakers
kept their speeches short and to the point, which was a little surprising, but
it meant that we were able to eat sooner. The food was very delicious, as they
had prepared a few different main courses along with cheesecake and carrot cake
for desert. After the banquet, we headed back to the hotel for team meetings
before heading to bed. Our coach gave us a pretty good rundown of what we had
to do tomorrow and how we should approach it. He left us with a lot to think
about as we headed to bed.
Saturday, November 2nd
Drew
and I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to go and do a two-mile shakeout run with Trent
[Lusignan]. After the short run, we went and ate a light breakfast. The men’s
team was going to leave for the course at 9:30 a.m. so we had a couple of free
hours. I used them to shower and get my bag packed, as we were not coming back
to the hotel after the race because we were going to be rushed for time to make
our flight out of Chicago back to Omaha. We dressed and prepared for the worst
conditions during race time. There was a 40 percent chance of rain during race
time with 10 mph winds and temperatures in the low 40s. Since the course was
going to be muddy and wet, we planned on wrapping our spikes with tape to keep
them from coming untied and possibly getting stepped on and coming off during
the race. When we arrived at the course, I went to look at the areas where we
would be running to see what they were like. Since yesterday when we did our
pre-meet, the course seemed to have dried off quite a bit and the areas with
water disappeared a little. We started our warm-up a little after 10 a.m. I
tried to keep myself from getting nervous or worried about the race. Before I
knew it, it was time to spike up and head over to the starting line for our
last stride outs, final words from our coach, and our team huddle. At this
point, I was getting excited and anxious to get going. Once the gun went off
and we were on our way I was purely focused on the race and giving it my best
effort. I finished the race with a respectable time in my mind but was more
concerned on how our team did. Talking with coach and our graduate assistant,
it was going to be close with USD if we were going to defend our 2012 title. We
were trying to add the points up in our head but it was too close to call
without seeing the results on paper. Just as we were about to leave for our
cool down, the results came over and we edged out USD by just one point (41-42).
Everyone was instantly relieved and happy. Then we went to start our cool down
and cheer on the girl’s team. They ran really well and ended up placing second
behind NDSU.
After
the awards, we had to load up the vans and head out if we were going to make
out flight out of Chicago on time. Both teams left the course with a lot of
accolades. On the men’s side, Trent Lusignan captured the Individual
Championship, was named to the All-League First Team, and was the Championship
MVP of the race. Brendan Sage was named the Newcomer of the Championship and to
the All-League Second Team. Two Jackrabbits
were named to the All-League First Team and three were named to All-League
Second Team and coach Rod DeHaven was awarded Coach of the Year. The women’s
team placed second to NDSU with Cheyanne Bowers taking second place in the
meet. Just like the men, they also had two runners make the All-League First
Team and three make the All-League Second Team.
The
ride to the Chicago airport was pretty quiet as everyone was exhausted from the
meet. We ended up making it to our gate with time to spare before our plane was
scheduled for departure. The plane ride to Omaha was short and relaxing because
there were not very many people on our flight. After getting our luggage it was
time to board Frank the Tank again for our final stretch of driving back to
Brookings, S.D. We made a quick stop for supper in Missouri Valley, Iowa, and
got back to Brookings around 11 p.m. Due to daylight savings time ending, we
would get an extra hour of sleep tonight, which was much needed after the long
weekend.
I
enjoyed my championship experience to the fullest extent and am very glad I was
able to share it with my teammates. I will forever remember all of the memories
and events that took place over the weekend. Now that The Summit League
Championships is in the books, it is time to start thinking about what our teams
can do at the Midwest Regional.
Thanks
for reading,
Christian
Karels
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