Fast, as a pack and in the front. That was the game plan for PV’s freshman-sophomore team at the Jim Boughton invitational on Sept. 22.
They did exactly that.
On a perfect, 60 and sunny day for running, the fresh-soph gun went off at the Dubuque Soccer Plex. This young team has been working hard under the shadows of PV’s finest like senior Jacob Mumey. But that limelight might be on them in a year or two.
The team went off and at the mile, there were five spartans in the top ten.
Freshman Joe Knepp shot out the gate and took the lead right away, and he never let off the gas. Running the first mile in 5:20, he had already created a gap between him and second place. Following Knepp, four PV runners all came running through with sophomores Will Parrish, Jack Perry, Parker Millage and freshman Ethan Chang.
Knepp is no stranger to the sport of cross country. Older brothers Jake and Luke have gone through the Spartan program, so Knepp knows what it takes to run strong.
Going into the race the team had been working on running as packs and working together. Although often seen as an individual sport, cross country relies heavily on the strength of working together. The sport challenges a runner mentally as well as physically, and having the courage and confidence to run out front as a pack of spartans fuels each other to go harder and harder.
Front runner Knepp states their game plan, “We were told all of us to pack run, and that some of our best teams in the past focused on pack running.” Knepp continues, “We knew I had a solid shot at first and we knew we needed Will, Jack, Ethan and Parker to pack together to run well. We did that well and the final score sheet shows that.”
Knepp finished with a huge personal record and won the fresh-soph race in 17:24 for 5,000 meters. The next four scorers all finished between the 20 second gap of 17:39 and 17:58. Levi Steele and Ryan Lindquist, both younger siblings of Spartan runners, rounded off the top 7 with times of 18:59 and 19:00. As a team, the Spartans scored 24 points, taking home the team win as well.
These young runners are in the line of some team leaders. Luke Knepp and Michael Chang are both team captains and older brothers to some of these budding underclassmen. Under the training of coach Erik Belby and these experienced runners, the young runners are shaping up to be even greater than some of the best upperclassmen now.
As a freshman, the now All-state and school record holder Mumey ran a season best of 18:02 for 5,000 meters. Now, he holds a personal record of 15:14, putting him among the best in the state and Spartan history.
Five underclassmen runners have now run faster than what Mumey ran as a freshman. And no, that doesn’t mean that these young runners won’t get to his level without hard work, but it sure is reassuring to see such a trajectory. This promising crew of runners will start to seep into the varsity slots as each class graduates, and if they continue to improve as much as they did, PV running will be in good hands.
Assistant Coach Nick Sacco talks about what he sees in the underclassmen, “I think we’ve always had a strong fresh-soph, which is why we’ve always been a powerhouse. It’s why we are planning on getting to state for the 20st straight year.”
Sacco realizes how important the Fresh-Soph and JV teams are, “People see PV and assume fast runners just move in, and are fast out of nowhere, but the truth is our key to our returning success is the development. Seeing some of these sophomores, they were good last year, but they have just kept putting in the miles and have improved so much. That’s why we’ve been so good for so long.”
Sacco understands that these young runners are the future varsity runners, the future all district runners, and even the future all-state runners. These young guys put in the work and are bound to improve, and they are ready to fill the big shoes and continue Pleasant Valley Cross Country’s legacy of excellence.
“Our fresh-soph is good and constantly improving, which I think is a constant indicator that we as coaches are doing something right,” Sacco concludes. “These guys are good, and I’m always hopeful for the future.”
The Spartans will race next in Iowa City at the Bud Williams Invitational on Sept. 29.
