Why do Saturdays make me sad? I’ve found that question on my mind a lot since rejoining this family as a coach last summer. I would get home from 10 am doughnut filled practices (also known as 10@8@10) and just feel empty. Today I figured it out. 8 years ago, when I first joined track things were really tough for me. I’d just had a falling out with one best friend and the other had moved to Illinois at the start of the year. I’ll never forget when my science teacher asked me to come out for track, I’ve never asked him what he saw in me but I’m pretty sure what he saw isn’t what he ended up finding. Through track I rekindled old friendships and forged new ones. On Saturdays we started meeting at someone’s house to play board games, risk and monopoly were the favorites. It was in those games that lasted for hours that I found something I didn’t know I needed. I found a family that accepted me with open arms. It didn’t matter that as a sophomore I could barely run a 6-minute mile, they took me as I was. That’s the gift my family has given to me, brotherhood and belief. The boys on that team made me one of their own, they believed in me even when I failed. Now, the boys on that team from only 8 years ago are scattered to the winds so to speak. We don’t really keep in touch much and we’ve even lost one of our own far too soon. But I don’t look back on those days with a longing for what was. I look back at how blessed I was to receive this gift. My challenge to you is to make this team a family. Introduce yourself to just one person you don’t know, you’ll be amazed at what this simple gesture can accomplish. Help a teammate with their technique or push them through a tough workout, we accomplish more together than we ever could alone. And finally, remember that your words are powerful, your teammates are listening, you have the power to create and destroy, which will you choose? Saturday’s made me sad because I’d forgotten how lucky I was. Now they make me hopeful because I see what we can become and where we are going. And I know that we’ll get there together because just like someone believed in me once, I believe in each of you to make it happen. This story is the first in a new blog series we will be trying out this season that a focuses on our core values: positivity, resilience, responsibility, and sportsmanship. For me, when you have a team that celebrates these values, what you really have is a family. Throughout the course of the season we will be gathering stories or other writings like this from various people associated with our program, all are welcome to participate. Coach Carlson Special thank you to Lauren Harrison and Sophia Roehl for making the video!
Captains Blog - Week 12
After two more weeks of training to peak at state, the day finally arrived. We arrived at Jamestown around noon to a little bit of rain, but we didn’t let it ruin our day. Before disembarking the bus we all wrote team on each others’ hands to emphasize how we couldn’t run like we do without everyone encouraging and supporting one another. Girls raced first at 2:00 pm and ran hard to earn a second place team finish. Several of our girls had season best times and there were even a few PRs. Later our boys ran another great race led by senior Ethan Harsell to place 14th as a team. It was super awesome to see all our runners working hard and giving it their all in the final meet of the season. I can’t wait to see what exciting things are in store next season for the Central Knights. Mikayla Weiss - Junior - Captain This week has been bitter sweet the Knights XC team. This was the last week of practice that they whole team would be there for, preparing for everybody's last race; EDC. The week started out with a long run on Monday, and then on Tuesday we went down to our home course to run 800s and 300s. Wednesday was a little bit exciting, as we got a snow storm so we were stuck inside to do our stretches and then head home. Thursday we had speed workout of 400s, that we did on a one way street because of all of the snow. Friday was a nice easy recover day that was getting us ready for our last home meet. Meet day was cold and wet, with some snow still on the ground, but our team was ready. The middle schoolers got us off to a good start as we had many good races and some top placers as well. The varsity girls were next, with our very own Mikayla Weiss being all conference and runner up, and with myself being all conference as well(12th). Although some of our girls didn't have the best races, we still fought hard and ended up getting 2nd as a team. Our varsity boys also fought hard during there race, with captain Adam Arnold leading them with and getting all conference(14th). Even though some of the team didn't have there best races at EDC, I couldn't be prouder to be a part of this team. My last EDC was one to remember with such great coaches and teammates. Everyone worked so hard and fought through there races. Next up is state and we will be back to kick some butt!
Alexis Roehl - Senior - Captain This was a week that we have been waiting for all year,EDC week! For some of your younger runners it was their last week for the year. But we had to deal with some weather this week which was a bit of a curve ball! We had snow and cold temperatures which isn’t ideal running conditions! That didn’t stop us from working hard all week. We had to do a cut mileage run and a speed workout on a side street to avoid the snow. But when we got to Saturday we still had some snow on the ground but thanks to Jason Vasichek for clearing the course of snow and leaves! But during the race the course was mushy and muddy from the snow melting which made for a messy race! But we all worked hard and had a good day! Even with the course conditions we still had 9 PRs on the team. So with that the top 10 runners move onto a off week then state! Adam Arnold - Soph - Captain Congrats to Grand Forks All - Conference runners Mikayla Weiss Alexis Roehl Adam Arnold Special Congrats to Alexis Roehl for being nominated for Senior Athlete of the Year Newspaper Stories Bismarck Tribune Grand Forks Herald Fargo Forum This week was a huge preparation week for our home meet! Last Friday, we had a girls team bonding event which was a blast. We did a lot of fun activities and built our relationships together as a team. We had a sleep over and then got up bright and early to work at the Wild Hog Marathon. It was fun to be there together to cheer on the runners. On Monday, we had our long run down University. Tuesday, we had our first speed workout of the week. We ran at Lincoln, which is our race course so that was super exciting. We had a lot of new kids that had never ran on the course, so that was really fun for them. On Thursday, we had another speed workout at Lincoln, and the nerves started kicking in. Friday was a really rainy and cold day. The max mileage that we could do was three, which was exciting for people who usually run 3+ miles. Saturday was the big day! We got to the tent at 11, and we cheered on our teammates the rest of the day. There were lots of team cuddles, as it was so cold outside. It was a really exciting meet for many kids who moved up from running middle school or JV to Varsity. Claire Hynek and Aria Kinseth both ran Varsity for the first time and did really well. Dylan Van de Bogert had a very good varsity race, running a new PR by over a minute, and Mikayla Weiss stepped up and had a great race, running her fastest time this season. We were able to win the fork, although it was a tight margin this year. But, we were victorious over Red River, which is always a big deal!
Lauren Harrison - Soph - Captain |
NEW Google drive to share pictures:
Parents please feel free to share. trade, and copy your Track & field pictures Google Drive AuthorVarious people will write about what is happening with the teams. Coach Allan and captains will be regular contributors. Alumni and parents are also welcome to submit entries. Archives
March 2024
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