The men of Rockhurst High School achieved a feat no Missourian team has accomplished since Potosi in 2006: qualify for Nike Cross Nationals. Two weeks ago, the Hawklets traveled out to Portland, Oregon to compete in the only national meet which crowns a team champion. They finished 13th out of the 22 present teams, trekking through rain, mud, and muck, and adding two individuals in the top 70 with Henry Acorn finishing 60th and Kai Somasegaran capping off a strong comeback season with a 69th place finish.
Missouri MileSplit caught with the boys and Coach Michael Dierks after the meet to hear about the experience.
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Henry Acorn
MileSplit: What was the energy like after qualifying for NXN?
HA: There wasn't much yelling or loud celebrations. It was one of those moments where you look up at the sky as if God is up there, and you just take everything. NXN is arguably the hardest high school meet to qualify for, and it's been a dream of all us since freshman year. Walking back to your tent is where it finally felt like all our training finally paid off.
MileSplit: What was the experience and NXN like?
HA: It will be a trip that I will never forget. It felt like the pinnacle to celebrate the team's brotherhood and racing. We told ourselves to just enjoy the race, and have a little fun in the middle. I told the guys before the race to try to smile at least once during the race. When meeting new people, it felt like an honor to say we were from Kansas City. It was truly an honor to introduce what Kansas City cross country is all about to the nation.
Photo: x.com/GoHawklets
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Andrew Davis
The energy to me felt like a mixture of excitement and nervousness. We really didn't know how to react, as we achieved something that we didn't even think possible two years ago. I couldn't believe that we would be surrounding ourselves with the best of the best, and it finally sunk in when we arrived at nationals that we were the best of the best. We told ourselves to enjoy the moment more than anything, regardless of whether it was the best or worst race of our lives. I feel like the biggest takeaway from our experience in Portland is that fear is inevitable, but the ones who can find the light within the storm and find the comfort within the discomfort will be the most successful.
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Jack McGovern
The energy after our NXN qualification was electric. We all found out at different times and it was a lot of confusion if we made it or not. The moment that we found out together, it was so exciting and a memory I will not forget.
Getting to run at NXN was one of the most fun weekends of my life. We got to have so many fun experiences that I will never forget. The race was horrible and wet, but still one of the best races I've ever had.
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Kai Somasegaran
MS: What was the energy like after qualifying for NXN?
KS: I remember when the team and I heard that we qualified for NXN everyone was in shock for a second. Then suddenly we all started hugging each other and jumping up and down with pure excitement, and a little relief, once we realized what we had just accomplished together! It was a truly remarkable moment for all of us!
MS: What was that experience like for you and the boys?
KS: We were already very tight with each other and that experience brought us even closer together as a team and as brothers. It will forever be a moment that I remember and cherish!
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Jack Morrison
MS: What was the energy like after qualifying for NXN?
JM: The energy was just through the roof when we found out that we had qualified for NXN. Everyone on the team was just in partial shock or celebrating alongside our coaches and parents.
MS: What was that experience like for you and for the boys?
JM: This experience proved to be one of the greatest accomplishments we have achieved as a team and I also believe that this experience brought the team closer together not only in the sport of cross-country but just in general as well. I am also very grateful that the seniors were so accepting of the two freshmen on the team.
Quote:
"This is our jam." - Bill Hayes
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Photo: Alan Combs
William (Bill) Hayes
The energy was amazing after qualifying. We were all jumping up and down and hugging each other. We set the goal of qualifying for nationals all the way back in July during our Colorado training trip. Then, we didn't talk about it much until after State, but we always knew this season would be special. The experience of nationals was also awesome! We met many fellow elite runners from around the country and met U.S.A. olympians.
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Zackary Zumwalt
The team was just so excited about the opportunity to go to NXN. Being able to represent not only Rockhurst but Kansas City was amazing. The experience was incredible. The race was insane with the muddy conditions which made it more challenging but resulted in fun memories.
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Coach Michael Dierks
It was a surreal moment after qualifying because the PA guy kept saying the top team qualified but I knew it was too 2. So there was confusion on parents and runners until we looked up the rule to help alleviate fears.
Since MSHSAA doesn't allow us to be coaches I was a super fan. We had great parents like Andy Bond and Sarah and VI Somasegaran to chaperone the boys. They were amazing!
From a training standpoint, we planned to race at NXR with our high tier goal of qualifying. The boys set that back in the summer when training up in Colorado. So it was part of the training plan. But once we qualified I reached out to some trusted coaching friends since we had 3 weeks. The kids took several days to recover before trying to build back up. I think having the intensity of state then coming back 9 days later is hard, but they managed. It wasn't super intense as the season is really long at this point. The boys touched upon a long run, threshold, yoga, weights, sprinters, and a couple race pace interval workouts.
The NXN course has sharp turns and momentum stopping hills which is not very similar to either Gans or Terre Haute. Might be closer to old Oak Hills. So, they focused on some of that in the training.
What was impossible to stimulate were the weather conditions. Cold, wet and muddy is not something we raced in over the last couple of years. Additionally being in the middle of the start line and having teams fly off the start put us much further back than we had been. They had to try and work up through a highly talented field and thick pack. Very hard and lesson learned. I was proud that they didn't get discouraged and kept fighting.
I only saw the boys at the course when in Oregon but was so grateful to be joined by several assistant coaches: Coach Dobens, Coach Haddad, Coach Ratermann. We cheered them on as best we could. Nike was a first class experience according to the boys.