2018 Season Held A Special Magic Of Togetherness

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By Fiona Max for DyeStat

The team clambered onto the awards stage at the 2018 Nike Cross Nationals in Portland with Wayzata from Minnesota and Naperville North of Illinois. The nation’s top teams stood shoulder to shoulder, our anticipation rising in the wisps of hot breath curling up in the December air. Any moment, the announcer’s voice would reverberate through the tall firs. Whatever he said next would speak to the months of trial and preparation that had led each team to the finish line.

We waited.

Everybody by The Backstreet Boys played faintly in my head — conjuring images of sequins, Blackberry phones and bleached hair. Of all the moments Nick Carter could have ruined in my 16 years, he had decided to “rock his body” right into the zenith of my junior cross country season. I couldn’t blame Nick, though. His greased up “Everybody” mantra was the mindset that made the Summit girls the team we were last fall. 

The team was cobbled together like a left-over meal from a sparsely stocked fridge — a former alpine ski racer; a competitive swimmer; a skater girl turned runner and three soccer players. 

Even our coaches were out of the ordinary, with Jim McLatchie, an 82-year-old Scotsman, and his rainbow-haired wife, Carol.

Until 2018, our accomplishments were largely local. The team had won the past 11 state championships for 5A schools in Oregon, and we had grown too comfortable in that division. Something about the energy was different this year. The team could feel it crackling on long runs and during strides. It lit up the weight room and sparked our conversations. 

At our first invitational race, we beat Jesuit, our rival and a storied team that had edged us out the year before. At our next invitational, we won again. After the race, an interviewer asked us if we were starting to feel that the team was special. My teammate responded: “This isn’t my team — this is my family.” On the bus ride home, we listened to Everybody on repeat. 

A couple weeks before our state meet that October, Jim had a stroke. His intensive rehabilitation would keep him in the hospital for two weeks. At times he couldn’t remember his name or why he was in a hospital bed. Not once, though, did he forget to write a workout for the team. 

For us, Jim’s stroke was a wake-up call. The team was running for something bigger than mere ranking now. We were running for a man who embodied everything we stood for. We were running for the foundation he had built for us. We were running because time is precious. We would run the rest of the season for Jim. 

For our state meet, my twin sister, Isabel, coined the term “As One.” This phrase became the rhythm for our state meet and carried us to a victory. Then it took us to the starting line of nationals.

We were aware of Fayetteville-Manlius' towering legacy, but in all honesty we were clueless about our position or our potential as a team. 

That December day, as we waited for results the temperature dropped, and a Pacific Northwest fog hung around our shaking bodies. Third place had been called and just two teams remained placeless.

 Jim, stubborn as a mule, had recovered steadily from his stroke. “I have to see you guys through nationals before I kick the bucket,” he had explained while propped up in his hospital bed. 

The announcer named second place, and we erupted. The only moment I remember was Jim turning to us, his nose pink with cold.  “We won the bloody thing!” he said.

This fall, the team is taking everything in bite-size pieces. A Nationals performance has not necessarily been the season’s focus. Each week presents a new challenge and an opportunity to rise to it. The little things are what create the big picture. 

Having done it ourselves, the team understands the very real possibility that other top teams could sweep the national title come December. The field is as deep as ever and last December’s podium shake up was only the beginning. 

A win is never guaranteed. We will put our best foot forward knowing that.