Andrew loves running.
He joined his first Cross Country Team as a freshman in VA.
Cross Country is wonderful because there are no cuts. No matter how fast or slow, big or small; if you want to participate you show up and train. You compete as a team and you compete against yourself.
Andrew started his freshman year as a little guy who had never run before. He participated in several JV meets and was hooked.
In typical military brat fashion, we picked up and moved our high schooler his sophomore year. One of the saddest parts of moving for Andrew was leaving his team in VA. One of the very first people we contacted in FL was Andrew's new Cross Country coach. Coach Denny put Andrew at ease immediately! With a much smaller team, Andrew actually had a shot at running for the Varsity squad. Cross Country allowed him to become connected and make friends before the first bell of the first day of school. Suddenly his new school was not as overwhelming or lonely. This sport afforded him new friends who shared a passion for running.
By the time Andrew started his Junior year he was absolutely OBSESSED with all things running. He attended camp in Arizona. He read and researched all he could get his hands on. His team was getting faster and stronger. They worked hard together and had a coach that was very devoted to his boys. Andrew loved his Junior year team. He made some of his closest high school friends during his many hours of running and training. They jelled as a team and shared a passion for success and competition. It was an awesome season.
At last, Senior year! Andrew shared Captain-hood with one of his closest running buddies. They had a record breaking season as a team! These two boys led the fastest team the high school had seen in 25 years!
Hours of training and planning were spent each week as they strove towards their goal of reaching the State Finals; a goal not met since fall of 1988!
By a mere 4 points, our boys made history and made it to the State Finals!
They did it as a team! The team split is less than one minute. This means that from the time the first runner on their team crosses the finish line until the last one crosses is less than a minute. It was this tight split and teamwork that pushed them over the edge!
It has been an awesome 4 years.
We are going to miss watching our boy run week after week.
We love him with all our hearts!
My prayer is that he can run in some capacity where ever he goes.
He is such a hard worker who gives 100% to everything he does.
We are truly blessed.
Our 2014 Varsity Squad
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