Welcome to "He Said, She Said", cross country style, as our coaching staff and 45 running Bears (not to mention five who came and cheered), ascended upon The Wingfoot Invitational in Cartersville Saturday morning. Below features the "she" (senior Cate Wassenaar), and the "he" (Coach Dunn), as they stride back and forth with their take on this marquis race…
 
Cate: Wingfoot: the best meet of the year. The beginning of fall mixed with a cross country meet on steroids, what's not to love? (The porta johns but those can be avoided) As a senior it feels weird thinking that this will be my last year racing here. I've loved competing here and I'm so grateful for all the memories made. 
 
Dunn: Cate's above thoughts are interesting as senior Henry Wood, post-race, said to me: "This was my last Wingfoot! It's been such a special race." As I've written, it's a trip to a rock concert where a cross country meet breaks out. And Cate was right – you do have to avoid the porta johns, but that's true pretty much across the board.

Cate: The wake up for this year was 5:20 and looking at my phone I see a message from my neighbor saying he doesn't need a ride anymore because he's got a bug bite. Interesting. On one hand I'm grateful to not hear him singing at five am but I do feel bad for him. The bus left at 5:50 after several students were fashionably late and I was the designated coffee holder for a moment as well. 
 
Dunn: It's 5:45 a.m. – do you know where your team is? There they come, sporting pillows and blankets and wraps, mattress marks on their faces, even a teddy bear or two has been known to make these trips. And us coaches, up front, who stay awake to supply snacks and make sure the bus driver knows where he's going.
 
Cate: Sleeping on the bus is difficult. We are cramped into a metal tube while some try to sleep, and others prevent it. I pulled out my old sleeping bag and got some more needed shut eye. Soon enough, we were there. When the bus slows due to a line of traffic and the sudden brightness of portable stadium lights blinds you, that's Wingfoot. 
 
Dunn: You hear and feel Wingfoot before you actually see it. It's electric, to quote from an old song. Lights. Amps. Stages. Music. Podiums. Hay bales. And later both heat and dust await. You've been there, done that, but every year it's still something to take in – plus some kids are seeing it for the first time.
 
Cate: We set up the tent and Harris Bradford runs by while I'm still half asleep making me think, "I wish I had the energy to do that." Unfortunately, I don't, so I crawled back into the sleeping bag until I was woken up for pictures. Posing by the hay bales is tradition and so is taking my selfie with Dunn. All these things, no matter my grumbling about it in the present, will be missed. 
 
Dunn: The "hay bale" picture is obligatory. I have 20 or so in my phone. On a day when I'm sad or depressed, I pull them out of my "File that Makes me Smile." Fittingly, it's not the race results that resonate, it's the stories I remember of each kid, pieces of puzzles past and present. It makes me smile – until it makes me think of how old I'm getting. 

Cate: Until our race, we cheer on others, rest, and stretch. Normally the tent is filled with anxious nerves, but the crew seemed extra sleepy today. I cheered on all the boys' races and then got ready to warm up. That was when I once again faced… the dreaded porta johns. You haven't run Wingfoot till you have been baptized with the stench of those things. That's the truth, but after that misery, we made our way down to the start. 
 
Dunn: A coach's angst is getting the kids to the start line on time. Mind you, they're good kids – great ones even – but you put them all in a pack, and agendas and time frames leave their minds faster than seeds thrown to pigeons. It's not personal – something that took me years to learn – and I've also learned they'll get there. I think…
 
Cate: At the start, we did our final stretches and warmups. My wonderful teammate decided to dump cold water on me, and I was upset but mid race, I was very thankful. The race began with the gun going off and I sprinted to get ahead of the pack. Settling into your pace is the hardest part, especially with the sun beating down on you, and it was hot as hades. I was so happy I got to run with my friends though, I love them so much and it was fun to compete alongside them. We all finished together, and I am so thankful my last Wingfoot was filled with great memories. Thank you to my coaches and my teammates for their support and love. I cannot wait to see what happens next. 
 
Dunn: I actually got a text that Cate rolled her ankle but was going to gut it out. This was fitting, as we already have one on crutches, another running sick, and now Cate jumping over hay bales with only a leg-and-a-half. We're going to have to tape this thing back together in time for the second half of the season. Regardless, if they're good kids, isn't that what really matters?
 
Writer's note: Thanks Cate! When you're in your 20^th year of writing up cross country meets, simply names and times can start to read like a New York City phone book. Always love other perspectives, and what pops out of those spontaneous heads… And like I said in chapel the other day, "We had some pretty good times…but a really good time!"
 
Peace out…
 
Quick results:
Harris Bradford – 16:50 in Varsity A Race
 
Girls varsity top five: Ellison Losin (22:09); Beatrice Jones (22:37); Brooke Hausmann (24:07); Belle Moore (25:01; and Brooke Benedict (25:11).
 
Boys' varsity top five: Gavin Miles (18:27); Ethan Ganucheau (18:31), Cooper Knowles (19:01); Daniel Hill (19:18); and Bobby Spencer (20:08).
 
JV girls top five: Cate Wassenaar, Blair Huber, Grace Leonard, Eliana Gerbi, and Claire Wilhelm.
 
Boys JV top five: Gavin Campos, Patrick Mathis, Bobby Shapiro, Jackson Mullins, and Fernando Notario
 
Next up: At Wesleyan, next Saturday the 27^th. It's a preview of the Sectional Course.
 
-Cate and Dunn