Speaking of Sports

By John Fragodt, Sports Reporter

There are so many highs and lows in sports, especially in high school.  I can remember a lot of highs and lows for myself, personally, and if you give me some time, I’ll recount a number of highs and lows that my kids experienced in their high school and college sports’ careers.  Yes, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for student-athletes who are out for sports; along with the accolades, congratulations and success, there can also be a lot of heartbreak and disappointment, especially when the athletes start to reach the pinnacle of their sports.  During this past spring season, there were a number of highs and lows for Minnewaska Area athletes.

•  I won’t forget the boys 800 meter relay at the sub-section meet.  The team had made it to state last spring and was gearing for a return trip this season.  I was waiting to take a picture of the second exchange during the sub-section meet at Minnewaska Area, but it never came as the second and third runners dropped the baton and just like that, the race was over for the Lakers.  However, three of the runners on that relay did make it to state in the 400 meter relay and they took full advantage of the opportunity, racing to a school-record time in the state prelims and going on to place third at state.

The dropped baton reminded me of a time when I was covering the 400 meter relay team at state for Benson-KMS and I had my son ready to take a picture of the second exchange.  As I took the picture of the first exchange, the runners dropped the baton and suddenly, the race was over for Benson-KMS despite the third and fourth runners not even touching the baton . . . and before my son had a chance to take any pictures.

•  Sophomore Carter LeClair and junior Drew Bleick qualified to state doubles’ last spring and were the top seed for this year’s Section 8A Tourney.  Bleick had not lost all season going into the section individual tourney and LeClair had just one loss.  However, they stumbled one time all season and it happened to be during the section semifinals when they lost a match they probably should have won.

Just like that, they missed out on a state individual berth despite winning their next match to place third.  Lucky for them, they still went to state with their team and they both still have at least one more season to go.

The heartbreaking loss reminded me of when my two sons lost a close three-set match in the section semifinals after qualifying to state the previous year as a sophomore and junior.  It was a very tough loss for my sons, but it was softened a bit by the fact they both competed in the state track meet the same spring and my younger son did go on to earn another state doubles’ berth his senior year playing with his cousin.

•  The Laker girls 800 meter relay team was in a tight finish at the section meet and the Lakers finished fourth in a race where the top four teams came across the finish line with times within .27.  Yes, that’s right, four teams were less than a half-second apart.  At first there was disappointment, but when the team of Emma Hellerman, Ellie Winter, Dacia Fleury and Mya VanLuik realized they had met the state standard to qualify for state, there was a lot of excitement.

•  Thatcher Sherlin qualified to state last year as an eighth-grader, making the state cutoff by two strokes, while teammate Zach Gugisberg missed out on state by a few strokes.  Well, this year, Sherlin missed the state-qualifying score by two strokes while Gugisberg went on to tie for medalist honors at the section meet and earn his first state berth.

•  Olivia Danielson has been one of the top athletes at Minnewaska Area for the last few years and she still has one season to go.  While racing in the 800 meter run at sections, Danielson was passed by teammate Nori Song, who went on to place first.  Danielson was battling with a runner from Border West for second place when she got near the inside of the track and ended up falling as she tried to dive for the finish line.

The Border West girl not only ended up going on to earn the final state berth by placing second, but Danielson was given a disqualification after failing to nudge past the finish line as she fell to the inside of the track.

It reminded me of my senior year when I fell at the district meet (now sub-sections) in the 110 meter hurdles, an event I hadn’t lost in all year.

Danielson did come back to run a great 400 leg in the 1600 meter relay to earn a state berth and she also ran on the 3200 meter relay team, which qualified to state.  Both relay teams went on to earn state medals.

Yes, high school athletes learn to take the good with the bad.  Just because you show up doesn’t mean things are going to go your way.  In order to have success in high school sports, you have to fight, be resilient, work hard and most importantly, you have to have a very tough mental attitude that isn’t going to let a few disappointments bring you down.

And, if you can do that, you just might have the success the Laker trap, girls golf, boys tennis and track and field teams had this spring by qualifying to state as teams.  “The second place finish for the girls as a team was a highlight that the girls and us coaches will never forget,” said boys coach Zach Traphagen.  “Just a fantastic conclusion to a phenomenal season for the girls’ team.”

Yes, you just have to take the highs with the lows.