Moeller Cross Country sprints into first
Nick Momper Running at the Milford Invitational
Though the team has begun the year with a bit of a rough start, the Running Crusaders are shaping up to have a big comeback in the latter half of the season.
The team started out the season by hosting the Moeller Primetime Invitational at Christ’s Church in Mason. The meet is one of the biggest meets in the area, it hosts 15 teams from Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Columbus area. The Primetime Invitational allows all of the high school runners to compete under the lights, something they do not get to do very often. Due to the stiff competition at the Invitational, Moeller did not finish as well as they hoped to finish.
“Our top guys have been out due to injuries but are looking to make a strong come back” said David Prenger, Head Coach of Moeller’s Cross Country.
Mr. Prenger is pumped and excited for this season. “Each year gets better and better coaching here at Moeller”. Prenger has coached at all levels of cross-country form junior high to high school level. Including coaching at Ursuline for a year. He’s now going on coaching his 11th year here at Moeller as the head coach of the Cross-Country team.
When asked about the outlook for this season he said, “We are going to be a much improved team from last year, the team has a stronger chemistry”. He informed me that the team takes an annual team outing 3-night, 4 day trip up to Springfield Ohio. Here the team can train hard, but also bond and grow closer as a team. Thanks to Mr. Gray, there is a highlight type on MoeTube for fans to check out. When the workouts were done for the day, the boys got some down time where they could go enjoy being part of a team. They all went go-karting, and took the team’s annual canoe trip. Legend has it that Nick Momper ended up on the outside of the canoe floating down the river after Ethan Cepluch managed to flip him and is teammates.
The team continues to train harder to get ready for the GCL Championship October 12 at Fenwick High school. The team is running everyday after school and in the mornings on Fridays, putting some serious work in. The team runs up to 11 miles a day in order to reach a combined mileage of 65 miles a week.
Nick Momper is working to get his 5,000 meter time down to 17 minutes. He plans on doing this by running longer each day so that he can accomplish his goal.
The team faces many challenges ahead with keeping up to physical fitness. Some of the guys are suffering form shin splints, blisters on their feet, and dehydration. Unlike most sports, cross country is both a team and an individual sport. During competitions, every runner is trying to beat their personal times, as well as be one of the top five runners for their squad. There are only seven runners for your school that can participate. Every runner is trying to shoot for their team to have a perfect score which is 15.
Although the season hasn’t started as planned, there is tons of potential on the team for them to beat Elder and win the GCL title. There would also be a fighting chance to win state. On September 14, the Crusaders were invited to the Milford Eagle CC Invitational and we took second overall.
The Ross Invitational will be held on October 5th at Ross High School. Come out and support the Crusaders.