All smiles for Emmaus this season

 

Emmaus' success could hinge on resilient senior Meade

Admittedly, she cried.

A lot.

Practically after every meet. Just ask her teammates.

Of course, that can happen to a runner when you go from being second in your district to fifth on your team in less time than it takes to switch from algebra to geometry.

Such was the plight for Emmaus senior Melissa Meade, who went from not only being Emmaus’ top runner, but runner-up to Chanelle Price at the PA District 11 Championship meet as a freshman, to number five on her team after the Green Hornets first dual meet the following fall.

While sophomore slumps or setbacks for young female distance stars are common, such juxtaposition among one’s own team in the span of a year is not. But the emergence of classmate Lindsey Graybill, coupled with the arrival of the Faust triplets, Amanda, Brianna and Christina, led to Meade’s displacement. And resulting disappointment.

“Sophomore year I cried after every race,” said Meade. “Pretty much I was mentally beat every single race. I started to accept it junior year. Now I’m just working my way up again. The fact that I’ve accepted it has helped me get past it.”

An improved and inspired Meade (Pictured right, photo by Don Rich) could hold the key for PA #1 and defending state champion Emmaus as it looks to move onto the national stage with NXN squarely in its crosshairs.

On the flat and fast Lehigh University 5k course, Emmaus’ top five ran to 19:09 average, with a 53-second spread, en route to a convincing 56-point win over PA #2 Cumberland Valley, 77-133. Once again it was Graybill leading the way for the Green Hornets with a third place finish overall (18:41), while Meade worked her way through the pack to the third spot on her team, 15th overall. As usual, the triplets finished alphabetically, with Amanda placing 12th, Brianna (20th) and Christina (31st). Junior Kelsey Coates (76th) and senior Meaghan Zang (109th) rounded out the varsity seven.

By comparison, when Meade was the number five runner for Emmaus, as it ran a close third to Shenendehowa (NY) and Lincoln-Sudbury (MA), at the Bowdoin Park Classic two weeks ago the, the Green Hornets spread was one minute, 21 seconds. Translation: Emmaus' national dreams rely heavily on the resilient senior.

Emmaus head coach Dan Wessner welcomed Meade’s performance, though; it did not come as a surprise to the man who has monitored her progress for four years.

“We had a workout about a week ago and she was hanging with the top couple of girls like she hadn’t done before,” Wessner said. “I said a couple of things to her, and I think it clicked with her. Hopefully this keeps going because she is entirely capable of running where she did today.

“She knows she is one of those keys. If she is going to be back at four or five, it’s got to be much closer to two and three. She absolutely knows that if we're going to do something beyond Pa., [the improvement] has got to be at that spot.”

Added Graybill: “She’s definitely coming back this year. I can tell. She has more of a fire. When she wants something, she goes for it.”

The same can be said for Emmaus.

This isn’t your typical internet-age team that ducks competition or hibernates during the early season, waiting until most of the leaves have detached from the trees before running a meaningful race. When the Pennsylvania season opened on August 29 at the Viking Invitational, Emmaus was there. When it had a chance to see some of the best teams the region has to offer, and preview the NXN regional course, several weeks ago at the Bowdoin Park Classic, (Wappingers Falls, NY), Emmaus was there. And when the top teams from the region advance to Portland for the NXN (December 6), Emmaus wants to be there, too.
“We still want to be repeat state champs,” Wessner said. “But they got a little taste of running against teams across the northeast, and running against some great competition, and falling not too far short last year. So yeah, they want to take that next step, qualify and get out to Nike Team Nationals.”

They are not shy about it. The group has a goal and speaks of it openly. Some teams and coaches might avoid such questions, preferring to keep their lofty goals and expectations internal. Not this group. They put it out there. Mouthing the words Nike Cross Nationals while at dinner, a dance or during one of their many training runs in the Lehigh Valley is not taboo.

Confidence is good. Prefontaine would be proud.


“We talk about Nike Cross Nationals all the time” Graybill said. “We first heard about it at our [summer] camp last year. We were all pumped for it. When we placed fifth last year at the regional meet, we were like, ‘we’ve got to get there next year.’ This year, we’re going to go for it because we’ve been together for three years, so we don’t want to let it go."

Higher aspirations have led to adjustments. Necessitated by what they hope will be a season that extends into December, well beyond the Pennsylvania state meet on November 1, Wessner and the girls are making schedule and training adjustments based on their experience of a year ago.

“Last year was interesting on everybody’s part,” Wessner said. “It was the first time we’ve done anything beyond the state level. It was a learning experience for everybody, me included. We had never been state champs, so that was still priority one. I think we backed off a little bit too early with some of the things we were doing. They’re tired now. We’re keeping the mileage up. We haven’t really stepped into the speed work yet.”

Reiterated Graybill: “We want to really go for it.”

And if they make it, expect tears of joy.