-- A post-race interview with Cedar Cliff head coach Ken Roseberry.
Ken Roseberry
Cedar Cliff head coach
Was it a positive season overall?
Yes, it was a positive season and a positive experience. It was great to just get here, which was our dream. Now I just wish I could go back and maybe orchestrate things differently. I had wanted them out there fast and to get their name out there, and kind of knew in the back of my mind that I was going against what we all know that we were peaking early. But you still hope that there is a chance out there. And the kids said that if they could change things and go back and have the summer they typically have and then build up through the season, score 50 less points at States and then to come here and get 5th, they wouldn't change a thing. They all said they were happy to have experienced a perfect season, won North Carolina (Great American), got all the press, taking the pressure, holding on as long as they could so they could get here to experience this, they would choose this. I took responsibility for their race today, but they said they would all have made the same decisions.
What is the best accomplishment of this team this year?
I think the best thing they did was to handle the pressure. They handled it a lot better than I did. I was really feeling it, and I know it filtered to Pat (Caulfield), when in the middle of the season he said, enough is enough, I don't want anybody talking about any of this stuff. And that carried us through the second half of the season. We tried to get away from it, but couldn't completely. And they handled that pressure well. I think it's really hard to be that good for that long a time, and these kids were really good for a long stand, probably longer than many of the teams that are here. And I think it's really hard when you're coming out of that and losing fitness to still line up and race. They knew. The reason they fought me these last few weeks is they knew they had gone beyond their point. For them to take that kind of pressure at their age was impressive. I actually think they were wasted by the time States came along, and somehow they managed to scrape out a win, and that might go down as their greatest feat. A team that had already been off their best, and were really sitting there ready to be picked off by somebody that is coming on strong, and they held on. That would have been real devastating. Here, I told them that if they got last place - and I didn't think they would - I would not be upset. They had a great season. Now, they have some good opportunities in track, like the 4xmile for nationals, where they'll be a different group and go with the intent to get a place. Sometimes it takes adversity. A lot of these teams have these long traditions, and they win everything, and this team is a lot different. They had to win the state meet, and that's the reason we made this a dream and not a goal. I think a lot of the teams here, this was a goal. I take it the hardest because I can't stand to lose. I am going to work to make sure my teams get back to this level, and the next time we get back here, it's not going to be the same outcome. So whether it's here or a state meet, or wherever it is, this now gives me a tremendous amount of energy to move forward. This is not going to be the end of Cedar Cliff at this level.