Great Bend , KS — Class 5A Regional Cross Country Championship Great Bend, Kansas October 21, 2023 Link to Race Results: https://ks.milesplit.com/meets/577283-kshsaa-5a-regional-great-bend-2023/results Today our Varsity Cross Runners competed in the Regional Cross Country Championship in Great Bend, Kansas! Going into Regionals the Lions had goals of qualifying for the State Cross Country meet, running personal records, and having fun! Our last practice of the week I left our team with a quote from one of my favorite Sports movies ever "McFarland USA" ; I told the team the following "When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment, or the moment defines you." Regionals was a defining moment for our team and us coaches can say that our runners truly gave it their all today and defined their moment to end the season. As a team we did not run as many personal records as we would have liked, but today there was a lot of heart, love, and community shown within our team and everyone had a lot of fun! Everyone ran the best possible race they could today and that is all we can ever ask as a coaching staff. We couldn't be more happy of this group of runners! They all have the heart of champions! After the race as a team everyone enjoyed a burger, fries, and shake from Bogeys in Hutchinson, KS! We had an extraordinary team accomplishment happen today as our Boys team finished 4th overall and were 25 points away from qualifying for the State meet as a team! If each one of our runners ran roughly 16 seconds faster we would have been in the conversation of qualifying! We had a truly remarkable young man Luke Griffith qualify for the State Cross Country meet, and we had an exceptional young lady Adeline Hudson end her season with a 1 minute PR! There were so many emotions filled in this day and I want to take this time to highlight our 3 seniors. None of our 3 seniors qualified for the State Cross Country meet and today was their last race of their high school career. With as much joy and emotion that happened today it was also a time of sadness for these individuals. Nathan Harkman: For those who do not know I have been coaching the cross country program in what is currently my 4th year. Coach Ford is in his 3rd year. Nathan is our one senior whom I have had the honor of working with during his 4 years at Goddard High School. No one else from his class remained on the cross country team. Nathan stuck with our program through it's growing times when I first came in all the way through its recent successes. This man truly helped paved the way into what the program is today. He is the hardest worker I know always giving 110% every time he practices/races. Nathan I know you did not end on a PR today in your last race, but I want you to know you have had a lasting impact on the Goddard Cross Country program and I shed a tear as I write this sentence. We are truly going to miss you. Lucas Jahay: Lucas comes to our team his Senior year and this young man truly is something else! There is never a dull moment with Lucas! He is an extremely hard worker and as a team we are truly thankful for his service he will be involved in with the Marines! While fulfilling his commitments for the Marines Lucas found time to make a lasting impact on the Cross Country team with so many great memories along the way! Lucas you had a great season and it was an absolute pleasure working with you this season! I will never forget all of the the memories we were able to have. "Oh baby it all comes down to this!" Thank you again Lucas! Zoe Bahner: Zoe originally was not a part of our Cross Country team! Through conversation in class I was able to convince her to come out and run for our team! I will never forget what Zoe told me her first day of practice. I told the Lions we would be completing a 45 minute run. It was dark and early in the morning when the temperatures were still high. After I gave our workout she said "Coach that is crazy!" Zoe completed the workout that day and continued to push herself throughout the rest of the season proving to herself that Cross Country is not crazy and she was capable of running long distance and so much more! Zoe you were such a bright addition to our team and you should be proud of what you accomplished this season! You better come and talk to us once Basketball season comes around how you are running all those line sprints with ease! :) OUR STATE QUALIFIER LUKE GRIFFITH! Today Luke Griffith qualified for the State Cross Country meet in Lawrence, KS with a new personal record of 17:00! His average mile pace was an astounding 5:28! Luke was 9 seconds away from 1st place who ran a 16:51 and seconds within 2nd and 3rd. Luke us coaches are so proud of you, but there is still work left to be done! Lets go after a sub 17:00 race time next week in Lawrence, KS and represent Goddard High School at the State level!