By Michael Newman

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Hello everyone. I am writing on this on September 11. For the past 13 years, this date has been so significant for every American. It was a day where innocent lives were lost, our freedom challenged, and life in this country would never be the same.

My parents told me that I was playing on the floor when I was a year old while everybody around me was crying because President Kennedy was assassinated. Thirteen years ago, I could tell you exactly about that day. That is what happens when you go through a forever moment. You are supposed to remember every moment.

It was the first day of school for my two boys. For my youngest Matthew, it was his first day of school. After we dropped them off, we went to the grocery store. As I was paying for my groceries, the clerk was talking about a plane going into the Twin Towers. I was thinking it was just a small plane. When I got home, I turned on the TV and saw the horrific visions. The first thing I did was call the school. It was a new school and I wanted to make sure what their procedures were. No one in this country knew what was going on. The rest of the day I was numb. It was hard to explain to the boys what was going on. They were too young. There was nothing to do. Every cable channel was focusing on what happened in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. There was no sports, no music. Every radio station was news. ESPN was covering the ABC feed.

The seriousness of the situation hit me harder the next day when I had a meeting and had to drive on the Tri-State Tollway past O’Hare. I had grown up near the airport and was always used to the activity going on in that area. On the 12^th of September, nothing moved there. There was a silence in the air. No planes took off. They just sat there.

September 11^th is a day of remembrance. It is a day to pray for all of those who lost their lives and to the families who lost loved ones. It is also a day of thanksgiving to those who protect our freedoms and to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe. I hope you spent a little time in reflection and prayer yesterday.

Let’s go to a lighter subject and talk about some cross country.

The WSC-Silver

When I was running in the late seventies, the West Suburban Conference was the top cross country conference in the state. Every meet against conference rivals was a war. In 1973, the conference took the first three places at the state meet with York, Riverside-Brookfield, and Glenbard West leading the way and Proviso West finishing fifth.

We saw the same thing last fall in the 3A state meet. On the Boys side, Hinsdale Central wins the state meet with four of the first five teams in the conference. In the Girls meet, Glenbard West won the state championship. The strength of the conference is again starting show this early in the season. Five of the top ten teams in the DyeStat Illinois 3A Boys rankings are from the conference. Two of the top three 3A Girls teams are from the WSC-Silver.

This conference is one of the few conferences in the state that has old fashioned dual meets between the conference schools meaning that every team runs against the other before the conference meet. It is like iron sharpening iron. When you run against good competition every week, you just get better. Most of these teams train through these competitions. Here again, that is why they get so strong when the time counts. The duals start next week and most every meet should be a blood bath.

One thing that is not lost is that the respect that each coach and athlete has for one another within this conference. Each team wants to win and that ferocity is shown on the cross country course. It is not shown after the race is over.

Sportsmanship Alert

This is a great story that was sent to me by Palatine High School Girls assistant coach David Cox. This is one of the stories of why I like covering this sport.

It was rainy and the course was very sloppy and muddy at Ron Beese Park in Barrington yesterday (9/10). During the JV girls' race, one of the Barrington runners tripped over a downed tree branch and fell into the mud on the back loop through the forest. Palatine junior Brianna Vargas was running nearby and stopped to help her up. The Barrington runner was very upset, but thanked her opponent for stopping to help. They both continued on and finished the race.

Thank you Brianna for showing your character. Thank you for all of you that show that same kind of character and sportsmanship that has not been brought to anyone’s attention. It is the person that has character when they hold the same standards in their personal life as well as in the public eye.

This Weekend

With all eyes on the Peoria First to the Finish Invitational and the 185 teams that will be competing at Detweiller Park, there are still some meets that you should keep an eye on this weekend. Here is a glimpse of some of those meets:

Harvey Braus Invitational @ Lake Park – 3A #1 Glenbard West heads a strong Girls field at this meet. Six ranked teams will toe the line including #9 Schaumburg, #10 St. Charles East, #11 St. Ignatius, #12 Downers Grove North, and #14 Hoffman Estates. The individual race should be a good one with Freshman Phenom Audrey Ernst (North HS, St. Charles) challenging Lindsay Graham (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) and Torree Scull (East HS, St. Charles). Three ranked teams led by #16 St. Charles will head the Boys field. The late addition of #19 Jones College Prep will make things interested. However, they will be missing a few of their top runners due to ACT testing. #24 Huntley could challenge for the team title. Keagan Smith (Huntley HS) will be the favorite in this race.

Wauconda Invitational – This meet took a little of a hit with McHenry and Conant heading to Peoria. #15 Barrington will head the field. In the past, Barrington has run their JV team at this meet. With new coach Thomas Root, that may change. #25 Crystal Lake South could challenge 2A #11 Crystal Lake Central and 2A #24 Lake Forest along with Wheaton-Warrenville South and Lane Tech for the team championship. Kyle Cepeda (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) will be among the front runners with Pavlo Hutsalyuk (Lane Tech HS, Chicago) and Mark Myers (Lake Forest HS) challenging. 3A #15 Cary-Grove and #23 Lake Zurich head the field on the Girls side. It could be 2A #2 Kaneland or #3 Crystal Lake Central that will take home the first place trophy from Lakewood Forest Preserve.

Lee Halberg Invitational @ Springfield – Outside of Peoria, this could be the top 2A meet in the state. #2 Mahomet-Seymour will be the big favorite in the Boys race with #7 Springfield, #13 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, and #14 Chatham-Glenwood close in tow. 1A #6 Monticello make their debut in this meet. Alex Keeble (Mahomet-Seymour HS) should challenge Heath Warren (Springfield HS) for the individual title on the Lincoln Park course. #7 Chatham-Glenwood and #13 Springfield should challenge for the Girls team title. Lauren Whitehouse (Mahomet-Seymour) will be one of the runners to watch in this race.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda Invitational – The top 1A meet outside of Peoria. #2 Tolono Unity should be the favorite in this race with area rival #5 St. Joseph-Ogden and host #13 Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Jon Davis (Oakwood HS, Fithian) defeated Andrew Warnes (Unity HS, Tolono) by 16 seconds last week at Chrisman. The two will race against each other for first in this meet. The Girls race will feature #3 St. Joseph-Ogden and #8 Tolono Unity challenging for the win. Nicole Bagwell (Unity HS, Tolono) will be one of the runners to watch in the lead in the Girls individual race.

There will also be the Joliet Central Invitational, Princeton Invitational, Royal Cadet Invitational, the DePaul Prep Invitational, the Immaculate Conception Invitational, and the Belleville West Invitational that will take place in Illinois. Check back this weekend to DyeStat Illinois for recaps of these meets.

And finally…

Social media activity can be your best friend when you are trying to get a message out. It can also define who you are with just one wrong thing put on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or some other media source. When I was tweeting a couple of things that I published Thursday morning, NBA player Paul George put his opinion out to the public about what is going on with the NFL and what Ray Rice did. You can read that here.

Twenty minutes later, he deleted the tweet. The thing was that the statement that George made was out in the public. Thirty minutes later, the organization that he works for had to make a public apology for the statement that he made. The apology probably not matter to some. Their opinion on George probably changed because of that one impulsive statement.

No one is perfect. I can attest to that. Last year while I was at the Palatine Invitational, I made a derogatory comment on Twitter about Tony Jones who covers high school running and contributes to MileSplit Illinois. I thought it was a funny thing to say. It made me feel better inside. It was the wrong thing to do however. Someone from RunnerSpace sent me an e-mail telling me to take the tweet down. I did one half hour later. Nevertheless, that comment was out there and I was in conflict. Why was I so stupid to make that comment? The next day I made a general apology about the comments. I never did apology publically to Jones. For that, I am sorry that I made those comments Tony.

In this age that we live in, social media dictates how we act and how we behave. It forces you to build a tougher than normal skin. I have been called different names online. I have been told that I was an arm-chair quarterback. I’ve had things that have been said about me that are simply not true. A few years ago, I would have reacted differently publically. In the last year, my perspective has changed. My skin got a little tougher. Opinions are opinions. You cannot change the people that say them. People will not always agree with you. That’s just a fact of life.

It is not fair to high school kids who sometimes have to listen to criticism on social media. They are kids for god’s sake. I will give credit last year when one of the members of the Palatine Girls XC team when they made a public statement stating they would see everyone on twitter after the state meet. It takes some smarts to not do what everyone is doing.

If you are in high school, how will one stupid statement or a picture published publically affect you for the rest of your life? A student/athlete going into his senior year was told by a college recruiting him for football that he was being dropped from the school’s recruiting list. The reason why? He published a picture on his Facebook page of him at a party with people behind him drinking.

It is a mistake that some kids make. That impulsive minute that you think it would be cool to say something publically or post a funny picture to your social page can change the path that you are destined to go on. More and more colleges look at your social history. Do they want to give an individual a full ride to their school if their conduct would not fit in with their school? In the old days, there was not that scrutiny. Now in our technological age, kids need to grow up quicker.

The answer is pretty simple. When you see something that upsets you, take a deep breath. If you start sending an e-mail that could be derogatory or putting something on Facebook or Twitter that could hurt someone, do not hit send. Do not even start to type. Know when to stop. Know when to say when.

I know it is a cliché to take the high road. Think of the consequences when you put that statement out socially. Even if you delete that after you publish it, those footprints that you make are put in cement. It could change what happens in your life. Search your heart when there is conflict from something is said about you. It may mean taking a tougher road. Good things in life that happen to you are not because they are handed to you on a silver platter. It is the tough decisions that shape who you are. Like knowing when not to say something in social media.