Boys cross country battled it out at the chilly meet on Tuesday, Sept. 18. The standings came to Valparaiso in first, LC in second, and LaPorte in third.

“During the race, I always try to keep my eyes on the guy in front of me and tell myself that I’m better than him. Once I pass him, I search for the next one,” Alexander Nottingham (12) said.

Coach Rudy Skorupa said he trained the team like he would for any other meet. The team went over the race plans, because they knew Valparaiso would be very good. The team then focused on beating LaPorte.

“In order to mentally prepare for this meet, I kept telling myself that this would be the last time I would ever run on our home course. The thought was bittersweet, but it was my motivation nonetheless,” Nottingham said.

“We ran really quite well. Probably our best meet of the year as far as doing what we needed to do,” Skorupa said.

Despite the fall weather rolling in, the cold seemed to help some runners. Nathan Zajac (10) said he likes running in the cold weather, because he feels he runs better. Zajac even felt as though he broke his personal record.

Coach Skorupa is retiring this year after coaching and teaching for 40 years.

“You’ll miss so many things: competitions, working with the kids and helping them succeed, and the very good friends made over the years,” Skorupa said.