Mars boys had set goal in August to take No.2 team berth in state cross country meet
Yesterday, Planets boys cross country ran as a team at the PIAA championship meet in Hershey. The team actually got there on a well-planned path through the season.
“We set a goal at the beginning of year to be second [in the WPIAL], and we were second.” said Mars head coach Dale Boring.
The goal had actually been set in August by Boring and assistant coach Larry Young. The team and coaches had thought Quaker Valley would be pretty good, and that it might not be possible for Mars to best the Quakers in WPIAL competition. But Mars’ performance at an early invitational (held in Rochester, NY) gave the planets some extra motivation.
“The kids had the confidence to do something cool,” said Boring.
But, where there are goals set for multi-month time spans, there are twists. Boring noted that the team actually changed its goal from placing second in the WPIAL to placing first. It did not happen.
Nonetheless, Mars’ coaches studied placements and results across Mars’ field of competition. This was done in order to help runners maintain progress within the field. As the coaches studied the numbers, they actually discouraged their runners from doing the same.
“I think it’s just the day and age of the internet,” said Boring. “We’re adamant about staying away from that,” he explained. Boring didn’t want the runners to set any unrealistic goals. He and the rest of the coaching staff wanted to set realistic goals for the runners –goals that would allow them to maintain placements and stay on track for state qualification.
The irony is that in a recent interview with Sports Town and the Post-Gazette, South Park’s Tyler Rigby cited Mars’ Scott Slaney as being one of the tougher competitors he would encounter in the WPIAL championship meet.
Complete results for the Mars team (and all teams/runners) at yesterday’s state meet can be found at runhigh.com.
“We set a goal at the beginning of year to be second [in the WPIAL], and we were second.” said Mars head coach Dale Boring.
The goal had actually been set in August by Boring and assistant coach Larry Young. The team and coaches had thought Quaker Valley would be pretty good, and that it might not be possible for Mars to best the Quakers in WPIAL competition. But Mars’ performance at an early invitational (held in Rochester, NY) gave the planets some extra motivation.
“The kids had the confidence to do something cool,” said Boring.
But, where there are goals set for multi-month time spans, there are twists. Boring noted that the team actually changed its goal from placing second in the WPIAL to placing first. It did not happen.
Nonetheless, Mars’ coaches studied placements and results across Mars’ field of competition. This was done in order to help runners maintain progress within the field. As the coaches studied the numbers, they actually discouraged their runners from doing the same.
“I think it’s just the day and age of the internet,” said Boring. “We’re adamant about staying away from that,” he explained. Boring didn’t want the runners to set any unrealistic goals. He and the rest of the coaching staff wanted to set realistic goals for the runners –goals that would allow them to maintain placements and stay on track for state qualification.
The irony is that in a recent interview with Sports Town and the Post-Gazette, South Park’s Tyler Rigby cited Mars’ Scott Slaney as being one of the tougher competitors he would encounter in the WPIAL championship meet.
Complete results for the Mars team (and all teams/runners) at yesterday’s state meet can be found at runhigh.com.
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