Path to the Podium-Lovett Boys
Everyone sees the picture of a team on the podium, with huge smiles and the trophy in hand. What people don't see is the behind the scenes events that led to a spectacular achievement. In this article, Lovett coach Everett Smulders describes what it took for his boys to win the State Championship in Class A-AAA Private.
XC 2023
Any seniors that set a good example or laid the foundation?
In my first year of coaching this group, I was fortunate to have Kiran Menachery lead these knuckleheads in the right direction. There was an entirely new training system to introduce. Kiran did a great job of setting a high standard for the team. Not showing up to Sunday long runs was simply not going to get us in the direction we needed to go. We started doing 6AM practice. We started lifting weights. Kiran led these guys through this transition.
Any results that gave motivation (good or bad)
We left 2023 proud of our massive improvement as a team but getting 6th place at state as a team left a sour taste in our mouth. We wanted to win the thing and we got 6th. We always wanted to beat Pace but they had beaten us the majority of the time last year which always bothered us. Knowing we were going into a new division, that gave us confidence that our path to a state title was closer in reach.
Winter 2023
Anyone that stepped up their training with XC already in mind?
Our transition from XC 2023 to track 2024 was when this group really started to hit their stride. We picked up where we left off with XC and continued to get to work. These guys got the same winter training that I got at Ole Miss, so when they came out in the Spring they were ready to go. They made a really big step from 2022 XC to 2023 XC, but their step from 2023 XC to 2024 track was massive.
What was the mindset of the non-seniors?
The mindset of the team was that they were finally getting competitive and mixing it up with some of the best in the state. They started to feel like they belonged in the fast races and trained like it too. Confidence was growing and growing and opening the season smashing PR's is always a great feeling.
Any setbacks/challenges that had to be overcome?
Knock on wood, we have been pretty fortunate with injuries and big setbacks. I am very cautious with their mileage. Most of the challenges or setbacks that we experience are ones that we bring on ourselves. Stretched thin from extracurriculars and school, vacations, lack of preparation, etc...
Track 2024
Anyone that had a breakout season, or new additions, that changed the outlook of XC?
Track was a ton of fun, especially with the 800 crew. We had kids like Emory Black and Kyle Wright who aren't as strong on the XC course, so it was good to see them in their element and stepping up on the track. We had a home meet in the Spring where we had 4 guys under 2 minutes in the 800 which was an awesome race. William Porter and Hall Wildman continued to impress and get better.
Any setbacks/challenges that had to be overcome?
Doubling/tripling at the state meet proved to be quite a challenge for some of our guys there. It was a good experience though, to learn that being a great athlete is not only being able to run fast in one race, but to run multiple races and be able to recover in between them.
Summer 2024
Any new additions that changed the outlook for XC?
We knew we had a ton of seniors and a talented group with a shot to win State, so that was all the motivation we needed to get out there over the summer. We were coming off of a great track season and hungry for a great cross country season.
Early goals for the season?
Our eyes were not only set on a State title, but we wanted to be as competitive as we could against all of the teams in the state. We wanted to be competitive in all of the big championship races and we wanted to make sure people knew when we came to race, we came to throw down a great fight.
How did the team handle summer training?
The team handled summer training great. You always experience ebbs and flows throughout the summer and it gets monotonous and difficult to stay motivated, but we made it through and once we got to the time trial and on campus we had done what we needed to do, and were ready for the next phase. I typically break up each season into phases, and let them know when we are leaving one phase and entering another. We were leaving the summer base miles phase, and entering deep training/racing phase, so they had to be prepared to race on tired legs and do long runs the day after their races.
Any setbacks/challenges that had to be overcome?
We had a couple minor setbacks with travel and little hiccups here and there, but nothing serious.
Season 2024
Anyone that had a breakout season that changed the outlook?
Hall Wildman had a big time breakthrough when we got to Great American in North Carolina. A guy who was traditionally our #3 or #4 became our #1 for a race. He went on to run 15:56 at coach wood and is one of the most improved kids in the state. He sort of hit lightning in a bottle at the right time.
How did early results compare to any goals?
Our first meet of the season was the Kosh Klassic where we had a strong performance, but we also knew that we were up against some great competition. That seems to be the theme in running nowadays - run an outstanding great PR, but then again, so does your competition....
Any revisions of goals?
We had just solidified our goal of winning the state title when we lost by 10 points to Whitefield in our season opener.
Any setbacks/challenges that had to be overcome?
Towards the end of the season, our team was actually kind of barely hanging on by a thread. Our guy with the third fastest PR on our team was out with a tendon injury in his foot, other guys were battling muscle strains and sore ankles. We were at the end of a long season and training the hardest we had all season.
In hindsight, key moments of the season that led to the State result
In hindsight, the moments in the season that led to a State title were actually a million small moments added up together. I call those marginal victories. Doing the small things repeatedly until they all add up and shift the momentum of the team in a big way. I am incredibly proud of this group and their commitment to the team. The turning point of the season was when we went to Great American meet in North Carolina and had not performed well, but the team came together in a new way like we had not previously. After this meet, we started picking up intensity and that's when everybody found their groove. We were training almost like we were deep in track season, ripping 200's in 25 seconds and running 4:40 miles in practice.