To Be A Runner

At cross-country banquets I'm always surprised by how different the runners look. Normally, we see them sweating, panting, in pain. But Thursday night, we got to see them smile, laugh, and cry. We got to see how poised and intelligent they are, and what excellent speeches they can deliver. They thanked the booster club, praised their coaches, and no doubt inspired younger runners from the middle schools who were invited to attend the banquet. It was a beautiful end to the season, and it is the focus of this short video, the title of which comes from Andy Barnett's senior speech.

Listen carefully to the senior runners. Their messages Thursday night are what cross country is really all about.

-- Tom Atwood

Produced by Tom Atwood
© 2007 Edwardsville Cross Country Booster Club
All Rights Reserved
Speeches: Andy Barnett, Liz Speicher, Riley Atwood, Aaron Cole, Jake Nelson, Jordan Staffaniak, Kaci Smith, Lia Saunders, Bridgette Hoover, Brendan Corkery, Andrew Gaines.
Photos: Andy Thomas, Tom Atwood, Roger Mueller
Music: "Our Town," composed by Aaron Copland, performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

See you in the spring

Leah Bateman runs the 330 meter hurdles last season at Alton.
Photo/Tom Atwood

Photo of the Day will return early next spring with photos of Edwardsville middle school and high school track and field events.

Runners, volunteers honored at banquet

Abbey Frese and Kristan Hodge pick up their runners' gifts after EHS cross-country banquet.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)
Lia Saunders poses for post-banquet picture with her parents.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)

Team spirit

Sierra Goldsmith, Hannah Dalla Riva, Stephanie Dalla Riva, and Laurin Wright show their true colors at sectionals in East Peoria.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)

State meet slideshow

Photos by Tom Atwood
November 3, 2007
Peoria, Illinois
29 photos
(Click on image to link to larger slideshow.)

Total exhaustion

Devon Dudding gave all he had at sectional meet in East Peoria.
Photo/Diane Dudding (click image to enlarge)

Showing their...support

Tiger orange: David Parks endures wet body paint on a chilly day at state cross-country meet in Peoria.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)

Abs for Liz (l to r): Lia Saunders, Alex Wever, Emily Firsching, Kaci Smith, Courtney Smith, Kristan Hodge, and Ellen Atwood.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)

Emily Firsching paints Ellen Atwood painting Kaci Smith...
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)


Lia Saunders and Courtney Smith warm up with Liz Speicher (left) before the start of Saturday's state meet.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enalrge)

Liz Speicher ends Tiger season at state

Liz Speicher finishes state meet in 42nd place, runs 3-mile Peoria course in 18:08.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)

Speicher gets some pre-race advice from coach Steve Chapman.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)

Lee Speicher congratulates his daughter after the race.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)

For Liz, state meet marks end to an amazing cross-country season.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)

Video: 'a good day for running'

Well, it's just about time for the Photo of the Day staff to hang up their cameras for this season. There will be a few more cross country photos posted here: Liz Speicher at state, the EHS cross-country banquet, and the soda run (if someone sends in those 'gut-wrenching' pictures). Then, in a few months the focus will shift to track and field, and after that, to the Mud Mountain 5k Cross Country Classic. In the meantime, here is one final video. Produced for the cross-couuntry banquet, it's a review of the high school season, and a review of some of the best of Photo of the Day. Hopefully, every EHS runner is represented in "A Good Day for Running." If you see someone missing--or if you are missing--let me know. It's not too late to add something in before the banquet. All videos from the season will be put on DVD and given to each member of the cross country team. Thanks to all the photographers who sent photos, and thanks to race starter Babe Stahlhut for inadvertently providing the title to this video (below). Hope you enjoy it.

Produced by Tom Atwood
Photographers: Andy Thomas, Roger Mueller, Beth Warneke, Val Sweatt, Tom Atwood, Stephanie Cann, Jeanne Cullen
Music: Symphony No. 3, Third Movement, by Aaron Copland
Performed by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

Good luck, Liz!

Liz Speicher will run at the state cross country meet Saturday in Peoria. (Above, she moves to front at Class AAA sectionals last week, finishing 10th overall.)
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)

Boys' team loses nine seniors

Nine EHS seniors will not return to the boys cross-country team next year. Each graduating senior is pictured below.
Andrew Wright

Ben Wilkenson

Nehemia Robenstine

Jake Nelson

Andrew Gaines

Brendan Corkery

Aaron Cole

Andy Barnett

Riley Atwood

Have a Purr-fect Halloween

Sophomore runner Emily Firsching in feline disguise.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)
Stephanie Dalla Riva (Barbie), Emily Firsching (Catwoman), and Ellen Atwood (Harry Potter) prepare for a night of trick-or-treating.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click image to enlarge)

Three senior girls have run last race

Kaci Smith finishes EHS cross-country career at sectional in East Peoria.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)
Lia Saunders runs final race as a Tiger Saturday.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)
Senior Bridgette Hoover medals at the Madison County Championship.
Photo/Andy Thomas (click image to enlarge)
Seniors Lia Saunders, Kaci Smith and Liz Speicher present medal to Bridgette Hoover at Madison County meet.
Photo/Andy Thomas (click image to enlarge)

A season ends

by Tom Atwood

High school cross country can be a heartbreaking sport. Heartbreaking when a good runner--because of biorhythms, dehydration, anxiety, or any one of a thousand other distractions called 'life'--has a bad race. Heartbreaking when a good team has a bad day. Heartbreaking when a season ends too soon. Even one week too soon.

We all wanted the season to go on. Some of us would like to have seen it go on forever. But no season ever does. Every season ends.

For me, the hardest part about watching the season come to a close Saturday (for everyone except Liz Speicher, who moves on to the state meet after qualifying individually), was the realization that I had watched my son's last cross-country race. Riley has been running since he was in sixth grade at what was then Edwardsville Middle School. George Patrylak was his coach. In fact, George is the only cross-country coach Riley has had in his seven cross-country seasons. An outstanding coach. I have looked forward to and enjoyed every single race. Winning, losing, running well, or running poorly never really mattered. All that mattered was simply running.

Saturday, though, losing did matter to me. Because it meant Riley's last race--and my last chance to see him run. I guess it's just the first of many "lasts" this year for seniors like Riley, who will all too soon move on to life after high school, to life after cross country, to the next season.

On that note, some scenes from this season's final race at East Peoria:


A Season Ends
Produced by Tom Atwood
Photographs: Roger Mueller and Tom Atwood
Music: Paul F. Page
© 2007 Edwardsville Cross Country Booster Club
All Rights Reserved

Tigers' season ends at sectionals; Speicher qualifies individually for state

Seniors Lia Saunders and Liz Speicher after Tiger girls finished 6th, boys 9th at sectionals in East Peoria.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)


Speicher collapses after dramatic stretch run gives her a top 10 sectional finish and a trip to state meet next Saturday.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click to enlarge)
Jake Nelson in the chute after finishing sectional race.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)
Senior Kaci Smith battles runners, nosebleed down the stretch.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)

One last team photo: Tiger runners all smiles after sectionals, and a great season.
Photo/Tom Atwood (click to enlarge)

Bound for glory, or at least East Peoria

Varsity girls and boys pose before leaving Friday for IHSA sectional meet in East Peoria.
Photo/Tom Atwood

Diane Dudding snaps pic of Keith and Devon Dudding with prop.
Photo/Tom Atwood

Tiger runners board bus Friday afternoon.
Photo/Tom Atwood

For Tyler Cann, a thoughtful moment before bus departs.
Photo/Tom Atwood

"Bye, Dad!" Ellen Atwood has pillow ready for the ride.
Photo/Tom Atwood

Ready for sectional

Coach Chapman times start of girls regional race Saturday at Granite City.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)
The starting gun fires; the race begins for varsity boys. Both teams depart today for the IHSA sectional meet in East Peoria.
Photo/Roger Mueller (click image to enlarge)

There Are No Limits

©2004 Tom Atwood
All Rights Reserved

For Riley and Ellen. 2003-2004: a remarkable running season.













Jacksonville Invitational, 2003

The Power of Expectations

Written and Produced by Tom Atwood
© 2004 CWK Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

The Power of Expectations profiles Ali Traina, a 7th grade
cross-country runner at Chatham Glenwood as she prepares for the 2004 IESA State Final in Normal. The educational documentary was produced for CWK Network in Atlanta. Only the open and close are posted here. The entire program is available on DVD. Edwardsville's Courtney Smith also makes an appearance in this video (as an 8th grader), but finding her is kind of like looking through Where's Waldo? See if you can spot Courtney.

(For a copy of the complete documentary, call 1-888-891-6020 or visit www.cwknetwork.com)

Will History Repeat?

Produced by Tom Atwood
©2005 Edwardsville Cross Country Booster Club

This video, Tigers Sweep!, covers IHSA Sectional held at the SIUE course in 2005.

Link to regional race photos

Devon Dudding crosses finish line at regional meet in Granite City Saturday. Photo/Andy Thomas (click image to enlarge)

To see a complete set of race photos from Saturday's regional meet, click here.