Friendships hold a team together

by Devon Dudding
Class of '09

The past four years and the cross country seasons that have accompanied them have gone by much faster than I expected. I can still remember my freshman season as if it were yesterday. It has been a privilege to be able to build friendships year after year with some of the best teammates and coaches you could find in any school. Though I have never run for any other school, I know that Edwardsville is special. Nowhere else could you find another group of people so dedicated to this sport both on and off the field. I am so grateful for all of the work done to ensure that we were able to race on our home course as well as travel to far away invitationals. So, I would like to express my gratitude to all parents and members of the booster club who have spent their time and money to make it possible for our team to be as successful as it has been.

My cross country experience would be nothing without the people I have spent most of my time with for the past four years. I would like to state my deepest appreciation for all the teammates I have shared these experiences with. We have laughed, cried, and made memories together that I know I will never forget. There is a certain type of friendship that you can only get from running eight miles a day together or lining up at that starting line on race day. That is the kind of friendship that holds the team together.

Though it has seemed to be a short time from freshman to senior year, it has also been a bumpy one. For many of my seasons I have experienced injuries that have halted my training and threatened my season. But thanks to the help of many doctors, physical therapists, and trainers, I have been able to complete my senior year uninjured. So I would like to personally thank the late Mike Pohlman, Doug Pohlman, Chris Pifer, John Yetter, Chris Bugnitz , and Julie Czech for your time and devotion to getting me back to health.

I would also like to thank Coach Rogers for getting my running career started back in seventh grade, and Coach Anderson for the work he did for us this season.

Thank you to all Edwardsville runners who have run before me, runners like Stephen Pifer, Dustin Davis, and Eric Johannigmeier, whose example has inspired runners years after their graduation.

Thank you to Tom Atwood for your work on the Mud Mountain website and the pictures you take and a thank you to all the parents who took pictures of us this season. Those are always so enjoyable to see afterwards.

I would also like to state my appreciation for the administration and especially to Joe McNamara’s support and interest in our sport.

Thanks go especially to my parents and my family: you have done more for me than I could ever do by myself. Thank you for the perpetual support and the unfaltering love. Thank you, Mom, for always being at the finish line for me, and thank you, Dad, for being at my meets, even on crutches. And, I would like to thank my Grandparents for coming to my meets and showing their support in me and always being so giving. And, last I would like to thank Coach P and Rox. I really don’t have the space to write out all that I need to say, but this quote my Mom gave me illustrates it well:

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”