neither rain, nor mud can stop the cougars

Rewind, if you will, to November 12, a Friday that dawned so gloomy and disagreeable that anyone with good sense would stay inside, sit by the fire, and read a good book. The temperature hovered around 50 degrees, and the incessant rain which fell heavily at times made the day seem all that much nastier.

Problem was, our athletes had jobs to do. That afternoon, the varsity field hockey team met Norfolk Academy in the state semifinals hosted by St. Catherine’s School on its property in Goochland County. Two-and-a-half hours away at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, the cross country contingent competed in the Prep League and League of Independent Schools championship meets.

Nothing tests the mettle of an athlete as powerfully as bad weather and  formidable opponents. Our young men and women faced both that afternoon without flinching and in so doing found joy in the experience and approached excellence with their performances.

On a saturated field, the hockey team defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in overtime to advance to Saturday’s finals. “The conditions that Friday were probably the worst I’ve experienced in 24 years of coaching,” said head coach Karen Doxey, “but everyone was ready to play. “It was like, ‘Let’s just do it.’  It was miserable, but the girls adapted.”

The hockey fields at St. Catherine’s are immaculate.  In fact, they bring to mind a golf green. On this day, however, water pooled in spots along the sideline, and players often struck at a partially submerged white ball. “The game against Norfolk wasn’t even like field hockey because the ball would barely move,” said the Cougars’ Kate Hanley, the state player of the year. “Our win was defined by determination and heart.”

Lynchburg is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so suffice it to say that the cross country course at the Presbyterian Home adjacent to the VES campus is challenging under the best conditions. Add 24 hours of rain, and the terrain was very slick and muddy and the footing treacherous.

The Cougars hardly noticed. “We looked at it as fun,” said Madeline Sisk, a six-year veteran, co-captain, and all-state and All-LIS competitor.  “We’ve practiced in the rain, and we knew we could deal with it.”

Our runners slipped and slid.  Several fell, bounced back up, and continued on their way. They ran the race as it was supposed to be run – with heart, dedication, and passion – and when they approached the finish, they sprinted through it soaked, exhausted, muddy, and fulfilled.

Our girls finished a very close third (out of 8 teams) behind St. Catherine’s and Norfolk, the state champs the last two years. The boys team, second to Woodberry Forest in the state meet a week before, won its first-ever Prep League title by outracing the field, including the state champion.

“It goes back to Hurricane Gaston (in August),” said Taylor Richardson, a three-time all-state and All-Prep runner.  “We didn’t have practice because it was raining so hard, but a bunch of us got together and ran to U of R and back. “We run because we enjoy running, not because we’re trying to out-tough the weather.  The weather just makes it more interesting.”

That’s not the end of the story, however. The next day, at the same time the field hockey team defeated St. Stephen’s-St. Agnes on penalty strokes to win their third state title in four years, the football team hosted Bishop Ireton in the state semifinals on a field the consistency of a Slurpee.

The conditions definitely aided the visitors, who boasted a strong straight-ahead running game, and worked against our guys and their wide-open attack. Somehow, though, the Cougars hung tough, the teams battled to a 14-14 tie in regulation, and Pierce Redfern, our place kicker nonpareil, won it on a 28-yard field goal in overtime.

“The field was like quicksand,” Redfern recalled.  “When I planted my left foot, it sank a couple of inches into the mud. “You can’t really worry about the weather conditions. You just have to go out there and do your best.”