"You're Gonna Be On The Wall Now" : With The 4X800 State Championship Team Of Ella Wierks, Ava Porras, Emma Gunnett & Collette Wierks

When dedication, talent, coaching and friendship come together, championships follow. That's the story of Ella Wierks, Ava Porras, Emma Gunnett, and Collette Wierks, four remarkable student-athletes, who along with many others, are part of a West Ottawa XC and Track & Field Team powerhouse. These extraordinary runners take us behind the scenes of their journey to the 4X800 State Championship and how they followed it up with a National Runner Up finish three weeks later. With raw honesty, they reveal the "shared suffering" that bonds them, describing how pushing through the "pain cave" together creates both faster times and unbreakable friendships. Their story isn't just about athletic achievement—it's about teenage girls supporting each other through victories and setbacks while creating memories that will last a lifetime. The foursome recounts their breathtaking state championship race, where despite illness and pressure, they executed a perfect strategy to defend their 4x800 relay title, won the year before with Notre Dame bound athlete Helen Sachs. You'll feel like you're trackside as they describe the electricity of that moment and the pure joy of celebrating together. Then they take us to historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, where their journey culminated in a 2nd place finish at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor. The girls speak about Coach Kyle Barnes as an important catalyst behind their success, creating a culture that balances intense training with genuine care for his athletes. Through his leadership, these girls developed not just as runners but as leaders themselves, learning lessons that extend far beyond the track. Whether you're a dedicated runner or simply appreciate stories of exceptional teamwork, this conversation will inspire you. It showcases how young athletes can achieve extraordinary things when they combine talent with friendship, guidance, and unwavering belief in each other. Tune in to experience a remarkable story of four friends who ran not just for themselves, but for each other—and found championship glory along the way.

This episode was recorded on August 13, 2025.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
I just remember one question one of the reporters
asked me was, what does it meanto be with a team or do it for
each other?
And I think that just helped metry to enjoy it a lot and
recognize all the work we putin.
Yeah, I just remember trying toenjoy it a lot.
I was like, this is why we ranit, you know?
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (00:22):
Hey everybody, this is Rodney Valinga with the West
Ottawa High School AthleticProgram.
And you're listening to the 29.1Podcast.
29 sports, one team.
The show that brings you intothe lives of student-athletes,
coaches, and other faces in thePanther sports community.
Bringing you the stories youmight otherwise never hear.

(00:44):
Join myself and AthleticDirector Bill Kennedy as we dive
in with you to get to know eachother a little bit better.
When dedication, talent,coaching, and friendships come
together, championships follow.

SPEAKER_02 (01:03):
Today on the 29.1 Podcast, we are joined by the
4x8 Relay team of Ella Wirks,Ava Porres, Emma Gunnett, and
Colette Wirks.
We talk about the thrill ofwinning a state title, the
journey to Philly for NewBalance Nationals, and take a
look ahead at the upcomingseason.

SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Their story isn't just about athletic achievement.
It's about teenage girlssupporting each other through
victories and setbacks, whilecreating memories that will last

SPEAKER_02 (01:27):
a lifetime.
The 4x8 Relay Team, up next onthe 29.1 Podcast.
Let's get it.

SPEAKER_01 (01:35):
Hey, everybody.
Welcome back to another episodeof the 29.1 Podcast.
I'm your host, Rodney Villenga,and I'm here again with Panthers
Athletic Director Bill Kennedy.
Both high school and college arejust a week or two away.
as another summer has prettymuch flown by.

(01:57):
Bill, it doesn't even have to beSeptember anymore.
But with that said, there are alot of great things fall has to
offer, including the excitingfall sports season.
Today, we sit down with fourathletes who have made a
significant impact in both thegirls' cross country and track
and field teams here at WestOttawa High School over the past
few years.
They've all been crowned a statechampion at some point in their

(02:19):
careers.
and have or will have theirpitcher up in the hallowed State
Champs Hall, recently named,beside the main gym four years
to come.
This past spring, they competedtogether to win the 4x800 and
the Division I track and fieldstate championships at East
Kentwood, and in June, traveledto Philadelphia to compete in
the New Balance Nationalsoutdoor at historic Franklin

(02:42):
Field, where they finishedsecond in the nation in the
4x800 and third in the distancenational Medley Relay.
And it's our pleasure to ask,who is it?

SPEAKER_00 (02:52):
Okay, my name is Ella Wirks.
Ava Porras.
Emma Gunnett.
Colette Wirks.

SPEAKER_02 (02:57):
Welcome, guys.
Super excited to see you allhere.
First and foremost, I'm excitedbecause it means that you're
probably have already got yourtraining in for the day, right?
So now you can...
Decompress a little bit.
You guys see me at cross countrymeets all the time.
Kennedy Crossing, right?
Kennedy Crossing.
I mean, I've got my owncrosswalk.
T-shirts?
Named right away.

(03:17):
Any T-shirts coming?
I'd buy the T-shirt.
Kyle's actually made me aT-shirt that says stay off the
course because that's typicallywhat I'm yelling at Kennedy
Crossing because you guys knowcross country fans do not
understand that the line meansthat's where the people run.
So super excited to have youguys here.

SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun.
You know, the main reason youguys are here today is because
of this great success you've hadrunning together as a group of
four.
But of all the incredible runsyou've had together, and I'm
sure there's been a lot, there'sone run that stands out to me,
and that's the Rocky Steps.
The Rocky Steps in Philadelphia.
Ava, you want to tell us aboutthat?
Like, what you guys did?

SPEAKER_03 (03:56):
So, it was kind of like...
It started from my dad.
He wanted to go.
He was like, I'm going to theRocky steps.
We're going to the Rocky steps.
And then it kind of was likedrilled into everybody else.
I was like, all right, we'regoing to the Rocky steps.
Like it's not negotiable.
So you get to like the Rockysteps on like, I think it was
the last day.
And everybody's like, okay,we're going to do the Rocky

(04:17):
step, like TikTok video orwhatever.
And we brought like all ourmedals.
Yeah.
And just played the Rocky song.
And we're like running up theRocky stairs.
Everybody's like, kind ofwatching us and stuff and we're
kind of just laughing and havingfun with it but it was kind of
like it was like a joke but itwas also kind of fun because it

(04:37):
was like a serious likeaccomplishment and like the
rocky steps were like A bigaccomplishment for him.

SPEAKER_02 (04:43):
That might be the one run that I have completed in
my life that I could completewith you all.
So that's good.

SPEAKER_01 (04:51):
Huffing and puffing.
Huffing and puffing.
A

SPEAKER_02 (04:53):
couple summers ago, my wife and I did the trip
there, and you have to go thereand get your picture taken with
the statue and all those things.

SPEAKER_01 (04:59):
How old are you guys going across?
How old are you?

SPEAKER_00 (05:02):
We're going to be juniors, so I'm 16.

SPEAKER_01 (05:03):
You're 16.
17.
17.

SPEAKER_00 (05:06):
I'm 18.

SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
You're 18.

SPEAKER_00 (05:07):
16.

SPEAKER_01 (05:07):
Did you guys even know what, now I know you might
have known Ava because yourdad's a Rocky movie fanatic, I
heard.
But did the rest of you evenknow what that was going there?

SPEAKER_00 (05:16):
We knew it was a thing of like, yeah, you got to
go run up the Rocky steps.
There's this whole playlist andeverything, but we've never
actually seen the movie.
But yeah, we went there in, Ithink it was eighth grade when
we went to nationals.
That was your first time.
So we took some pictures, yeah.
Right.
But I haven't been there since.

SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
That's 1976, Bill.
That's before I was born.
That's before you're born?
I was already alive.
But yeah, it's the famedPhiladelphia Museum of Art.
If you've never watched it, youguys go watch it.
It's really great.
They do this whole montage ofhim running through the streets
before.
Big gray sweats on.
There's parts where he'ssprinting.
There's no way he keeps his paceup the whole way.

(05:51):
You're laughing because you'veseen it.
I think they would always likejust cut it to him sprinting and
then they do another cut to himsprinting.
But his pace is incredible.
Ava, have you seen the entireRocky

SPEAKER_02 (06:01):
franchise?

SPEAKER_03 (06:02):
Probably when I was little.
I think my dad used to look.
I think we have every singleDVD.
He was obsessed with it.

SPEAKER_01 (06:08):
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (06:09):
probably.

SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
What was the rest of the summer like for you guys?
Is the summertime like July alittle bit of a break for you?
Maybe Emma, tell us about what'syour July like?

SPEAKER_00 (06:17):
Well, we usually after our track season, we take
like a two week break justcompletely off.
And then we just like startbuilding back up into that
training and like add a littlebit more mileage each week.

SPEAKER_01 (06:27):
And Colette, same thing for you.
What's July like?

SPEAKER_00 (06:30):
Yeah.
So our two week break, weusually go to the beach a lot.
We went camping a little bit.
And then, yeah, go back topractice, start building mileage
again.

SPEAKER_01 (06:38):
Yeah, it's a great place to live on the lakeshore
here with the beach.
I mean, you're so close.
Lots to do.

SPEAKER_02 (06:42):
Emma, you're obviously headed to Grand
Valley.
Did you kind of stick with theWest Ottawa crew as far as some
training throughout the courseof the summer?
Are you kind of off doing yourown thing now?

SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
Well, like the first week back, I went to their
practices and stuff, but...
GV training is a little bitdifferent.
We don't start workouts untillike the fourth week, but they
were doing workouts their secondweek back.
So then I started like traininga little bit more on my own.

SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
You guys just got back from team camp, right up in
Bel Air.
I talked to your mom and she'slike, it's a lot of noise and a
lot of food.

SPEAKER_03 (07:15):
Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 (07:17):
What's that experience like team camp each
year?
Ella, what's it like just to gothere and doing that?

SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
This was our first year going, so we haven't gone
because we didn't do cross infreshman year, and I couldn't go
last year.
Oh, this is your first timegoing?
This was our first experiencethere.
All right,

SPEAKER_01 (07:31):
so tell me

SPEAKER_00 (07:31):
about it.
Yeah, it was definitely fun.
It was just nice to be with allthe girls because we see each
other every day at practice, butthen we also have these deeper
team talks about goals or mentalthings you struggle with and
just holding each otheraccountable.
And then there's the trainingtogether, meals, like we'll play
games.
eat snacks, watch movies.

SPEAKER_01 (07:49):
What kind of games are you playing?

SPEAKER_00 (07:50):
We played, what was it called, the color one?
Oh, hues

SPEAKER_03 (07:54):
and cues, and then the last night we had a small
circle of BS going for cards.

SPEAKER_01 (08:00):
All right.
Bill's drawing a blank.
He's not much of a game guy.

SPEAKER_02 (08:03):
I'm not, yeah.
Cards and, like, board games andstuff, just for whatever reason,
not my jam.

SPEAKER_01 (08:09):
No, it's just not your jam at all.

SPEAKER_02 (08:12):
Yeah.
He likes to bust me up about

SPEAKER_01 (08:13):
it.
I do like to bust him about itbecause I'm a bit of a geek with
games, but we won't get intothat.
Emma, so this is the first oneyou haven't been to in quite
some time.
Was it a little bit of, oh, Ikind of miss this, or are you
ready to move on?

SPEAKER_00 (08:23):
Well, I definitely missed it.
It was something I look forwardto before each cross-country
season, just to get to bond morewith all the girls.
So, I mean, it was bittersweet.

SPEAKER_01 (08:33):
And Ava, you have to be a mama duck now.
Is that your new role?

SPEAKER_03 (08:36):
Oh, yeah.
Got to get my ducks in a line.
But, no, it's fun.
It's kind of like a differentrole.
I've never had to really, like,I mean, you get to know everyone
on the team, but it's kind of anew real role that you have to
get into and get to know them ona deeper level and really...

SPEAKER_01 (08:53):
Yeah, because freshmen coming in, I mean, it's
a pretty intimidating team tostep onto.

SPEAKER_03 (08:58):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (08:58):
Will you lean on those girls that have kind of
come before you that have beenin those leadership roles to
pick their brain on, hey...
how did you kind of handlemoving into this type of
leadership position?

SPEAKER_03 (09:09):
Definitely for sure.
I think my freshman year kind ofreally helped me get into the
leadership role because I wasbest friends with Megan Postma
and she is like, she's a reallygood leader.
She was always,

SPEAKER_02 (09:19):
she's the queen of the mama ducks.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_03 (09:23):
for sure.
Queen of the mama ducks.
And the graduating class beforeme was like, it was really big.
And so there was a lot ofleaders to look up to.
So I definitely have gotten likea lot of helpful things from
them to take and learn.

SPEAKER_01 (09:36):
You guys have this, you know, great success.
And there's so much we couldtalk about because, I mean,
there's so many differentseasons with what you do.
There's a fall cross country,then there's spring.
And then it just keeps repeatingitself.
You know, the main reason we'rehere today is for those things
you've done.
But, you know, to be successfullike this, you guys have really
had a lifetime talking to yourparents.
You've had this lifetime ofbeing active people.

(09:57):
I was kind of.
I wasn't really blown away, butI was like, oh, this is like a
really healthy group with theirchoices they're making and all
that kind of stuff.
Let's go to really Ella andColette, because, I mean, you're
twins.
Talk to your mom.
Like, hey, I'd like to give themsome independence.
Like, they do everythingtogether anyways.
You know what I mean?
So it's like, but you guys did alot of stuff growing up,
including like rock climbing wasa thing that you guys did.

(10:18):
Colette, you want to, or maybeeven still do it.
Tell us how you got involved inthat.

SPEAKER_00 (10:21):
Yeah, I guess the way we got involved was we'd go
camping and...
The first times we did it wasoutdoor climbing, I think.
And there's not a lot of placesto go around here, but I
remember one time we went toMontana And that was really
cool.
And there's the gym.
There's a couple of gyms likedowntown here.
So sometimes we go there.
It's definitely harder like inseason and school and practice

(10:43):
to go every once in a while.
Yeah, we have a big race on

SPEAKER_01 (10:46):
Tuesday.
We're not going rock climbing.

SPEAKER_00 (10:48):
Yeah.
So over our two week break, wewent a couple of times.
So, yeah, it's not a thing thatlike we have a lot of extra time
to do, but I definitely like it.
And

SPEAKER_01 (10:55):
your mom was an instructor for a long time,
right, Ella?

SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
Yeah, I think in college she led a lot of hiking.
It's more hiking than climbing,I think.
So you like summit mount.
So she would do a lot of thatstuff.

SPEAKER_02 (11:06):
Yeah, who's a big rock climber is Coach Blake.

SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
Coach

SPEAKER_02 (11:10):
Blake is a monster on a mountain.
And Natalie, that's where shegot all of that grip strength
that helped with pole vault wasthrough that rock climbing.

SPEAKER_01 (11:18):
I talked to your parents, Ava.
They said you were kind ofinvolved in so many stuff like
soccer and t-ball.
But they said two things reallystood out is you're always
cheering the loudest.
Is that a kind of a gooddescriptor of her, you guys?

SPEAKER_00 (11:30):
Yeah, she's definitely one of the loudest
and most...
extroverted people on the teambut it's really helpful because
she's so encouraging and I feellike she knows everyone really
well so just is able to holdpeople accountable and give the
right cues, I guess, duringworkouts.

SPEAKER_02 (11:44):
Yeah.
And that's an important thing.
Yeah.
And as we were sitting down totalk about this, I'm kind of
reflecting back on getting toknow all of you over the years.
Ava, I specifically remember youand Addie as seventh grade cross
country runners at KennedyCrossing and just how outgoing
and excitable you were.
They were seventh

SPEAKER_03 (12:02):
graders.
They were

SPEAKER_02 (12:04):
bound full with energy, just ready to go.
So We

SPEAKER_03 (12:07):
have, like, multiple photos of me from the season,
and it's me jumping up and downon, like, the sideline.
It's me in the midair and justjumping and cheering, like, Emma
on specifically.
There's one, and it's just, it's

SPEAKER_00 (12:19):
funny.
I mean, it's nice for track,especially because for cross
country, we can't cheer eachother on because we're all,
like, in the same race, youknow?
So for, like, track, because,like, I'm more mid-distance,
and, like, Ava's usually doing,like, the two-mile or something,
so she can cheer me on during my800 or, like, 400 or whatever.
And then I can cheer on duringthe two months.

SPEAKER_01 (12:38):
Yeah, cross country is really just a sea of parents,
siblings, and grandparents forthe most part, right?

SPEAKER_00 (12:42):
Yeah.
And

SPEAKER_01 (12:43):
so to have your teammates actually pulling for
you during a race must be prettyexciting to do.
Emma, you did so many differentsports as a kid, swimming,
gymnastics, softball.
Any favorite sports from backwhen you were little?

SPEAKER_00 (12:53):
I really liked softball, honestly.
I had to quit that for track,but I really liked that, and I
was a pitcher, so that wasreally fun to

SPEAKER_02 (13:02):
do.
That would have maybe helped usa little bit on the diamond over
the last couple of years, butyou got it done on the track, so
I can't complain.

SPEAKER_01 (13:09):
Yeah, the older you get, you got to start picking
something that you're going tostay with, right?
And Ava, you were nicknamedWheels as well?

SPEAKER_03 (13:16):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 (13:16):
one of those bases.
That's by Burkholz, right?
Addie Burkholz nicknamed youthat or

SPEAKER_03 (13:21):
not?
No, I think it was because I wasin Allendale at that time.
Oh, you were?
Okay.
Everyone on my team just kind ofnicknamed me Wheels because I'd
try to get to the bases as fastas possible.

SPEAKER_01 (13:29):
Well, that's like a good precursor.
Like, hey, she was called Wheelswhen she was little.
All right, there's a good chanceshe can move pretty fast.
A couple of you went toLakewood, right?
Did you go to Lakewood?

SPEAKER_00 (13:39):
I went to Wakazoo.

SPEAKER_01 (13:40):
You went to Wakazoo.
Cause you guys did girls on therun when you were younger.

SPEAKER_00 (13:43):
Yeah.
I did that in third and fourthgrade.

SPEAKER_01 (13:46):
Can you kind of tell me what that, what that is, what
that wasn't kind of what thatdid for you?

SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
Yeah.
It's a thing for like elementaryschool girls, third to fifth
grade, I think.
And then you just like, it's anafterschool thing.
And then you like go with abunch of other girls, like your
age.
And then usually like parentscoach, like moms.
And then you just have a likefun practice and it's just like
a good, like, pre-thing ifyou're interested in running but
you know you don't want to belike totally involved in like a

(14:12):
team sport yeah

SPEAKER_01 (14:13):
it's not totally serious either right it's a lot
for being involved havingself-confidence did anybody else
do that when they were youngerhere or no you did it too what
was like for you to be involvedin that as a youngster

SPEAKER_03 (14:22):
it definitely was what like kind of sparked like
the competitiveness in running idid it with addy at sheldon wood
so it's really that was kind oflike where we got really close
and stuff and so it was justkind of like That spark that
started it, I like thecompetitiveness of it.

SPEAKER_01 (14:38):
You're smiling like you're saying competitive.

SPEAKER_03 (14:41):
Yeah, it's like the 5K race we ran with her brother,
and we were trying to beat himthe whole time.
So it was really fun and not tooserious, but me and Addie took
it really seriously.
This is what we're doing.
We're going to get good at it.
I

SPEAKER_01 (14:55):
think your mom told me the first race you did, I
think Addie finished first, andthen you were second.
And her mom was somewhere on thecourse waiting for you to come
by.
And then somebody goes, oh,yeah, she was here like three or
four minutes ago, five minutesago.
She's long gone.

SPEAKER_02 (15:08):
I know that Coach Barnes has really poured into
kind of girls on the run and runwoe and really trying to build
that running culture here atWest Ottawa.
I'm fortunate enough to say thatI hired Coach Barnes.
What's it like kind of gettingto know him and his love for
running and kind of what he'spouring into the program?

SPEAKER_03 (15:29):
I think it's safe to say he's kind of like all like,
a best friend and a coach in onehe's there for like everything
not just like sports but hisknowledge really helps in the
sport like dealing with whetherit's like injury or you're just
going through like a tough weeklike he's gonna help you like
come out of that and likeultimately I would I don't think

(15:51):
any of us would be where we arewithout him

SPEAKER_00 (15:54):
Yeah, we always kind of, like, joke about how he's,
like, our second dad.
Oh, really?
Because, like, we always, like,see him so much, especially
during the summer.
And, I mean, a lot of people, Ifeel like, when they first meet
him, think he's, like, prettyintimidating.
But he definitely has, like, asofter side where he's, like,
you know, able to, like, jokearound and just, like, have fun.
But then he also has the seriousside.
He, like, turns on when, youknow, we have to, like, get the
work done at practice.

(16:15):
Yeah.
But you always know that hewants you to be the best that
you can and will do anythingthat he can possibly do to help
you succeed.

SPEAKER_01 (16:23):
And that's kind of what a good parent does too,
right?
Like there's times you're notgoing to like them.

SPEAKER_00 (16:27):
Yeah, he definitely knows each of us really well, I
think.
So he knows what kind oftraining we need.
I think that's definitely gottenbetter over the years.
And then, but he also knows whento just make fun of people,
honestly.
Oh, really?
And just have fun.
But yeah, he definitely sees allthe potential.
So that's definitely helped usget where we have.

SPEAKER_01 (16:46):
And it's really fun to be around that family too.

SPEAKER_03 (16:49):
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (16:49):
He also seems really eager to point fun at himself
from time to time as well,right?
I mean, from what I see onInstagram.
Oh,

SPEAKER_03 (16:57):
yeah.
Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 (16:58):
What kind of stuff does he do?
What does he do?

SPEAKER_03 (17:01):
We're a big photo...
people on media day and stuff wehave a lot of like just funny
random photos and we're all likedon't post them don't post them
and he of course and it's theonly ones they post yeah he
posts like media day part twoand it's like all of him all of
us and it's just it's funny wehave a good time

SPEAKER_01 (17:21):
it's kind of like when you take that live photo on
your phone when it's like reallyofficial the still but then if
you press on what's reallyhappening in the in the photo i
always think that's hilariousyeah it's kind of like it kind
of goes with

SPEAKER_02 (17:32):
that yeah i knew we We had somebody different.
So I hired Coach Barnes in theoffseason after my first year as
AD here.
We had Coach Rayann Hart was ourcoach prior to him.
And she was a runner at CentralMichigan.
And she's the one that actuallytold me, hey, you need to talk
to Danielle Barnes because she'strying to get a counselor job.
And she was a stud runner atMichigan.

(17:53):
And I talked to Danielle.
And she's like, actually, myhusband's really looking for a
coaching gig.
Talk to him.
We get to the summertime.
And I look out into the hallwayout in front of the athletic
office and there are foamrollers and Norma techs and
Thera guns, like going likecrazy.
And I'm like, what is happening?
Like, I've never seen thisbefore, but that's, you know,

(18:15):
tied to his, his job and thework that he does at grand
Valley.
And then kind of bringing thatto a high school program.
When I show up at meat day, theWest Ottawa tent looks very
different from most other teams.
Maybe talk a little bit aboutthat.
Like, what that does from amental standpoint as you arrive
at meets and you guys just seemmore dialed than most of the

(18:37):
other teams.

SPEAKER_00 (18:38):
Yeah.
I feel like we have a very likespecific routine before races,
you know, he's like an hour out,you know, make sure like you're
eating enough food so you canlike feel your body.
And then we start rolling out.
And then after that we do likeactivation stuff.
And then we get into like ourdrills and we're ready to
actually warm up.

SPEAKER_03 (18:56):
Recovery is like a, huge part of our program and so
there's always tools like aroundthere's never anything that's
we're lacking in recovery and sogoing into a meet like just
knowing that it kind of reallyhelps you because like a lot of
it is physical but most of it Iwould argue is mental and so
when you know your body's beingtaken care of it is a lot easier

(19:19):
on your mind you're like okay mybody's prepared my mind's
prepared I'm ready to go andlike You do look around at other
teams and you're like, there'sjust backpacks everywhere and
like few recovery tools, maybelike an individual one here and
there.
But like you come to our tentand there's Theraguns, R8s,
rollers.
We now do cupping.
We have cupping.
You have cupping at the tent?

(19:40):
Yeah.
Wow.
It just stays in our box.
We have hair ties, hair gel,literally anything you can think
of.
We just keep adding to it likeevery week.

SPEAKER_01 (19:49):
That's a lot.
Does it ever blow your mind thatyou really are being coached by–
And I'm going to say thisarguably, not only one of the
best coaches in the state ofMichigan, but arguably one of
the best coaches in the country.
Whether it's the top 50, top 100or whatever, he's definitely in
that group.

SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Yeah, I think it just helps a lot knowing his
training prepares us reallywell.
And just we started doingvisualization stuff.
And he does a lot of mentalpreparation, holding each other
accountable and just having theculture that he brought.
of shared suffering.
And then this year, our slogan,I guess, is like every point

(20:27):
matters.
So telling like everyonecontributes to the team and can
make each other better.
I think that helps just beingmentally prepared and then
trusting his training.

SPEAKER_01 (20:36):
Let's jump into some of those phrases.
I talked to your coach, Ibelieve it was last night.
And I said, hey, I know you guysgot some phrases and stuff.
What are a couple of them now?
You brought up shared suffering.
And what was the other one?
Every point matters.
Every point matters.
What does that kind of do for ateam to have that type of

(20:57):
mantra?

SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Yeah, so with our sport, a lot of it is being
willing to push yourself.
Lactic

SPEAKER_01 (21:04):
acid.
Here you are again.

SPEAKER_00 (21:07):
So you have to be willing to go to the pain cave
and handle it.
And it's really nice, I guess,to just do that with other
people.
And I'm really grateful to havesuch a good team to...
run with and the culture of ourteam is great and that's what
Coach Kyle and everyone else hasmade and I'm really grateful for

(21:29):
it.
It definitely makes the sport alot more meaningful and worth it
to know that you're all doing ittogether for each other.
To

SPEAKER_01 (21:39):
be part of a team and that's what we're all doing
this for anyways because you'regoing to have days where
everything is successful.
There's times when it's not andwhen it's all said and done,
what do you got?
Alright, let's get to That 4x800championship.
May 31st.
Yeah, May 31.
EK almost every year nowadays,right?
EK,

SPEAKER_02 (21:58):
Rockford kind of alternate.
They do like two years on, twoyears off.
Because it's a...
Hosting the D1 state track meetis a massive undertaking.
You have all obviously beenthere.
I've been there the last numberof years.
It is...
Logistics.
Logistics and tents and parkingand concessions.

(22:19):
It is...
absolute massive.
You see the worry that anathletic director has to deal
with here?
It stresses me out just lookingat it.
I think about like, holy cow.
One, we could never host it.
Our track facility is just notbig enough.
But yeah, it's a massiveundertaking.
So they alternate every otheryear.
And both amazing facilities forthe state meet.

SPEAKER_01 (22:39):
Oh, no doubt about it.
Our school won it last year too.
Three of you were on that team.
We're going to try and stay moreon this year.
Talking with Kyle, he goes, youknow, Started at the beginning
of track season and says thefastest four last year doesn't
matter.
Ava, you weren't on the team theyear before.
Tell us about your history withthe 4x800 because this was a

(23:01):
little bit of a redemption tourfor you, if you will.

SPEAKER_03 (23:03):
It definitely was.
I had a goal.
I think it was my sophomoreyear.
Yeah, it would have been mysophomore year to be on the 4x8
because 4x8 is one of myfavorite events.
And so I had a really roughseason.
Mentally, it was reallystruggling.
Physically, it was struggling.
And it was kind of like, Itreally stung.
I was like, this is my one goal.

(23:24):
I don't care if I make it foranything else.
The 4x8 is like, that's myevent.
I want to be on it.
And so just seeing results dayafter day, it was like, you're
not going to get on it prettymuch.
And then there was one last meetwhere it was like, this is kind
of the final deciding factor,whether you could be in it or

(23:44):
not.
And it was just...
I don't remember what I ran Ifeel like it was probably like
220 something but it was like Iran that time I looked at the
results and I was like there itis like it's done right there
and so that was definitelyreally hard and hurtful and so
it I was really glad for thembecause we had a amazing 4x8

(24:06):
team but it's also like thatlike oh like I really wanted to
be on that team so then comingback this year it was like 4x8
like I'm on the 4x8 there's noother option and it wasn't like
I'm gonna try like it was likeno I'm making the 4x8 all year
and so I just kept likerepeating that to myself telling
everyone else like I was like noI'm making the 4x8 and so all

(24:26):
training it was like working onthe speed but also I'm a
distance heavy person so I godistance and then we started
introducing speed and then timestarted to slowly come and I had
I don't remember what race itwas but I had a pretty good
breakthrough and it was likegetting back into my old times
and then it was like all right Ican do this like and he kept

(24:48):
putting me on like four byeights when we needed to run
fast and I was like kind ofhelped building my confidence
and stuff and I was like allright I've got this spot like I
just need to keep working hardbecause it never ends like It
doesn't end.
No, there's no place.
You can't just level off andkeep running the same times.
You're always hungry for moreand stuff.
And so it was just constant meetafter meet.

SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
And you were part of that team when Megan Postma got
injured too, weren't you?

SPEAKER_03 (25:13):
I was, yeah.
So it was just, you wouldremember that and you're like, I
want the state championship.
Like there's a legacy to uphold,but there's also remembering my
freshman and sophomore year whenit didn't end the way I wanted
to.
And so it's just that extralike...
I want it.
So getting on it this year waslike extremely special.

SPEAKER_02 (25:32):
I'm very fortunate when I go to the state meet that
I'm able to get down on theinfield.
The first thing that I notice isthe race finishes and we win the
state title is the three of youtalking to Ava and really loving
her up about being on that.
And one of you actually said toher, you're going to be on the
wall now.
So for me as a guy that I lovehanging those pictures on the

(25:55):
wall.
That will always stand out tome.
That's really cool to see agroup of girls support their
teammate and say, hey, we didthis, and now you're up there
forever.

SPEAKER_03 (26:05):
30

SPEAKER_02 (26:06):
years from now, you're going to come back for
your kid's basketball game, andyou're going to be hanging on
that

SPEAKER_01 (26:11):
wall.
You look different, Mom.
You don't look the same anymore.
What

SPEAKER_02 (26:15):
happened?
What's that mean to you to havethat support from the other
three sitting around you rightnow?

SPEAKER_03 (26:22):
Gosh, I would, I would not have made it on the
team if it wasn't for them.
Like they knew how bad I wantedit.
And like Emma from the previousyear, she just, she knows how,
how bad I struggled in thatyear.
And so I think just reallyhaving them lean in on like me
and being like, you can do it.
Like there was never a day wherethat it went by and it was like,

(26:44):
they don't want me on this team.
Like it was, they want me on theteam.
They know I can do it.
And so like having theirconstant support it was just
like really reassuring and it'slike I do like I do belong on
this team and like there's areason for me to be on it and so
just getting to do it with themwas like amazing it was such a
special occasion and somethingI'll never forget because

SPEAKER_00 (27:07):
they're my best friends

SPEAKER_01 (27:09):
there you

SPEAKER_00 (27:10):
go yeah I think one of the hardest things it can
also be one of the best thingsthough of this sport is there
are so many ups and downs andthings you can't control but
When you have a team that youtrain with every single day,
going through the ups and downswith, and you know, like you get
so close and you get to knoweach other so well that you can
know like what the other peopleneed and help them so that

(27:31):
everyone can become the bestthey can.
And then when you achieve thingslike your goals or like one of
you gets a PR or something, youcan celebrate it and it's really
special.

SPEAKER_01 (27:41):
Yeah.
So this, you know, each other soclose, you can kind of read each
other on race day a little bit,

SPEAKER_00 (27:46):
huh?

UNKNOWN (27:47):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (27:47):
Emma, take us back to that race day.
What was your guys' expectationgoing in?
What were you thinking couldhappen?

SPEAKER_00 (27:52):
Well, we just went into it first knowing we won it
last year, and I thought we werestronger than we were last year,
and we just had that expectationthat we needed to just go out
there and just put our all intoit so we could just get it done
in a day and go out and winanother state championship.

SPEAKER_01 (28:09):
And you have so much training.
I mean, just rely on that.
Do you guys have nerves on a bigday like that, or do you get
more calm?
What's it like

SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
for you, Ellen?
Oh, the

SPEAKER_01 (28:17):
nerves are there.
Okay.

SPEAKER_00 (28:18):
Because you have the confidence of knowing that,
like, we had run that time.
We had run.
We were placed first.
But then most of it's justexecution.
So, like, don't drop the baton.
You need to not get stuck in thepack.
So that kind of thing.
But, yeah, race plan, not goingout too fast, not going out too
slow.
But I guess that's what I worryabout mostly is just, like, I

(28:39):
know I can do it, but, like,actually doing it.
Sometimes it's the hard part.

SPEAKER_01 (28:43):
And sometimes the best thing is just having the
race start.

SPEAKER_00 (28:46):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (28:47):
Because the mind is, there ain't no more worrying.
Like, we're in it now.
It started.
And it was Oak

SPEAKER_02 (28:52):
Park, right, who went out real fast.
Yeah.
That first leg, like, whoa.

SPEAKER_00 (28:57):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (28:58):
Oh, so you had to hang back.

SPEAKER_00 (29:00):
Yeah.
So I was actually, I had gottensick, like, the Thursday before
race.

SPEAKER_01 (29:05):
All these variables you can't control

SPEAKER_00 (29:08):
that are on race day, yeah.
Friday, I stayed home fromschool, so I slept in.
I ate all my normal food.
I went in the Normatex, went tobed, because I was just hoping I
would still feel better onSaturday.
So Saturday, I woke up, and thenI was talking to Kyle, and he
was like, yeah, I'm going tohave you and Mary Dalbo warm up
with the rest of the team.
She was your

SPEAKER_01 (29:27):
alternate or vice versa,

SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
right?
Yeah, so then he was like, ifyou don't feel like you can run
sub 220, then I'm going to putMary in it.
So I was like, I felt prettygood in the warm-up.
So I was like, okay, I think Ican do it.
And I'm really glad I didbecause I ended up splitting a
215, I think.

SPEAKER_01 (29:42):
Hey, it's that sickness, Bill.

SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
A Michael Jordan flu game.

SPEAKER_01 (29:46):
Yep.

SPEAKER_02 (29:47):
Or bad pizza, whatever you

SPEAKER_01 (29:49):
want to call it.
Yep.
Sometimes when you have thatsickness, it's just...
Did you find that you just hadto really just focus on simple
things when you're running that?

SPEAKER_00 (29:57):
Yeah.
Not feeling well?
I changed up my race plan alittle bit, or Kyle did.
Yeah.
Cause I had been going outpreviously in the season, going
out too fast and then just notfinishing well.
So it was like, just go outstate towards the middle to the
back of the pack for like thefirst lap and then pretty much
just kick.
So that's what I did.
And it worked.

SPEAKER_01 (30:16):
Ava, you're next.

SPEAKER_03 (30:17):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (30:18):
How were you on race day?

SPEAKER_03 (30:20):
Ooh, I was, I think I was kind of a nervous wreck.
There's a lot of pressure youfeel, but also like once I step
on the track, I feel like Ireally like, enter this new like
focus zone and it's likenothing's getting in my

SPEAKER_01 (30:32):
way once you start running it's on you know

SPEAKER_03 (30:34):
so then i see like ella coming down the
straightaway and i was like allright it's time to go like if
you feel good go but be smartdon't kill yourself in the first
like 200 meters and so i kind ofhung with the pack and then it
was like the last 200 it waslike all right go like get this
lead like try to open up alittle bit of a gap going to
emma so

SPEAKER_01 (30:54):
and emma got it Gets the baton.

SPEAKER_00 (30:56):
Yeah.
How was your day?
Ava always does this thing whereshe like hands off to me and
she's like, Emma, go.
Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 (31:03):
See,

SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
the cheerleader.
You can't even help yourself.

SPEAKER_03 (31:05):
No,

SPEAKER_00 (31:05):
I can't.
It just like gets me all firedup and then I'm just like grab
the baton and I'm just likerunning on the straighter and I
have like my eyes towards likethe back of the Oak Park girls
head and I'm just like that'sall I'm focused on.
You guys are really fun

SPEAKER_01 (31:17):
to watch run, by the way.
Like you guys are all incredibleathletes.
Like you're moving and And justfrom a fan's point of view, it's
really enjoyable to see you guysrun.
It's spectacular.
So you have a good day.

SPEAKER_00 (31:30):
Yeah, I just remember like...
Coming down, like, destroyedaway on the first lap.
And then I just start to passthe Oak Park girl.
And, like, the crowd is, like,going crazy, especially.
My mom's always so loud.
Really?
I've never

SPEAKER_01 (31:43):
heard

SPEAKER_00 (31:43):
of her before.
I can always just, like, hearher just, like, screaming my
name.
And it just, like, yeah, itmakes me, like, feel, like,
really pumped up.
And then I just remember passingher.
So you

SPEAKER_01 (31:52):
heard your mom's name?
You heard your mom's voiceamongst all that

SPEAKER_00 (31:56):
big crowd?
Yeah, definitely.
That's awesome.
Shout out to Marissa Gunner.
Marissa Gunner.
One

SPEAKER_02 (32:01):
of the nicest people I have ever met in my life.

SPEAKER_01 (32:04):
That's really great.
And then, Colette, you teared upon that last

SPEAKER_00 (32:08):
drop of the hammer.
I was definitely really nervousbefore, but I knew we had a
really strong team and justtried to focus on execution.
But when I was standing on theline...
They all ran amazing, and I wasso proud of them, and I was
like, yes, I'm going to do thisfor them.
It's going to be good.
And then Emma, the Oak Parkgirl, went out really fast, but
I was like, oh, she's got this.
Even after the first lap, shestarted to slow down, and I was

(32:30):
like, oh, yes, Emma.
And then she handed me the ton,and then I think I went out a
little bit fast, but most of thetime I was just trying not to
get caught.
That's what I was thinking.
I was like, keep going, keepyour form, keep your speed up,
just don't look back, and justhammer until the finish line.
And

SPEAKER_01 (32:45):
you hammered it because it was a fairly large
gap.

SPEAKER_00 (32:48):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (32:48):
Eight

SPEAKER_01 (32:50):
seconds, I believe.

SPEAKER_03 (32:51):
Something like that.
Yeah, that's a big distance on atrack.

SPEAKER_02 (32:56):
So at Kentwood D1 state meet, they use the video
board.
When you're on that backstraightaway, do you look at
that board at all to see wherethe trail runner is?
I

SPEAKER_00 (33:07):
think I might've one time, like in the second lap
after I passed.
And then you saw

SPEAKER_01 (33:11):
your mom on the screen.

SPEAKER_00 (33:14):
There's my mom.
I mean, it's like helpful tolook at the board just like,
cause you have like no clue.
I don't want to look back.
Cause I feel like that alwayswould like slow me down or
something.
So just being able to like, youknow, look at it and like see
that the gap is growing and justlike, make myself like feel more
confident so that, yeah, ithelps.

SPEAKER_01 (33:30):
You know, it's funny as a fan, like when I'm watching
track, I don't like, especiallya race like that.
I'm not watching the runners.
I'm just kind of watching thegap and I'm just watching the
gap is closing or if it'sgetting wider.
I don't know if you ever do thatwhen you're watching track meet.

SPEAKER_02 (33:43):
I'm just usually losing my mind, especially when
the West Ottawa

SPEAKER_01 (33:46):
parking concessions.

SPEAKER_02 (33:48):
Well, no, by this time I'm in the, I'm in the
track, I'm on the field and nowit's just like, all right, we
won.
Now I got to get photos.
I got to get things posted tosocial.
And what's awesome is that Ihave all of these awesome
friends, ADs in the area.
We all are super tight becausethere's one of us at each
school.

(34:09):
So we rely on each other.
And Tim Ritzma was kind of doingthe announcing that day.
He comes up to me.
He's like, hey, do you want tohand out the medals for the four
by eight?
And I'm like, heck yeah, I do.
So that kind of stuff for an ADis really special when I get to
see my school and my girls up onthat podium and then hand them
the medals, that's a big dealfor ADs.

SPEAKER_01 (34:28):
Yeah, it's a big deal.
Yeah.
And it does show.
I mean, you really do enjoy thatmoment.
Oh, it's great.
Of doing that with everybody.
You know, that's the race youwin that day.
What does it feel like toactually pull something off?
Like every athlete has a goal orI need to go do this or we want
to do this.
How enjoyable was the actualmoment itself when you guys are,

(34:49):
I mean, you all recollect,right?
Everyone's done the race and youmeet up again.
What was that moment like, Ella?

SPEAKER_00 (34:55):
I got chills asking the question.
I have goosebumps right now.
Because it was us three.
We're just watching Colettefinish.
And like for the last maybe like200, we kind of knew she was
going to, I mean, it wasn't forsure.
We literally sat

SPEAKER_03 (35:07):
in a circle and prayed.
And we were like, please justlike get her to the end in
first.

SPEAKER_00 (35:13):
Oh, that's great.
Time does not matter.
Like Justin first.
Yeah.
And I just remember just likejumping up and down and it was
just like, right.
She's all tired.
Yeah.
There's one picture.
There's one picture.
We're all like hugging eachother that I love.
And that's like basically whatwe do it for.
I feel like, I mean, not all ofit, but that's just the best

(35:34):
part of it.

SPEAKER_01 (35:35):
And Emma, you as a senior, you mean getting it back
to back?
How rewarding is that for you?

SPEAKER_00 (35:42):
I mean, it was, like, crazy.
I mean, like, I always, like,knew that we could do it, but
then, like, seeing all, like,the hard work.
It feels like we were training,like, for this moment, honestly,
from, like, the summertime even.
So just, like, yeah, seeing itjust pay off is, like,
incredible.

SPEAKER_02 (35:57):
And no pressure, but...
Three of you are back.

SPEAKER_00 (36:00):
Yeah.
Oh,

SPEAKER_02 (36:01):
here we

SPEAKER_01 (36:02):
go.

SPEAKER_00 (36:02):
It's already...
Three in a row.

SPEAKER_01 (36:04):
Usually it's like the local newspaper.
Can you win it again?
Right after you won, they askyou, can you win it again?
What about this one?
We're on to the next.
And now your AD went at you.

SPEAKER_02 (36:13):
Well, so the race ends.
You have that moment.
You're hugging each other.
But then...
you kind of get bombarded,right?
Because you have state champs,Michigan is there and they want
quotes and photos.
You got Dandy Adonis down on theinfield, the local guy from the
Holland Sentinel.
You've got an AD who's liketrying to get your picture to
post to the socials.

(36:33):
What is that kind of like?
Is it just coming at you so fastthat you like just blank out and
you just do the thing and thenworry about other stuff later?
These are great problems.

SPEAKER_03 (36:45):
I actually think We all just end up saying like
really similar things becauseyour mind is not there.
Your mind is like, it's like youfinish.
It's like a weight lifted offyour shoulders.
And then all these people comingat you and you're like, yep, it
was great.
Let's, yeah, I'm tired now.
And we're all just kind ofrepeating the same things,
trying to get through it andstuff.

SPEAKER_01 (37:06):
I always think it's the worst sports question.
Bill knows this because I'vesaid this before.
How does it feel?
Well, how do you think it feels?
We just won.
It's a better question to ask, Ithink.
Probably the tough part isanswering that question, too.
You

SPEAKER_00 (37:21):
know what's coming.
It feels terrible, but it alsofeels great.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 (37:24):
for sure.
Go ahead, Ella.

SPEAKER_00 (37:26):
I just remember one question one of the reporters
asked me was, what does it meanto be with a team or do it for
each other?
And I think that just helped metry to enjoy it a lot and
recognize all the work we putin.
Yeah.
I just remember trying to enjoyit a lot.
I was like, this is, this is whywe ran it.
You know,

SPEAKER_02 (37:44):
there's days upon days and hours upon hours, runs
upon runs that just get stackedon top of each other to get you
to that point.
I mean, you all are crosscountry, you run indoor season,
then you're in the outdoorseason.
Like it is literally the entireschool year.

SPEAKER_03 (38:02):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 (38:03):
You're training for

SPEAKER_01 (38:05):
that race.
That particular day, that'swhere you won your state
championship.
You're doing lots of otherthings that day, right?
You're in other races where youfinished in different places.
And then, Colette, you get torun the 800, and you win the
state championship there.
Was it after or before this one?

SPEAKER_00 (38:22):
It was after.

SPEAKER_01 (38:23):
Okay.

SPEAKER_00 (38:23):
It was, yeah, it was like a while after.

SPEAKER_01 (38:25):
Okay, like how long?

SPEAKER_00 (38:27):
Three hours?
I had a decent amount of time.
That's nice.
I just remember being tiredbecause then it got into the
afternoon and it was hot.
We were just sitting in thetank.
We're not really supposed towalk around and do a bunch of
stuff.
I remember I was like, yeah, I'mgoing to take caffeine gum,
which I usually don't usecaffeine unless it's for big
races.
I use

SPEAKER_01 (38:46):
caffeine all the

SPEAKER_00 (38:47):
time.
I just remember being tired andBut before, I was super nervous.
But Coach Kyle, before, therewas this one race.
It was called Under the Lights,but it wasn't Dark Out.
But it was one meet, and it wasmy first time going in the 211s.
And he was like, I think youshould go out to win at state.

(39:08):
And then, really, I knew therewas good competition.
It was a close finish.
Yeah, but my main competitionwas Valerie Bee.
She's a senior from Grand Haven.
And she had run 210 earlier inthe season, but she wasn't
running her best at the end ofthe season.
And she had run the mile earlierin the meet.

(39:30):
So I was like, okay, she's goingto be tired.
She hasn't been doing superwell.
So my goal was to just get out,try to be in a good spot, which,
you know, you never know what'sgoing to happen.

SPEAKER_01 (39:39):
You got a good kick, right?

SPEAKER_00 (39:41):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's kind of her thing.
Yeah.
So I'm honestly...
Basically, my race plan wentexactly as I kind of wanted it
to.
I was like, just get out, getkind of in a good spot.
Don't get caught behind people.
Stand outside for a little bit.
And then I got behind Valerie.

(40:01):
And the second 200 honestly didnot feel very fast.
We went out in 66, I think,which is a couple seconds slower
than I usually go out.
But then a couple people startedto make moves at 400, and so
that's when we actually startedgoing faster.
Yeah, started racing.
I was just locked in on herback, on the back stretch.
I was like, just stay with her,stay relaxed, keep your form.

(40:24):
And then I got around the curve.
I was like, okay, it's almosttime to go.
And then we got to the last 100.
I was like, okay, you got tokick.
And so then I was just trying totell myself positive things,
execute my form, just get to thefinish line.
And then she started faltering alittle bit.
I could tell she was...
struggling a little bit.
And so I was like, just keepgoing as hard as you can.

(40:46):
And then I crossed the finishline and I honestly like didn't
believe it.
And I like, it was, yeah, it wasa really great experience
though.

SPEAKER_02 (40:55):
That day.
So that's state championshipSaturday.
So I saw the four by eight.
We had a doubles team that wasin the state semifinal.
So I busted over to Byroncenter.
I'm getting texts from Kyle.
He's like, Oh my gosh, Kyle,Well, I just won the 800.
Helen wins the mile or two mile.

(41:16):
So I'm busting back over to EastKentwood to catch the last race
because at that point we stillhad a shot at being state runner
up.
And I wasn't able to get backdown on the field because it was
just too much commotion.
But then as I'm like, I find outwe finished third.
Then I hop back in my car andI'm headed to rugby because
rugby was in the statesemifinals.

(41:36):
So.

SPEAKER_01 (41:36):
That was a crazy day.
Yeah, that's a crazy day.
Let's head over to FranklinField in Philadelphia.
This is only, what, three weekslater?
Something like that?
Yeah.
It's pretty quick.
Tell us about what are you doingin between those weeks to prep
for Philadelphia?

SPEAKER_00 (41:52):
Well, last year it was only two weeks, so we had
extra time to prepare for thisyear.
Honestly, it doesn't feel thatmuch different from regular
season.
We're just training, doing theworkouts.
We're getting ready.
a good like week or two oftraining in and then like we
start tapering again fornationals like the last week

SPEAKER_01 (42:13):
are you guys like super pumped to head out was it
so much fun to travel for yoursport i mean you're going to a
different bit nice big

SPEAKER_03 (42:19):
american city yeah it was so fun i have never got
to experience it first year foryou past like two years yeah i
missed it the past two yearsfrom sickness and megan's injury
and so i was like Three weeks, Iliterally was counting down the
days.
I was like, I'm so excited.
I literally can't wait.

SPEAKER_01 (42:34):
Philly

SPEAKER_03 (42:35):
cheesesteak.
Who even cares about the racing?
I'm there for the Phillycheesesteak and the atmosphere.
Do

SPEAKER_02 (42:42):
you guys drive out to that?
Yeah.
So across the PA Turnpike?
America's worst road?
Maybe.
I don't know.
You have no idea?
I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 (42:52):
I'm chilling in that back seat.
I got those headphones on.
It's relaxing.
Who all went?
Because not just the four of youwent.
More of your teammates went,right?
Yeah.
Who went, Ella?

SPEAKER_00 (43:01):
It was us, and then Jane went for the four-by-mile.
And then Mary Dauble went forthe four-by-four.
Who else?
I think.
Was that it?
That was it.

SPEAKER_01 (43:11):
That was it.
And all your families wentalong.
And then that was, for theWirks, that was your third time
going.

SPEAKER_00 (43:16):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (43:16):
And then.
That was my second time.
Your second time.
You guys enjoyed the city whenyou were there?
I know you had done it more.
Yeah.
So when I talked to your mom,she said, hey, we had already
done most of that.
So we kind of hunkered up in ourroom or whatever and had their
pre-made meals or whatever.
Which is smart as an athlete.
You don't want to be hittingthat Philly cheesesteak for the

(43:37):
oil.
But did you have fun in thecity?
What was that like

SPEAKER_00 (43:39):
for you guys?
Well, we had our off day onSaturday, right?
So we got to, you know, weexplored the city.
We went shopping.
There's so many stores downthere.
And that was so fun.
We all went as a team to go getphilly cheesesteaks at like the
the famous places there's likethe two and like opposites yeah
the opposite corners or whateverand then yeah we said they're

(44:01):
opposite

SPEAKER_01 (44:01):
corners i don't know

SPEAKER_00 (44:02):
this yeah this is cool right across the street
from each other so we all gotlike a picture did

SPEAKER_01 (44:06):
you all go to one or did some go

SPEAKER_00 (44:07):
to the other we all went to one okay kyle let's
let's do

SPEAKER_01 (44:13):
our own little comparison here yeah

SPEAKER_02 (44:16):
I'm from Baltimore, so I have a hatred for Philly,
but it's just what it is.
That's all right.
It's East Coast.
You don't have a hatred forfood, though.
No.
I do love a good cheese steak.

SPEAKER_01 (44:26):
Yeah, we all do.
When you go there, are youcompeting as West Ottawa or as
the Shore Club?

SPEAKER_00 (44:30):
No, it's Shore Track Club.

SPEAKER_01 (44:32):
Shore Track Club.
Yeah.
Okay.

SPEAKER_02 (44:34):
Yeah, MHSA rules would not allow us to compete as
West Ottawa.

SPEAKER_00 (44:38):
But it's fun because we can make colorful outfits and
Kyle will print the logo onthem.

SPEAKER_01 (44:44):
Yeah, I did notice that.
I thought that was really funthat you guys were able to do
that.
Able to kind of do that.
And you guys have that entrancething that you did too.
Oh, yeah.
Tell me about that.
You guys definitely...
Did some choreography.
That

SPEAKER_03 (44:57):
was so fun.
Me and Emma were definitely likepushing it.
We were like, we're going tohave like we're going to have
good intros.
We're working on it like a weekin advance.
I think we didn't end up doingit until like the day before.
We were like hyping it up andwe're like, all right, we're
going to do this, this and this.
And Collette and I were like,sure, let's do it.
We're down.
And they're like, just place usand we'll do it.
And we're like, all right.

(45:17):
So before the four by mile, usthree and Jane were out.
behind like the field doingstrides and we're like
practicing walking up and likehitting our pose and we had Kyle
like take a video of us so wecould like get the vibe and
we're like yep this is the oneand so we were just coming up
with a different day and it waskind of like a fun and then once
you got on the track it was like

SPEAKER_01 (45:38):
alright you guys definitely had fun you guys when
I was watching online which Idid I didn't know that was
coming up so I'm kind of likescrolling through the video to
see oh And then I saw you guyskind of pop out into your thing.
I'm like, oh yeah, this

SPEAKER_00 (45:48):
is a good time.
That was really, really fun.
Well, like the last year we wentfor the forebite, we didn't like
barely even know that we weredoing intros.
So we had no clue what we weredoing like first year.
And then we learned for like theDMR after we did a little post,
but this year, yeah, we wantedto be prepared.
So we like, yeah, we're planningit out, you know, just having
fun with it.
And I feel like it's like a funthing to get the nerves off.

(46:09):
Cause we're all like waiting inthis like tunnel before we have
to like go step out and do likethe intros and then go onto the
track.
So it's like, fun to just liketake the nerves off and oh yeah
practice the poses and

SPEAKER_01 (46:20):
stuff and we'll see

SPEAKER_03 (46:21):
the bullpen and so it's a little freaky

SPEAKER_01 (46:24):
do that again

SPEAKER_03 (46:25):
they call it the bullpen and so you're sitting in
there you're like oh gosh likeEverybody's nervous in here.
You can just like feel the liketension.
It's big time.
This is big time.
You walk in like we always saythe hour before is like the
worst hour.
Like it's worse than the racebecause your mind is just
racing.
And so you're sitting in thereand you're just like they're in
because they hold you for awhile.

(46:45):
Like 20 or 24 minutes.
You're just sitting there.
And you're sitting there andthere's like you're constantly
going to the bathroom.
There's a bathroom in there.
Thank goodness.
So there's athletes going backand forth, back and forth
through the bathroom.
And it's just the nerves arelike you can just feel them.

SPEAKER_02 (46:58):
Is it pretty warm there?
At that point of the year, EastCoast heat and humidity

SPEAKER_00 (47:02):
is a little bit different.
Yeah, there was like that heatwave and stuff.
So on Sunday, yeah, it was like90 degrees.
But thankfully, it rained beforethe DMR.
So then it actually cooled downa lot.
But for our 4x4, we had to standout in the field for like 20
minutes.
I just remember it was like 100degrees.
I was like feeling so faint.
It was just the sun was justlike pounding down.

(47:25):
Yeah,

SPEAKER_01 (47:26):
that's tough conditions for sure.
And that's outdoor track rightthere.
Right.
At its best.
You guys are doing lots ofdifferent events while you're
there.
Right.
The four by eight is not theonly thing you do.
You run an eight fifty ninepoint six four.
So this is a really big.
I mean, you break nine minutes.
Tell us about that race,Colette.
I mean, I watched it onlinelater.

(47:48):
We talked about this in the hallbefore we got started.
So anyways, IMG wins it.
And if you watch it online, theyjust have the camera on them the
whole stinking way.
So I was like, really?

SPEAKER_02 (47:58):
IMG plays by a little bit different rules than
we

SPEAKER_00 (48:01):
play

SPEAKER_02 (48:02):
by.
They get people from all over

SPEAKER_00 (48:05):
the country.
So that one, I think we raced atlike 8, 10 or something.
It was a little bit later.
It wasn't actually dark out.
That's not a bad

SPEAKER_01 (48:12):
time to run.

SPEAKER_00 (48:13):
No, it was pretty good because by then it's a
little bit cooler too.
But I don't even remember whatorder we went in.
I know I was first.
I mean, I went

SPEAKER_03 (48:23):
second.
Yeah, I was third that day,

SPEAKER_00 (48:24):
and you

SPEAKER_03 (48:24):
were fourth.

SPEAKER_00 (48:25):
I just remember, like, being on the line, and
everyone did so good.
Like, you can just tell howpeople– like, you don't even
know the time, but you can justtell if someone feels good or if
they're running fast.
And I just– and we were in– wewere in third, I think, when I
got it, and then I was– Therewas a group of you.

(48:46):
Just stay behind this one girl.
I think she had a yellow jersey.
That's what I remember.
She didn't go out very fast andI was a little worried that
other people were going to catchus.
But I was like, just be smart.
Don't make a move in the first200 meters.
And then we got to 400 or 600and like in between.
And then I was like, okay, yougot to start going.

(49:08):
And then the last like 200, Ipassed her right before the,
right before the turn.
And then just hammered to thefinish line again.
I was like, we're actually insecond right now.
This is crazy.
They had the

SPEAKER_01 (49:20):
camera shot when I was watching it from like you
running toward me.
And I just remember, all right,here comes IMG.
There they go.
And then all of a sudden thisbig group comes by and then
you're just this fierce, warriorcompetitor coming down the
stretch there.

SPEAKER_03 (49:33):
Yeah.
I think part of it is the nightbefore we got ninth, right?
Ninth in the four by mile.
He didn't like that.
We were not happy with that.
Like we went in with highexpectations for the four mile.
So doing that was like extremelydisappointing in a way.
I mean, it's hard to sayextremely disappointing when you
get ninth in the nation, but itwas to us.

(49:54):
And so the next day it was like,we were all three just like on
fire.
We're like, we're getting allAmerican.
It doesn't matter.
Like, do you

SPEAKER_01 (50:01):
think like the first race was more just kind of
getting used to the atmosphereor what do you

SPEAKER_03 (50:06):
think?
Like a lot.
Right.
And so it was, yeah.
Day after the car.
So it was a little, a littlerough, but the

SPEAKER_01 (50:16):
thing is right top, Top five become All-Americans.
So you're hoping to get that.
I talked to your coaches.
When we went there, we were justhoping to get All-American in
something.
And then maybe the one you thinkyou're going to get it in passes
you by.
So you all kind of had thatinner, we're going to go get
this on the second time around.

SPEAKER_00 (50:35):
No, I think it's almost hard because a lot of
people just go there eitherhoping, just being glad to run
there or hoping to getAll-American, which we were last
year.
But then it's just...
We were ranked second in the 4x,so it was almost just having to
push to be the next level ofgetting second and not just
settling.
That's actually almost hard.

SPEAKER_01 (50:55):
It was just amazing to pull that off at a place like
that.
Big stage.
Then you do more stuff too,though, which is what I really
like.
This is like wrapping up aChristmas present and everything
is perfect when you open it.
You guys run the DMR.
I just picked that lingo up fromyou because you just said it.
I would have said the distancemedley relay.

(51:16):
But that's not a standard eventin the MHSAA, right?
This is a funner thing you cando.
It's funner, man.
No, tell us about it.

SPEAKER_00 (51:25):
Well, yeah, it is fun to do because we only get to
do the DMR in either indoorstate season or postseason
because they don't have it forthe regular high school season.
I feel like it's a really funevent because everyone gets to
do a different...
distance per leg and then Ithink I got to do the 400 so
it's fun to just like rip a lapand then like what are the

(51:48):
different

SPEAKER_01 (51:48):
distances that everybody did so you did four
and

SPEAKER_00 (51:51):
you ripped a lap that's pretty fun yeah I got to
run a PR I think it's 1200 1200which Collette did and

SPEAKER_03 (51:59):
then 400 800 mile yeah uh-huh and

SPEAKER_01 (52:04):
Did you guys finish?
You just said it.
You said a PR, but who else saidPRs, Emma?

SPEAKER_00 (52:10):
Yeah, everyone did.
We all ran crazy amazing on eachleg.
Colette took us out so strong,and I think we were in third or
something like that.
Yeah, I just kept it, and thenElla ran a really, really good
800 leg and just kept us in therace, and then Ava just went and

(52:30):
battled it out with this onegirl.
They're just neck and neck, justlike going back and forth.
And it was crazy.
And like, we're all justcheering so strong for like,
during so loud for her.
And like, we could tell she waslike feeling strong.
Cause she gets that little, thatlook on her face.
She's just like so determined.
You can like see the fire in hereyes.
And like, are you guys able to

SPEAKER_01 (52:48):
imitate the look?
Have you been able to do that?
What's the

SPEAKER_03 (52:50):
look?
It's literally just like I deadstare in someone's back.
My eyes don't move.
Her teeth are just like gritted.
And she's just like, you cantell I'm in the pain cave.
But like nothing's like I'm likeso laser focused on someone in
front of me.

SPEAKER_02 (53:05):
That's really great.
So you all walk away as allAmericans.

SPEAKER_00 (53:11):
What's

SPEAKER_02 (53:11):
that mean to add that to your list of accolades
for your high school runningcareers?

SPEAKER_00 (53:18):
Yeah, I think it's just the next level because I
feel like most schools and teamsdon't make it to national
levels.
So it's just kind of cool andalmost unexpected.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (53:30):
And you can't beat that T-shirt,

SPEAKER_02 (53:31):
by the way.

SPEAKER_01 (53:33):
This is a podcast and it's not a video one.
But when you walked in thebuilding today and I like the
other T-shirts, don't get mewrong, but that New Balance
National All-American T-shirt.
Is what they say fire?
Is that what we're still saying?
Straight fire, bro.
Yeah, so it's a great...
Sorry, you were...
Continue if you want.

SPEAKER_03 (53:51):
I feel like a state championship is so special and
amazing, but then getting to doit on the national level where
the entire U.S.
is watching you.
Well, the people that are in therunning community are watching
you, and people are watchingfrom home.
And so it's just like it'sreally like that extra...
we've put in the work, it'sreally paying off.

(54:12):
Especially when you all go anddrop some seconds off your
times.

SPEAKER_00 (54:15):
It's just really cool to be there and be in the
stadium.
All the intros and evenpreparing for it too, just with
the team.
I think relays are so much morefun than individual events.
A couple of us could have runindividual events, but we didn't
because relays are moreimportant and it's a lot more
fun to do with your team too.
Preparing for that and then it'salso really cool to be able to

(54:37):
be like, okay, we're ranked...
this let's go try to get itinstead of just being like there
to run you got you're actuallycompeting for something and like
we didn't like totally know forthe DMR like where we were at
because Kyle was talking to likeus before and he was like you
could get 10th you could getsecond like we don't know so
just like go out and you knowgive it your all and then Like,

(55:00):
yeah, being able to get thirdwas so crazy.
And then we also got, like, thestate record, which is even
crazier.

SPEAKER_01 (55:06):
That's right.

SPEAKER_00 (55:06):
Yeah, I think, I mean, honestly, like, Ava, like,
her mile, like, was amazing.
Because, like, before we hadHelen and, like, we didn't,
like, totally know how it wasgoing to go for, like...
the mile, but then she went outand got a four-second PR.
A four-second

SPEAKER_03 (55:21):
PR?
Good

SPEAKER_01 (55:24):
thing it rained.
I am.

SPEAKER_03 (55:26):
We

SPEAKER_00 (55:27):
totally weren't expecting to get a state record
or anything, but then we brokeit by two seconds.
It was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 (55:34):
Emma, that's like the cherry on top of the high
school career for you, right?
You get to go run with yourfriends, earn All-American
honors on top of a state title.
What's that kind of like asyou've Now you're stepping away
and you're going to GrandValley.
What's it like to kind of havethat?
I

SPEAKER_00 (55:51):
mean, it's definitely, like, a lot of good
memories.
I, like, every year getting togo to nationals was, like, so
special for me.
And, like, getting to, like, youknow, spend that time with,
like, my best friends and stuff.
It was amazing.
And, like, just being able tocap off the season with, like,
that, like, greataccomplishment.
And, like, yeah, getting to betwo-time All-American that year
is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 (56:14):
You are our...
I'm not going to say youngest,but the quickest alum to come
back on the 29th.
So we've had other athletes comein and they walk the halls and
yeah, man, I used to be here.
It used to be my every day.
You're like out of here for twoyears.
I mean, not for two years, twomonths.
And now you're back here, butyou know, off you go.

(56:34):
For the rest of you, she'sgraduating, she's left.
You're going to move up tojuniors and seniors.
Specifically, what has Emma kindof meant to you just for each of
you as a teammate, and we'lljust kind of go around the horn
here.

SPEAKER_00 (56:49):
No, yeah, she's definitely been a really good
role model.
I feel like she's always justcalm and prepared.
She's just, like, confident inherself and her abilities, and I
think that's almost rubbed offon me and the rest of the team.
So, yeah, she's just been areally fun individual, too.
Like, she helps everybody.
She's just fun to race against,honestly.

(57:11):
Competitive.
But yeah, she knows when to havefun, but also when to get
serious.
And we've made a lot of greatmemories.
I think all the statechampionships and nationals,
we've been on the same relay.
So next year is going to be sad.
Like this year.
But yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (57:27):
I think it's safe to say Emma's literally my best
friend.
I spend so much time with her.
We always joke that we're likesisters now because we fight and
argue like sisters.
It's not all friendly.
We get on each other's nerves.

SPEAKER_01 (57:40):
Move over, Wirks.

SPEAKER_03 (57:43):
We got an argument.
We definitely have our moments,but I mean, she's literally
shaped me into the person I amtoday.
I would not be as calm, cool,and collected as I am without
her.
She definitely teaches that, butalso her leadership skills.
She can be quiet, but she has...
when she speaks up, you know,when to listen.

(58:04):
And we talked

SPEAKER_01 (58:05):
about that quiet, that quiet leadership is the
strongest.
Yeah.
We were talking about

SPEAKER_03 (58:08):
that at camp, that quiet leadership is the
strongest.
Yeah.
And Emma's definitely one whenshe speaks up, it's definitely
important to listen.
And she's taught me a lot ofthings that I know and has given
me so much good advicethroughout the years and like
getting to be on these relayswith my best friend and like see
our accomplishments.
Like there is thatcompetitiveness between us, but

(58:29):
like, It's a good, healthy

SPEAKER_01 (58:31):
business.
Oh, you need that.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_00 (58:33):
for sure.

SPEAKER_01 (58:33):
Yeah, you got to compete all the time.

SPEAKER_00 (58:35):
Yeah, I'm really grateful to have been on all
these relays and on this teamwith you for two years.
It feels so much longer thanthat.
It's crazy because going on thisteam as a freshman, there were a
lot of really good runners.
And there still are, but there'sthe big senior class and
everything.
But she was so welcoming.
And you know she always supportsyou.
And it's just...

(58:55):
great to practice with, great torace with.
I love being on her team.
And she's always supporting you.
And I'm so excited to see whatshe has coming for her.
And that's why

SPEAKER_01 (59:06):
it's important to be a good mama duck.

SPEAKER_00 (59:10):
Yeah, for sure.
And I get to pass that role onto Ava.

SPEAKER_02 (59:13):
And now you go to Grand Valley and you get to meet
up with one of your formerteammates.
Yeah, Megan.
You're reunited with Meganagain.
And obviously, ladies, you'regoing to be spending a lot of
time with Postmas, right?
Oh, yeah.
Heather, joining the squad as acoach.
What's that, Emma, look like foryou as you go to Grand Valley?
Is it comforting knowing thatyou have somebody there that you

(59:34):
can kind of lean on?

SPEAKER_00 (59:35):
Yeah, for sure.
I actually ran into Ava andMegan running.
They're doing like a workout andthen I was just like running by
and then Megan's like, oh, Ihave to do that workout too.
So we got to like do it togetherlike a few weeks ago.
So it was like fun to get tolike talk to her about, you
know, what we're going to belike up to at Grand Valley.
And this weekend we have likeour camp thing.

(59:57):
So we get to go out and then Iget to like talk to, you know,
all the team more.
So it's going to be fun to likeget to bond with them all and
like also the new freshmen.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:06):
Yeah, the next stage, next season of your
athletic career begins.

SPEAKER_02 (01:00:11):
And then, girls, the season for you is here.
Yeah.
We're a couple days in to fallpractice.
Headed to Benzie on the 23rdfirst race.
And then Saturday, September6th, one of my favorite events
on the annual sports calendar atWest Ottawa, the Breidaway
Invitational.
This year with the addition offood trucks.

(01:00:31):
Mm-hmm.
Oh, really?
What do you got?
What are you bringing in?
Upgraded.
What's coming in?
We've got donut truck.
We've got a barbecue spot comingin.
A couple of others.
So those will be positioned kindof behind those visitor stands
on that little parking lotthere.
Again, braid-away is one ofthose things we just try to
raise the bar every year, makeit a little bit bigger.

(01:00:53):
There's a lot of teams coming.
It's going to be a pretty busyweekend over there on campus,
but I love that event.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
It's a long day at KennedyCrossing.

SPEAKER_03 (01:01:02):
Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:04):
The stern Bill Kennedy.
Hope for good weather becausethere's been a couple of years
where it's been pretty brutalout there.
Well, we're going to finish up.
Thank you so much for coming in.
It's always like a treat for usto get to know you a little bit,
and it's nice for the communityas well to hear your voices and
your experience of what you'vedone.
We just really want to thank youfor stopping by.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:24):
Yeah, so thankful for you all carving out some
time.
I know you're all very busy.

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:29):
Yeah.
Thanks so much for coming in.
And remember, everybody,

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:33):
we are a community.
We are each other.

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:35):
Let's go.
All right.
Thanks, you guys.
We appreciate

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:38):
it.
Thank you.