SPORTS COLUMN
W
ith football shut down for the fall, I wonder if any small schools thought about putting a cross-country team together. Sure, many of them already have golf, but why not add cross-country? It is one of the cheapest sports with no equipment, gyms or stadiums needed. Basically, get a group of kids together and start running. Established programs hastily threw schedules together anyway, so finding other teams to run against shouldn’t have been that big of a problem. Schools could certainly grab a coach from its track and field ranks. But, perhaps the IHSA has rules and deadlines for setting up new programs. However, even with the pro sports, rules are being made up as they go along. No doubt, it could have been done and a whole group of athletes would have another option this fall and one that is very healthy for mind, body and spirit. And the kids will reap the conditioning benefits in their other sports. It was good to see about 30 girls out for cross country at Oregon. What was disappointing was only 10 boys on the team, including only one football player, Austin Ebert. I remember my daughter going out for cross
COMMENTARY Andy Colbert
country her senior year and having the best time, because of the social aspect. No matter what your physical ability, it is truly a sport for anyone. Both Forreston and Polo already have a heritage of cross country. I can remember Polo putting together a boys team about 15 years ago and seeing them advance downstate and place in the top 10 with the school’s only boys all-stater in Brian Tyne. Before that, Erin Collins put Polo on the map with three straight all-state finishes (1994-96) in the girls meet. Terah Cheatham came along about 10 years later and finished fifth overall. Under long-time coach Rich Bennett, the Forreston boys were a regular downstate in the mid 1980s, with all-staters Mark Gassman and Paul Korf. Mark Korf was also an all-stater from ’79.
With other regular fall sports postponed, the only significant gain in golf for either Forreston and Polo were more Marco girls than normal, with 11 total. Only five boys are out at Polo. According to Matt Handley at Forreston, he gained one footballer and no volleyball players. He hopes to talk more into coming out when school starts this week. Oregon golf fared much better with coach Jim Spratt reporting that he has about 2-3 each from volleyball, football and soccer, plus a few new duffers. About 34 altogether. Another random thought was why not tennis this fall at Oregon? The park district has good quality courts that deserve to see more action. With a trip out west this week, I hope to see my first high-school football game. Or maybe not. Stadiums can only hold 20 percent regular capacity, with first preference to family. Utah started playing last week and so far, so good. For a small state, they play a good brand of ball with home-grown skill players and a heavy dose of Polynesian linemen. The Latter Day Saints have been making trips to places like Samoa and Tonga for over 150 years and besides proselytized Mormons coming to America, the ranks of prep football in Utah got much better.
VOICE OF DEMOCRACY VFW scholarship competition Area high school students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships and a trip to Washington, D.C. through the Voice of Democracy Scholarship competition. Students must write and record a 3to 5-minute essay on the selected theme using an audio CD or flash drive. Their recording, typed essay and completed entry form must be submitted to their local VFW Post by Oct. 31. The theme is “Is This the Country the Founders Envi-
sioned.” Students begin by competing at the local Post level. Post winners compete at the District level, with the winner advancing to the state competition. All state first-place winners receive a 4-day trip to Washington, D.C., and the chance to compete for their share of more than $150,000 in scholarships. The first-place winner receives a $30,000 college scholarship. Contact the VFW State Headquarters at 217-5296688 or email vfwil@vfwil.org.
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OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / oglecountynews.com • Friday, August 21, 2020
No-go for football so what about cross country?
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