Dennis Frazee '07 - This past weekends annual Charlie Finch ‘57 Memorial Alumni Run produced a record crowd as well as some early season success.  The annual alumni meet kicks the year off and allows the current runners to exchange stories and converse with many Wabash CC greats.  Among them were Adam White ’98, acting Head Coach Roger Busch ’96, Kent Baker ‘93, Geoff Lampert ‘92, and Jimmy Kerr ‘92.  Adam White and Roger Busch showed that after almost a decade they still have it as they went 1 and 2 respectively in times of 20:43 and 21:01.  However, not far behind Coach Busch was a sea of current Wabash runners taking the next 9 places.  The gap time among those 9 places was a mere 1:30, showing some early season potential. 

Check out the photo album from the Charlie Finch '57 Memorial Alumni Meet here.

To describe the course it is best to quote Junior All-American at 800 meters Geoff Lambert, “It’s hard to get rolling when you have to make a turn every 100 meters!”  The course, although seemingly fast and easy is everything but.  While some good early season times were run, everyone is at least 30 seconds faster on a course with a few less turns. 

The Red Pack goes into action next September 2, 2006 where they will take on the down south Dannies and a slew of other teams in the annual Hokum Karem.

Posted by Roger Busch at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Dustin Beck '07 - In my four years running the Wabash Alumni Meet I have seen performances that vary from mediocre to downright disappointing with flashes of greatness in the form of individual performances, most notably senior co-captain Denis Frazee’s freshman run under 21 minutes and alumni Roger Busch and Scott Gall’s quest for sub 20 on the difficult 4 mile course, but never have I seen anything like this years turnout. This year would have been considered successful enough by the fact that the Redpack came to the line looking like a real team this year with the largest number of athletes in recent years,  that turned out to be just the beginning. From the time President White dropped the starting flag the Redpack was out to show that the Redpack name was more than just one of Coach Johnson’s classic catch phrases, we are indeed a Red-PACK!!! The team did just that by putting 5 runners under the time set by last year’s #1 finisher with another pack following closely behind. As a senior and co-captain, this year’s performances tell me that the Redpack is indeed ready to live up to the hype of returning Wabash Cross Country to the elite national level it maintained in the 90’s.

I would personally like to thank all of the alumni who came to run with us, as well as Deans Bambrey and Phillips and President White.

Make it HURT!!

Posted by Roger Busch at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dennis Frazee '07 - On the last weekend of July a small group of the Wabash Red Pack ventured down to a teammates lake house to get away before the real work started. Meeting at 5:00 PM on a Friday afternoon and starting there journey the young runners on the trip began to get acquainted with the upperclassmen over a nice wholesome dinner at Cracker Barrel. After completing the approximately 2 hour drive the group proceeded to do what we do best; challenge each other. Throughout the weekend each of the individuals that went on the trip challenged each other at everything including diving off of the deck, tubing, water skiing, wakeboarding, mountain biking, and most of all running the hilly area of Brown County.

In all the weekend provided an excellent opportunity for those that attended to get in some excellent training, get to know those who went a little better, and most of all to have as much fun as possible. The Red Pack is in the process of planning another mid-season trip to Brown County with an even larger turn out!

See Photo Album, click here.

Posted by Roger Busch at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nathan Bates '07 - Plagued by hamstring issues last spring, I decided to join the Wabash cross country team in hopes of preventing future injury.  My theory (as well as my coaches) is that I will have less of a chance of getting injured this spring if I am in better shape. 

At the beginning of the summer, distance running was totally unfamiliar to me.  However, as the weeks roll on I am slowly learning to accept the sport.  Earlier this month I, as well as my teammates, helped coach Roger Busch ’96 host the inaugural Jeremy Wright Memorial 5k in Flat Rock, IN. 

The proceeds from the race go into two scholarship funds, with the remaining money going to the Wabash CC fund. Although I did not run the 3.1 mile race that day, I enjoyed being with the team.  Past, current, and future members of the Wabash CC team participated in the race, which was won by former Wabash CC standout Adam White ‘98.  Finishing not far behind White were team-captains Dennis Frazee ’07 and Dustin Beck ’07. 

With 102 participants, I would say that the race was a success.  There were no injuries, everyone ran well, and more importantly, everyone had fun!  From what I know about Jeremy Wright, he was an exemplary student, athlete, and person.

Thanks to this race, it is comforting to know that the memory of Jeremy Wright will continue for years to come.

Click here to read more about Jeremy Wright.

Posted by Howard Hewitt at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)