Jacob Surface '11 -- As my hometown high school football team makes its way through the tournament season, I am reminded of how much it stunk to be stuck on the sidelines, cheering on my friends without being able to get into the action.

Yet another reason why I have come to love Wabash Cross Country. Last weekend was a blast as I sprinted around the course with my cheering partner Sam Prellwitz ‘10, screaming my head off to encourage the Redpack to push past the pain and “Drop the Hammer!”. It was so exciting to see guys like Milliman ’10, McCarthy ‘12 and White '12 run as a pack and pull each other through right up to the finish. Brian David ‘12 and Justin Allen ‘11 were also stride in stride for a good three miles. Way back at the start of the season, we were paired up with the slowest and fastest guys running together for a tempo loop at camp. The point of the run was to establish the norm that we will not leave one of our teammates behind, no matter how much difference there was in skill or ability. This kind of thinking began to pay off a couple of weeks ago in workouts and has rocketed the Redpack from a 6th place preseason NCAC ranking, to a 3rd place finish, going into regionals.

As on the race course, so back on campus. Not a weeknight goes by that I do not end up talking with Brian about something class-related at 11 PM in the library. Seth Einterz ’11 and I have undertaken leadership roles in the Wabash Acts Responsibly Council together, and I am currently sitting next to Colin Dunlap ’12 as we finish up our homework on a Monday afternoon in the library. It is a great feeling to be a part of something as exciting and fraternal as Wabash Cross Country has become for me. I can’t wait to cheer my brothers on as they make a run at regionals to be the first Wabash team representative at nationals in a long while.