The boys Cascade cross country program has won their third straight conference title, and they don’t look like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
Cascade joined the Indiana Crossroads Conference in 2019. After a slow first year, finishing sixth out of eight teams, the cross country team has accomplished something that has only happened once in school history; a 3peat.
2021, 2022 and 2023 were all dominant years for the Cadets as they had eight all-ICC runners throughout that short time period. Though there ill be new conference rivalries soon, the tradition of winning will hopefully continue.
The 2023 regular season was one to remember as the boys won the Beech Grove Invitational, the Shakamak Invitational, the Jon Mitchell and of course the ICC.
After losing three out of their best five runners from last year, multiple boys have stepped up to the challenge, including senior Cason VonErenkrook, who according to Coach Puckett, “did a great job early this summer pushing the pace.”
Puckett, who has been the varsity coach for six years, also has coached girls basketball, track and fields and boys basketball during his tenure of teaching and coaching. Cross country is very challenging to coach because you don’t get to regenerate your thoughts and talk things through like you would in basketball or football. The only instruction he can give to the runners is from the side, where he can yell encouragement.
With winning comes tradition, and the Cadets don’t come up short of either.
Every Friday morning the runners get up before school to practice. Afterwards, they get to enjoy a warm breakfast provided by the parents, who also wake up early. Another tradition is the cape.
The top performers each week receive a cape to warm up in before the meets. The cool thing about this is that it doesn’t have to be the top runner. It can be anybody who had a strong week of practice or had a massive time drop.
An important part of this sport is the mental toughness that it takes. There is a lot of discomfort that takes place during meets, practice and even the soreness days after.
Cascade recently joined a new, yet-to-be-named conference starting the 25-26 season. For CHS cross country, as long as the team stays focused and determined, they should be successful in the years to come.
