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Blue Springs, MO —
Blue Springs boys track and field coach Joe Cusack didn’t want to put any extra pressure on his distance runners who were about to compete in the 3,200 meters Friday night at the Suburban Big Six Conference championships.
“We figured it up and knew that we’d won the conference championship if we finished 1-2-3,” Cusack said. “I think the guys who were running the 3,200 knew we’d be close to winning the championship if they took the top three spots, but they didn’t know we would win the title outright.”
Junior Simon Belete, freshman Stephen Mugeche and junior James Barnett did finish 1-2-3 and the Wildcats had their first conference title since 2008 – Cusack’s first year as head coach of the program.
“It felt good,” Belete said. “We had all the guys on the team circling the track, cheering for us. We knew we’d be close to the championship with a good finish, but we didn’t know our race clinched it.”
Barnett agreed, adding, “It meant a lot to finish 1-2-3. We’re all underclassmen and we wanted to do this for the seniors. They were so excited about winning conference, because they’d never been on a conference championship before.”
Mugeche said he hopes this conference title is the start of something special for the Wildcat underclassmen.
“Everyone on the team is older than me, since I am just a freshman,” Mugeche said, “so I wanted to work extra hard this season and help us win the championship. When we won it, we all celebrated, it was great.”
The Wildcats finished with 171 points, to edge Lee’s Summit North (163).
Blue Springs first-place finishers were Erron Holley, 100, 200 and 400 relay; Belete, 3,200; and Chris Clark, 300 hurdles.
“The reason we won was because we had someone score points in every event – all 18!” Cusack said. “I can go back to my days at Jefferson City and Park Hill and I have never been a part of a team that had done that. It was just an amazing team effort.”
Cusack said senior Jacob Belke, who was eighth in the 400, third in the 800, and was part of the 1,600 (third) and 3,200 (second) relay teams was the poster boy for the winning Wildcats.
“Jacob didn’t get a first-place medal, but he helped us win a conference championship by scoring points in four events,” the coach said. “That’s what a senior leader does for his team.”
Blue Springs boys track and field coach Joe Cusack didn’t want to put any extra pressure on his distance runners who were about to compete in the 3,200 meters Friday night at the Suburban Big Six Conference championships.
“We figured it up and knew that we’d won the conference championship if we finished 1-2-3,” Cusack said. “I think the guys who were running the 3,200 knew we’d be close to winning the championship if they took the top three spots, but they didn’t know we would win the title outright.”
Junior Simon Belete, freshman Stephen Mugeche and junior James Barnett did finish 1-2-3 and the Wildcats had their first conference title since 2008 – Cusack’s first year as head coach of the program.
“It felt good,” Belete said. “We had all the guys on the team circling the track, cheering for us. We knew we’d be close to the championship with a good finish, but we didn’t know our race clinched it.”
Barnett agreed, adding, “It meant a lot to finish 1-2-3. We’re all underclassmen and we wanted to do this for the seniors. They were so excited about winning conference, because they’d never been on a conference championship before.”
Mugeche said he hopes this conference title is the start of something special for the Wildcat underclassmen.
“Everyone on the team is older than me, since I am just a freshman,” Mugeche said, “so I wanted to work extra hard this season and help us win the championship. When we won it, we all celebrated, it was great.”
The Wildcats finished with 171 points, to edge Lee’s Summit North (163).
Blue Springs first-place finishers were Erron Holley, 100, 200 and 400 relay; Belete, 3,200; and Chris Clark, 300 hurdles.
“The reason we won was because we had someone score points in every event – all 18!” Cusack said. “I can go back to my days at Jefferson City and Park Hill and I have never been a part of a team that had done that. It was just an amazing team effort.”
Cusack said senior Jacob Belke, who was eighth in the 400, third in the 800, and was part of the 1,600 (third) and 3,200 (second) relay teams was the poster boy for the winning Wildcats.
“Jacob didn’t get a first-place medal, but he helped us win a conference championship by scoring points in four events,” the coach said. “That’s what a senior leader does for his team.”
Cusack also pointed out the contributions of other seniors – Tyler Ray, Deiondre Hall, Cole Jones, David Johnson and Holley.
“I know how badly I wanted the seniors to win a conference championship and every one of those seniors scored points for the team. Erron is going to get a lot of attention because he won the 100 and 200 and ran the second leg of the winning 400 relay team, but every single member of our team contributed to this win.”
Holley said winning his first conference championship was the most special moment of his Wildcat track career.
“I wish we could have won some more, because we came close in the past,” Holley said, “but to win it as a senior is special. It’s a lot better than winning it as a freshman and never winning it again.”
Throughout the night, Gatorade kept Cusack hydrated.
When the final results were announced, he was bathed in the popular sports drink.
“I was watching my girlfriend run the 4x400 when Deiondre came over acting all crazy,” Ray said. “He wanted to dunk coach with the Gatorade cooler. I told him we had to make sure we had won, and when it was final, we dunked him.”
When asked about the Gatorade moment, Cusack just smiled.
“Gatorade never tasted that sweet,” Cusack said. “That was my first Gatorade shower, and it felt so good. If I’m ever lucky enough to be a part of something as special as that conference championship, I’d gladly take another one.”
