Spring Break 2019! While most of the team went in various directions this week, a few Johnnies started their spring break with a snowy drive down to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa for a Last Chance Meet. Several guys were close to qualifying for the Indoor National Championships and and we took the literal last chance.
Despite the snowy start, we had a good meal in Faribault. While we were eating, several people stopped by our table because of our SJU gear. It seems like no matter where you go, there’s likely to be a Johnnie alum in the crowd. Some friendly locals were also curious what we were doing and were intrigued when they learned two of our group are from the Bahama’s. Minnesotan’s can’t believe people from the Bahamas actually elect to spend their winter in Minnesota.
On Saturday, our athletes really took advantage of the excitement and atmosphere at the meet as several set or tied personal records. Collin Trout had a nice PR in triple jump with a jump of 14.14 meters. Drew Schoenbauer tied his PR of 22.19 in the 200 and Ryan Miller tied his 60 meter PR of 6.93. Kai Barber had the big improvement of the day with his shot put of 16.05.
The difficult part of a Last Chance meet is the drive home when you are sitting on the bubble to qualify. The top twenty athletes in each event qualify for Nationals. Kai moved into 20th place, Drew was sitting at 21st, Ryan at 25th, and Collin at 26th. Will someone move ahead of them as other meet results are entered? Or will some athletes higher than them decide not to compete in that event and they’ll sneak in? The guys were constantly checking their phones for updated results throughout the drive. Thankfully we had a break from the drive home with an enjoyable dinner at Famous Dave’s. Dinner did get a little heated as the guys debated the top-five Marvel movies. Strong feelings all around for which ones should be considered. Apparently you shouldn’t mention Guardians of the Galaxy as one of the best.
Roads were good the rest of the drive home and the guys did a great job of keeping me entertained. I teased that I cope with tired driving by taking “micro naps” just closing my eyes for three seconds at a time. They might have believed me because they put away their phones and continued the movie debate for the next two hours. We branched out to the merits of the Rocky movies and the strengths of each opponent. It was good way to pass the time and I truly enjoy road trips with the team.
The NCAA doesn’t announce the official qualifiers until Sunday at 6:00pm. Guys tend to move up based on who opts to focus on a different event or maybe someone is hurt and can’t compete. I was hopeful that someone would sneak in, but both Ryan and Drew missed out by .01 seconds. Their times would have easily qualified in previous years.
At the end of the day, Kai’s performance held on and he and I are headed to Boston this week! I am excited for the shot put as Kai is throwing well and he joins four other athletes from the MIAC in that event.
Hopefully we return to warmer weather and can start the outdoor season soon.