A young Heritage Junior High Cross Country program sees early success

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com

Coming into his sixth-grade year at Heritage Junior High in 2017, Zach Ruwe thought he was a sprinter.

That school year, during track season, he had his sights set on crossing the finish line of short-distances races first.

The goal was not lofty or short-sighted. It’s just that Ruwe could not begin to dream about what he has accomplished during his time at Heritage Junior High because as a sixth-grader, the cross-country program did not exist.

That is until Charles Montgomery came along.

Montgomery coached Ruwe during track his sixth-grade year.

As the President of the Homer Sports Commission, Montgomery also wanted to see running, particularly opportunities for long-distance running, in the Heritage Schools.

In 2018, Montgomery approached the Heritage School Board with the idea that the Homer Sports Commission would fund the sport, but that the students could participate in IESA sanctioned events under the Heritage umbrella.

The team only practiced three days a week, giving student-athletes room to focus on other activities, too.

By 2019, the Heritage School District picked up the tab for the junior high cross-country team, fully funding the program.

Montgomery upped the practice schedule to six-days a week, for athletes who wanted to participate at that level, still allowing room for the students to participate in other activities.

It’s not that Montgomery just wanted the cross-country program for Ruwe; he has his sights set on continued individual and team growth that will eventually lead to increased numbers throughout the Heritage School District.

But Montgomery did see something in Ruwe during the 2018 spring track season.

“I’ve been around some of the greatest runners,” Montgomery said.

As a student, Montgomery grew up watching his father as well as Jim Acklin and Jeff Trask. He went on to compete at Danville Area Community College.

“You can just see the niche of some kids who are distance and who are sprinters,” he said.

“I saw the potential of (Ruwe) being a distance runner, and he had the right mindset to doing what it takes. He takes everything in and he just puts it all out there on the course. That’s really hard to find a kid that can take all that in and just go with it.”

As a seventh-grade student-athlete, Ruwe took off, finishing 33rd at the IESA State meet in the fall of 2018.

The 2019 season has been no different.

Ruwe crossed the finish line first at the Champaign County meet at Tolono, then went on to finish first at the Class 1A IESA Sectional meet on Oct. 12.

During the last week, Ruwe has been nursing an Achilles injury as he prepares for state. Crossing the 2-mile finish line at 11:57 in the sectional, Ruwe was about a minute above where he finished the rest of the season.

His instructions were to run at a pace that allowed him to advance, but not one that would end his season.

Over the course of the last three months, Ruwe has had his sights set on finishing under 11-minutes, but multiple times he has been able to finish in under 10-minutes.

Ruwe believes it is because of his coach’s instruction that he has made great strides.

“I’ve just done what he’s told me to,” Ruwe said.

Montgomery believes that a challenge, whether it’s internal or external, is always good for the athletes.

Running many strides in front of the pack, even against larger schools, Ruwe has had to find an internal challenge. During a home meet this season, Montgomery asked Ruwe to run part of the race at the same pace as other athletes to learn how to run beside another runner.

In the final regular-season meet in Monticello, Ruwe found his first legitimate challenge.

Riverton’s Isaac Crumrine ran neck-to-neck with Ruwe throughout the entire race, and edged him out by three seconds as they crossed the uphill finish line.

“He went out fast so I was just trying to stay with him, and I stayed, like right behind him the whole time,” he said.

Ruwe claims to have lost the mental battle at the end.

“I feel like if I’d had those people in my previous meetings that were up with me or ahead of me. It would have been easier,” he said, “because I’d been used to it, but that was like the first real competition I had.”

Montgomery said situations like this have prepared Ruwe for a potential top-five finish this Saturday at state.

“You don’t want to come in first every time you have to learn early on that there’s competition out there,” Montgomery said. “You’ve got to run hard; you never know who’s going to show up.”

Ruwe’s teammate Lilli Montgomery has also surprised herself over the last three years.

The eighth-grader started out under the direction of her father in track as a sixth-grader. He wanted her to try to run the mile, although she wanted to do the 800-meter race.

“If I didn’t like it I didn’t have to do it again,” she remembers.

During her first race, she finished in what she considers to be a “decent time.”

“From then on I set a goal: I wanted to break the school record,” she said.

With help from her parents, Lilli continued to get a better time each race until she eventually set the school record.

With the confidence built from track, Lilli knew that she could do the same thing on the cross-country course once her school adopted the program.

Blisters, a sprained ankle and a little hesitation inside her head have been obstacles Lilli has had to overcome, though.

Even when Lilli crossed the line in second place at the IESA sectional meet, she turned to her dad and expressed frustration.

Lilli has chased Aleigha Garrison of Champaign Judah Christian all season. Garrison finished at 13:16.4 and Montgomery at 13:31.4.

Lilli is going into Saturday’s state meet as the solo representative from the Heritage girls’ cross-country team. She plans to not overthink things too much, and focus on the race at hand.

She’d like to finish in the top 25 on Saturday, but wherever she crosses the line, she’d like to get in the 12- to 13-minute range.

“I just really want to push myself for this last race and not have any energy left,” she said.

Lilli will help kick off the state competition in the first group at 9:30 a.m. at Maxwell Park in Normal.

The entire Heritage boys’ team will follow at 10:15 a.m. They come off a second-place finish at the IESA Sectionals.

“This is a big accomplishment for just going into our second year of cross-country,” Montgomery said.

“The hope is to just have fun and enjoy it.”