MASSAC COUNTY (WSIL) -- After their season was postponed due to the coronavirus, a group of a student athletes decided to give a new sport a try. They went out for the cross country team.
"Well I needed something to keep me in shape, me and my friend started running, yeah, we're still here," said senior football player Pranay Patel.
"It was tough," said senior football player Jody Dumpprope. "I thought I did pretty good. And then we went to an actual meet and I realized I wasn't as good as I thought I was."
"Everyone is so happy when they run," said senior football player Daylon Jackson. "I didn't know that running made people happy, but their energy folds off onto me."
"At first it was like, very difficult, but then I started loving it," said sophomore cheerleader Ashlynn Martin. "I love all the people on my team. So I just wanted to stick with it. And I'm supporting my team and making sure that they're keeping with it. And I'm gonna try to keep keep it going. "
The new additions have made this year squad the largest head coach Cory Hastings has had in his three years with the team.
They've definitely added a element to the team that we've been missing," said Hastings. "Our new athletes definitely have lightened it up a little bit."
On Friday practice wasn't quite the usual run, the National Guard came out to put the group through some unique training.
"Basically, what we're trying to do is instill in them you know, a little bit of faced with adversity and how to overcome adversity, but how to overcome as a team, not just individually," said National Guard Staff Sergeant Adam Lock. "They have to dig deep find that inner self about them and motivating each other along the way at the same time."
"Oh, it was a lot harder than I expected," said Dumpprope. "I didn't expect to be carrying weight and running that distance. But it was fun."
"It was pretty hard," said Patel. "We fought through it. My teammates, of course, encouraged me.
And while I was there, I decided to test how my strength and endurance matched up to the gauntlet. And well after a few exercises, I was a bit winded myself. But even though running miles and miles isn't the typical training for these kids with their other sports, the takeaways from practice and the gauntlet have only been positive,
"Tougher than I think and teammates, they help a lot," said Patel. "They push me and of course I push them and teamwork goes far away."
"I have full confidence that our mental state, we'll have the more positive attitude," said Hastings. "It is a tough, but the team is able to push through and get through the race as they pushed and got through today."
"Cross country is a big team sport," said Jackson. " Even though it's like an individual race, everybody is so happy to be a part of a team. So I'll bring that over to football."
"Be more mindful of what my teammates are thinking and help them with whatever they're struggling with," said Dumpprope.
"Support my team like just keep going and don't stop," said Martin.
The Gauntlet taught the team about themselves as well as what the National Guard is all about. Last Sunday, we caught up with them as they brought in two helicopters for one of their drill weekends.
"One of our favorite drills is using the Blackhawk helicopters," said First Sergeant Graham Young. "It gives someone an experience that they've never had in their life. Most people you know, when they first enlist in the military, they never dreamed that they're going to be getting on a helicopter within the first six months of their enlistment."
