SMA's First Cross Country Scrimmage
Stella Maris Academy Hosts Inaugural Cross Country Scrimmage
On August 15th, Stella Maris Academy hosted its first-ever cross country scrimmage on the school's Sentinel Trail. This milestone event marked the official debut of the trail as a cross country venue and provided valuable insights for both athletes and coaches.
Purpose and Significance
According to Mr. Lemke, the Activities Director at Stella Maris Academy, the scrimmage served as an important early-season benchmark. "In the beginning of the year, every team is allowed to have one scrimmage in cross country," Lemke explained. "It gives the new runners a sense for how a race works. It informs coaches as to which runners did their "homework" over the summer, and gives both runners and coaches a good sense for how they're performing compared to other athletes."
While the academy's ultimate goal is to host regular-season meets, this scrimmage provided a strategic stepping stone. "This will be a nice transition into that," said Lemke. "We learned a lot by running a scrimmage."
Unique Course Features
The Sentinel Trail offers a distinctive running experience compared to typical cross country venues. "This is a hard race since it's really hilly compared to most cross-country venues," Lemke noted. Unlike many courses that feature multiple loops where runners pass through the same areas repeatedly, the Trail provides a continuous loop with varying terrain ranging from uphill, downhill, and flat surfaces. Runners are also treated to running by ponds, fields, trout streams, mature pine stands, birch stands, as well as most other core tree species that inhabit the Duluth area, the trail is truly beautiful."
While this layout may limit spectator viewing opportunities, it creates a more engaging course for the runners. "There'll be plenty of spots to put the spectators," Lemke said, though he acknowledged that "they may only see their child one time versus seeing them a couple of times."
Preparation Challenges
Preparing the trail presented significant challenges. "The trail is up to 20 and 25 feet wide," Lemke said. "We just got all the grooming equipment mid-summer, so getting the trail in good shape took a lot of preparation on the days prior to the race."
Course navigation also required careful planning. "Because we did not utilize our full loop trail for this shorter scrimmage, there could be a lot of confusion as to where the runners go," explained Lemke. "There had to be a lot of taping and marking of directions, and a lot of volunteers in strategic spots to make sure that the kids didn't get lost in the woods."
Collaborative Effort
The successful execution of the scrimmage required extensive teamwork. Lemke highlighted collaboration with coaches, groundskeeping staff, and numerous volunteers. "We had 8 or 10 volunteers that were helping during the race," he noted.
Positive Feedback
Despite challenging weather conditions that day—described as "humid" and "Florida-esque"—the event received positive reviews. "The coaches were really excited," Lemke reported. He also mentioned that coach Nick Nygaard (Stella Maris assistant coach) was "really pleased with how the kids raced and how they carried themselves."
Looking ahead, Lemke envisions enhancements for official meets, including "a timing mechanism" and making "the beginning and end area a little bit more race-friendly, dramatic, exciting."
Based on the success of this inaugural event, visiting coaches have already suggested that Stella Maris Academy should host a formal meet in the future, indicating a bright future for cross country competitions on the trail.