Carlton Folster (Class of 2010) liked to tell a story about three men, each with a pile of bricks. Their foreman told them that they could build whatever they pleased with their bricks, so long as they did the work themselves. The first man quickly stacked his bricks, one atop the other, and built a wall between himself and the other two. The second man took a bit more time, laying the bricks in a rectangular configuration until he had a simple shed, in which he sealed himself. The third man wasn’t heard from for some time; when the foreman went to check on him, he found the man meticulously tracing a perimeter. “Look, buddy,” said the foreman. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but the other two guys are already finished.”
And the third man nodded, looking over at his pile of bricks. “Well, I’m building a cathedral,” he told the foreman. “It’s going to take a little longer, but I’ve got the vision.”
I think of that story every year we lace up at the Gary Goss Invitational, hosted by York High School. It’s hard to make much of the results—the distance is irregular (2.1 miles), the teams dulled by the heat of a punishing weekend and the torpor of a Monday spent at school. Yet year after year, it’s a chance to get a preview of the cathedrals under construction by some of the state’s most storied programs.
And the third man nodded, looking over at his pile of bricks. “Well, I’m building a cathedral,” he told the foreman. “It’s going to take a little longer, but I’ve got the vision.”
I think of that story every year we lace up at the Gary Goss Invitational, hosted by York High School. It’s hard to make much of the results—the distance is irregular (2.1 miles), the teams dulled by the heat of a punishing weekend and the torpor of a Monday spent at school. Yet year after year, it’s a chance to get a preview of the cathedrals under construction by some of the state’s most storied programs.
The Sophomore Race ran first. For the second straight meet, Quinn Kennedy (11:14) set a mile PR in the first loop, bringing home a ribbon with an 18th place finish. Teammates Ramsay Johnson (11:23), Dylan Bushelle (11:24), David Tassone (11:49), and David Towa (12:01) filled out the remainder of the score sheet for the Wildcats, repeating last year’s 7th place finish, despite the Rodrigo-shaped hole in the lineup. Josh Rodriguez (12:11) and Sam Stuart (12:10) were the pushers for the team, posting a 1-7 split of less than a minute.
The Freshmen Race followed, and for the second straight week, the contours of a potent team came into view. Led by a gutsy race from Vasant Fong (11:08), the trio of Colin Searls (11:27), Leif Anderson (11:30), and Ryan Horn (11:39) each finished in the top 20. With Brian Jett (12:06), Stephen Smilie (12:13), and Daniel Gutierrez (12:42) to shut the door, the freshmen secured a second place finish for the second straight freshman race.
The Wildcats in the Open Race similarly laid down markers on future glory with some promising efforts. Luke Suman (12:29), Alex Majus (12:41), Gui Reginato (13:12), Jack Wharton (13:17), Jack Ashby (13:27), Avik Vaish (13:38), Henry Jordan (13:44), Angad Agrawal (13:46), Evan Schmidtgall (13:50), and Jerry Liu (13:51) each showed improved skill, strategy, and chutzpah as freshmen, and Jacoub Letourneau (12:53), Luke Janek (13:04), Hadi Moukalled (13:11), Ethan Lockwoord (13:25), and James Teune (13:35) reaped the benefits of increased mileage and race experience.
This year, we brought fewer men and came home with less hardware. But don’t mistake the modesty of haul for shallowness of vision. The kids are pacing the perimeter and measuring the field. They can see something remarkable in the future, and they’re building it—together—one brick at a time.
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