Resiliency is a big part of competitive racing, especially when it comes to championship meets.
Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Andrew Nagle's '18 resiliency was tested in a way he, nor anyone else, expected in his biggest meet of the season.
But as he has done all fall, Andrew's ability to fight and overcome led him to success.
Despite taking a hard fall late in the race, Andrew placed No. 18 in a field of 152 runners with a time of 17 minutes, 40 seconds, at the New England Prep School Track Association's Division III Cross Country Championship at Weston High School in Massachusetts Nov. 11.
By finishing in the top 20, Andrew was named All-New England and qualified for the New England All-Star Meet, to be held Nov. 18 at St. Mark's School in Southboro, Mass.
"I set that goal at the beginning of the year to run at the All-Star race, and I knew my time would have to be somewhere around sub-18 minutes," Andrew said. "I started well in the race and was able to pull it off."
Not without a scare, though. When he fell, Andrew was in the final mile. He didn't have much time to pass runners as the finish line was closing in.
"It was scary," Andrew admitted. "I thought I might be injured. But I remembered that goal I set. At that point I had runners passing me and knew I was right on the edge of top 20. I didn't know where I was but knew I had to get going. When I crossed the finish line I didn't know where I had finished, but my coach told me I was 17th or 18th so I was happy with that."
As Andrew approached the finish line, WMA Coach Tom Iannacone couldn't quite figure out why Andrew had dropped so many spots. It wasn't until after the race when Andrew and Coach Iannacone talked that they pieced together the events of the meet.
"When I saw him I was really proud, but what he told me afterward, I was even more proud," Coach Iannacone explained. "Andrew went out in the top 10 and was sitting in a pack of about five guys, all between seventh and 12th place. After I saw him around mile two, I moved to the finish line and saw him finish. Although I was proud for a top 20 finish, I was confused at how far back he had fallen. And he did just that - he had fallen. His finish was impressive, but what made it much more impressive was that he recovered and was still able to finish in a personal best."
Coach Iannacone said Andrew, who set the WMA course record this season, is the first male runner to qualify for the All-Star race since he arrived in the fall of 2013.