A State Championship

 Calvary won the Division 4 Boys Cross Country State Championship at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

From Cheryl Ward
Executive Director & Head of School

After taking second place the last two years, we saw our Calvary Schools boys cross country runners take first place at state this past weekend, further establishing our program as one of the finest in the state of Michigan.

And that includes our girls. We had two girls qualify for state individually, and Faith Schipper finished in seventh place, setting the eighth grade course record.

I followed the event live from my favorite reading and writing chair while sipping a cup of coffee. As the boys’ scores started posting in real time as runners passed the first mile marker, I could see that our boys were doing well, but they sat well back in fifth place.

Then, the second mile postings started going up. Our boys had moved up the line to second place but were still not quite there.

And finally, the third mile marker. Runners from seven other schools had taken the top individual spots, and for a moment, I thought, “Well, that’s it then.”

But then I clicked on Team Results and there it was — our new compass logo in first place. They had done it.

And my heart leapt, to be honest. I got a little teary-eyed because I just felt so happy for them. They worked so hard and are truly really great students, each one of them. I always delight in each of our students’ accomplishments.

I also felt joy for our incredibly hardworking athletics director and running coach, Rich Laninga.

So how does one celebrate a trophy in a school that is based on a philosophy of education that shuns the concept of trophies?

Let me tell you how; it’s really simple.

The trophy exists as a symbol of sacrifice, hard work, togetherness, and growth, rather than one of hubris or self-adulation.

Consider how they took first place.

They took first place together.

Our runners truly ran as a team. It took seven individuals running their best race, and they each ran well together. Their timing was tight, and they didn’t spread out too far.

Their win perfectly exemplifies an old proverb: If you want to get there faster, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

The team, from its very inception, has been committed to going far together. The team members themselves shun the concept of isolated rock stars.

Any student can join the team. They celebrate each other’s wins. They train together and encourage each other. And when certain members qualify to do the actual running at the state meet, we still send the entire team to go with them because it took the whole team to get there.

There is a joie de vivre about their team. They work hard. Eat well. Practice and train consistently. But they don’t take themselves or their sport too seriously. They have the wisdom to know, even at their relatively young age, that a balanced life and joy in the work is a big part of what makes effort worthwhile.

There is a lot of laughter and camaraderie on that team. And they invest in positive bonding, rather than negative bonding — a frequent rarity in today’s teenage culture. They actually like being together; they aren’t cliquish or uptight; they like their school; they generally like learning; they don’t display an adversarial mindset; they’re welcoming; they have a wide variety of interests.

These kinds of things make a trophy worth winning.

And they have a great leader.

Our athletic director, Rich Laninga, is one of the most creative, hardworking, and unconventional leaders I have encountered in his sphere. He doesn’t think like many other people I’ve met in the athletics world (which, by the way, makes him perfect for Calvary because we’re an unconventional kind of school).

He cares about all of the right things, not just winning. He invests equally in the individual, regardless of perceived or actual “talent.” He cares deeply about our athletes and students. He focuses, not on where his athletes are, but where they could be if they would grow.

If a student comes to him with a desire to join a team or explore an interest in physical growth, his mind immediately starts thinking about how he can help them improve.

And he has vision. He asks the right questions.

• What would it look like if we infused our entire athletics program with the principles of running and movement science?
• What if we turned our 36 acres of unused ground into a nature-based running track?
• What does it mean to care about each student-athlete holistically?
• What if we stopped trying to keep up with other schools’ athletics programs and started just doing what fits us, suits us, and which we can do well?

Out of that has been born an athletics program that is exactly what our school has needed. And, in the end, one that wins.

So, this first place trophy is not just a symbol of being the best. This trophy has power because it is a symbol of hard work, dedication, diligence, kindness, culture, and willingness to support and help each other.

It is also a greater symbol for our school. It is a symbol of ten years of hard work from one man who went against the stream and had the courage to build something unconventional and really beautiful. It is also a symbol of our school’s fundamental convictions: education is atmosphere, discipline, and life.

The point of a Calvary education is not that we will win trophies. It is much deeper than that. The point of a Calvary education is how and why we will win them, as well as what follows winning them.

When I hear people talk about excellence in Christian education, I am often surprised by their metric. This is what it means to have excellence. Our athletes have worked hard to achieve running excellence and character. What greater gift could you give your children, and frankly, what greater gift could our cross country team give to themselves?

Our school is process-driven, not outcome-driven. This is due to the simple fact that if you focus on growth, skills-building and character-formation, you will win as often as you ought to.

So we have won a state championship. Congratulations, Calvary runners. We are not only proud of your accomplishments, we are immensely proud of who you are, and how you got there.

Enjoy it! You deserve it.

Click the button below to take a look at the program our parent stats guru, Blake Adkins, put together to show the progress of the race as it unfolded.