BOYS CROSS COUNTRY Secret to success? The Rockets' man

Led by Ted Rupe, Maplewood cruised to the Division III regional title.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Before every cross country season, Maplewood High coach Ted Rupe gathers his team together, turns on the TV and shows a highlight film of past state championship teams.
The message is clear: Follow the program and you'll reap the rewards.
"It just sends chills down your back," Maplewood junior Andy Morgan said of the film experience. "He lets us know we're not just running for us, but for past runners, for the school and the community.
"It's pretty much what we're known for."
It doesn't stop there. Unlike some coaches, Rupe actually runs with his team. (He's a former state champion himself.) He writes them funny poems and tapes up funny pictures. His latest kick is gophers. He calls his runners gophers. He printed up T-shirts last year with the phrase "Gopher it." He even has a web site, www.gopherarun.com.
"It's the little things," said junior Andy Arnio. "He makes running fun."
And he makes winning a habit. The Rockets, the top-ranked team in the state, won Saturday's Division III regional championship at Boardman High School by such a large margin that you could have eliminated their top two runners (who finished 1-2, by the way) and they still would have won by five points.
McDonald, last year's state champions who are coached by Ted's brother Chris, finished third.
Good program
"We all trust in [Rupe's] program so much," said Morgan, who placed second behind Arnio. "Sometimes people give us too much credit and him not enough."
Rupe disagreed, saying he can't believe that people rate coaches solely by how their teams do.
"The thing is, I've done my worst job of coaching this year and I've got one of my best teams," he said, saying his injured knee (which has kept him from running with the team) and his job as director of last week's Peace Race have hurt his coaching.
"I just have a good group of guys," he said. "They started back in June and they've worked so hard. It's fun to watch. I really enjoy this part of the season."
The Rockets do, too. Which is why they're heavily favored to win their fifth state championship next week, which would tie them with McDonald and two other schools for second all-time.
Moving on
In Div. II, Salem senior Aiman Scullion placed third overall as the defending state champion Quakers finished third. The top four teams and individuals in the top 16 not on a qualifying team advanced to next week's state meet at Scioto Downs in Columbus.
The Quakers weren't happy with their finish, which has become a recent trend at the Boardman regional. Salem thought it grabbed the final qualifying spot two years ago, only to get eliminated when the results were later reversed. (Salem got a court order allowing them to run, but the decision was later overturned.) Last year, the Quakers finished second to Walsh Jesuit at the regional, using the disappointment as fuel for their state championship run.
"Getting beat here last year humbled us," said Scullion. "We wanted it more [the next week].
"Hopefully we can use it the same way this year."
Boardman junior Jake Lape became the first area boy to advance to the state meet in Division I since Tom Albani did it in 2001, finishing 13th. His twin brother, Rick, finished 17th to miss qualifying by one place.
scalzo@vindy.com