Friday, October 31, 2014
By Joe Scalzo
If you’re a runner at Maplewood High this week, you’ll see plenty of reminders on Facebook of this year’s state meet.
And last year’s state meet. And the 2009 state meet, when Eric Rupe dyed his hair white. And the 2005 state meet, when Andy Morgan dyed his hair orange. And the 1972 state meet, when Ted Rupe rocked some eyeglasses that went out of style for 30 years, then came back in.
“We don’t have to talk about it [the state meet] very much,” Rockets coach Dave Deeter said. “They go on Facebook and there are pictures of them [former runners] running at state. The guys stop in and run at different times and send little messages.
“It takes care of itself.”
But the top-ranked Rockets don’t just want to celebrate their storied history. They want to make some of their own when they attempt to win the school’s sixth state title — and first since 2005 — in the Division III meet at National Trail Raceway.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said Deeter, who took over for Ted Rupe following the 2011 season. “We’re excited we were able to get through regionals without dropping much [training] mileage, and now that we’ve dropped our mileage, we’re feeling good.”
Maplewood figures to get a big test from the state’s second-ranked team, St. Thomas Aquinas, which narrowly lost to the Rockets at last week’s regional meet at Boardman High, 70-64.
Led by juniors Tristan Dahmen (first) and Allen Sparks (third), the Rockets placed five runners in the top 25, while Aquinas had five in the top 22.
Saturday will be just the third time the teams have faced off this year, with Maplewood winning the first meeting 101-67 at the Sept. 13 Boardman Spartan Invitational.
When asked if the Rockets have been pushing themselves this season because of Aquinas, Deeter said, “Not one bit. They’re pushing just to get better themselves. We’re not worried about one particular team. You can’t pinpoint just one. There’s a few other good ones in the south.”
Maplewood was also ranked first entering last year’s state meet but finished second to McDonald by nine points. The Blue Devil boys are making their 16th straight state tournament appearance and have finished first or second in each of the last four seasons.
But after graduating individual state champion Bobby Johnson from last year’s team, McDonald doesn’t figure to be in the mix for its eighth state title.
And while other teams could surprise, much of the pre-race buildup is centered around the Maplewood-Aquinas duel.
When asked what he plans to tell his team before the race, Deeter said, “Simply put: You’ve done it all year. Let’s go out and do it one more time.”