Respect fuels XC competitors

By Diane Stamm

Grant Tribune-Sentinel

There are no secrets on the cross country course between Wallace’s Trey Robertson, Perkins County’s Mason McGreer and North Platte St. Pat’s Jarrett Miles.

Some combination of the trio ran against each other in six different meets heading into last Friday’s State Cross County Championships.

As with the other two times the three competed, Robertson came out on top and won the Class D state championship.

Wallace, PCS and NPSP were all in the Oct. 13 D-6 district meet, but Miles skipped the race. With his team qualifying for state he was able to sub in and, on fresher legs, run to a second place finish in Kearney.

After beating Miles in three consecutive head-to-head races heading into districts, McGreer finished third at state.

Robertson said he knew it’d be between the three of them at state.

“I knew in the end it was going to come down to us three and I knew it was gonna be tough. The entire way I just thought that, you know, if things don’t happen the way I want it to, I know I’ve got some good kids right behind me that are doing amazing things,” he said.

Despite the competition between the three, Robertson and McGreer had nothing but positive comments about the group’s season-long rivalry.

“It’s been definitely difficult to run against Trey because he’s so fast. Obviously he won and did really amazing. I’m so proud of him. But yeah, he’s definitely been a good role model for me and I hope I can be like him when I’m a senior,” McGreer said.

Competing against Miles helped McGreer improve as a runner.

“He’s helped me really get a lot faster and yeah, without him and Trey, I don’t think I’d be where I’m at. And so I’m really grateful for both of them and that they’re such amazing people and supporters,” McGreer said.

Being in the RPAC instead of SPVA, Robertson said he had to go off and do his own thing over the middle of the season. But Miles and McGreer were never far from his thoughts.

“During the middle of the season I didn’t really see (McGreer) and that’s when I really started to think about him during practices, he’s my competition, this is who I’m going up against. And I just based everything off of him and Jarrett, and it was so much fun just waiting to race them again finally,” Robertson said.

Robertson recognized the amount of work it took for the runners to reach the podium. After injuries derailed his spring track season, he said at times it seemed like he just wanted to give up, but by pushing through that little bit of struggle, made things so much better in the end.

“I know having him (McGreer) and Jared around all year, whether I was racing them or just looking at their times, pushed me so much,” Robertson said. “People always say, well, I wish there wasn’t this competition because then it would be way easier, but you just become a better runner with competition and it’s been crazy to see how much they have helped me improve,” Robertson said.

Both Robertson and McGreer were grateful for the fans cheering them on throughout the course.

“Supporters are literally at every corner and it’s amazing,” McGreer said. “Having all these supporters cheering you on, it really helps the race be a lot better and more enjoyable.”

Robertson agreed.

“When you get to a tough spot in your race, and you see someone there cheering you on, it just makes you push that much harder because you know, you’re doing it for them. Like it’s not just for you. It’s for all the people that are cheering you on and supporting you,” he said.

While McGreer will continue to train throughout the winter to prepare for spring track, Robertson will go to work for the Wildcats’ basketball team.

McGreer said cross country season has been like practice for track.

“I’m able to get stronger faster. I’m really looking forward to the track season this year. It’s gonna be really exciting. It’s gonna be awesome,” he said. 

Robertson said it’ll be kind of hard working around basketball to still get in miles and run.

Fans have five months before they can cheer on Robertson and McGreer at track meets.

After missing the 2022 spring season, Robertson, a senior, plans on defending his 2021 3,200-meter title. Robertson was also third in the 1,600-meter run that year.

Miles, a junior, won the Class D 1,600-meter run at last spring’s state championships and was third in the 3,200-meter run.

McGreer, a sophomore, was third in Class C’s 3,200-meter run last spring and seventh in the 1,600-meter run.

With PCS remaining in Class C for the coming spring track season, fans will miss out on watching the three on the track together in Omaha, but, as long as everyone stays healthy, there are numerous meets in the spring when they’ll run against each other again.