The phrase “sprint to the finish” is a popular one that can be applied to a number of different situations on the path around the Falls at this time of year. It originated with athletics and the many races that are part of track competition that comes in the spring of the year.
Short races, like the 100-meter dash, seem like a sprint the entire race. Others, like the 1600-meter run, are longer, and pacing is needed to last the entire distance. Runners use a slower, steady speed through the beginning stages of the race with a major push at the end.
Occasionally, a runner in the lead is overtaken near the finish line because someone else had a burst of speed. The lesson is that a runner needs to continue to run hard even though the finish line is just ahead. The temptation is to think, “I am ahead and can just relax because I am in the lead, and I can coast to the finish-line ribbon.”
So where are the applications of the phrase? Obviously, it was applied again and again this year, as we are in the track and field season for middle school and high school competition. It took on a little more significance at Memorial Field this year because not only were there finishes to races, but it was a sprint to the finish for use of that particular track. It is being retired after generations of use.
The track itself could not sprint. In fact, it has really only limped along for many years due to its poor condition. There were few complaints about the poor condition this year because people knew next spring, running on that track would only be a memory. The new track at the Dan Rider Field will have a coming-out party as a location for track and field competition.
New athletic fields are not born, they are created. Conception might have been at least a dozen years ago when a scaled sketch of a track was laid on a print of the Farm Road campus. Yes, the track would fit, but the topography was all wrong, and a mountain of dirt would need to be moved.
Time and time again the sketch was refined and finally began to make sense. Even though it made sense for the people playing with the plan, it never clicked with the voters until August when the fourth referendum for that project was approved. The entire process for getting approval was not a sprint, but as the date for the August vote approached, there was a flurry of activity with many different team members playing their parts to come away with a win.
That part of the effort was a sprint to the finish, and the philosophy of the full team contributing to the win was consistent with the coaching philosophy of longtime coach John Headke. Somewhere up above he must be smiling with that wry smile and extending a congratulatory “I am proud of you and knew you could do it” to the community.
The construction of the new track is moving along very smoothly, with more activity all the time. Perhaps the finish line might be Aug. 20, just a year and a few days past the date of the community approval. The Oconto Falls Chamber of Commerce is slated to have a gathering that day to have a first-hand look at the field. No doubt project manager Jerry Moynihan and his crew will be scurrying to make sure things are just right prior to the chamber meeting.
Four noticeable features of the complex, the light pole structures, were erected a few days ago. They stand as a visual locator landmark for the field and the high school that can be seen from a good distance away. A common technique when coming to a community for the first time and looking for the high school is to scan the horizon for the athletic field lights. That never used to work in Oconto Falls, but now it will. That’s a nice touch to make this a better community.
Speaking of sprints to the finish, there are two more. Final activities of the school year seem to be in sprint mode. Lastly, as this observer’s time as superintendent is winding down, numerous times I get the question, “Are you counting the days?” My response, “It’s bad attitude to count. This is a sprint to the finish.”
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