Kelsie’s Blog

    My hero would be my cross country and track coach, Dewayne Cantrall. The first time I really got to know him was at the Crater Invitational meet in 2007. My sister was a freshman running for him. He came up in the stands and pointed at me to come with him. He told me that if I wanted to be a good runner I needed to learn how to take splits. I never got the chance that day to do the splits because they didn’t have the paperwork ready, but I felt special that he picked me to help him.

   The next time I had the chance to be around him was at Cross Country Camp 2007. It was at his house in Marcola a few weeks before school started. When we were running he would drive by waving and smiling at us. We never thought he would be a very good softball player, but he sure surprised us when he ran the bases. He was fast. He liked playing lawn dart tournaments and winning of course. He was like one of us and you really got the chance to connect with him and got to know his personality.

    My first cross country season started off on a bad note. I hurt my lower back and I was afraid to tell Mr. Cantrall but my sister told me to talk to him. When I told him, he was very nice and had me cross train on the bike and try and rest. He always seemed to know what to do in all my injury situations and always wanted the best for me. One of the funniest moments being around Mr. Cantrall, was at practice. He wanted to show me a stretch and in front of everyone he had me lay down and he picked up my legs and spun me around in circles for quite awhile. He had a huge smile on his face, but the team just sat there in shock that Mr. Cantrall would do that.

    Mr. Cantrall is a hero to me because he has made me the runner that I am today. He always knew when something was wrong and knew how to bring the best out in me. He made me want to be the best, not only in running but in the classroom as well. Even though he has passed away he will always be my hero. I will miss him.