Nova Classical Academy - Overcoming Challenges

Written by Dennis Barker

Often when a team wins or has a good season people think everything has gone their way. But for the 2020 Nova Classical Academy boys cross country team, success wasn't about smooth sailing but overcoming a series of challenges. Not all of those challenges were unique to Nova. Every team in Minnesota faced challenges of uncertainty due to events and decisions over which they had little or no control. This is some insight into how Nova navigated the season and won the TCRC Cross Country Showcase small school division, the de facto state cross country championship. 

It's always a challenge to keep your team engaged and motivated during the summer.  But this year I had been working at it since early March. After two weeks of track practice, Covid hit, we went into distance learning, practice and competition were stopped. But the MSHSL did not make a decision...