Basic “Wolves” cross country philosophy: Just run, baby

Steve Cunningham

Thursday, Sept. 25, 1997 | 11:09 a.m.

Larry Burgess has a little saying he likes to drop on his Basic cross country teams before they lace 'em up for competition.

Loosely translated, it goes something like this: Practice is when you put your money in the bank; race day is when you spend it.

If that's the case, the Wolves are in a shop-til-you-drop mode these days. The Basic boys' team, the defending Class 4A state champion, was rated as the 25th-best unit in the nation in a preseason poll by The Harrier magazine and has spent the fall cementing its position as a favorite to repeat.

The girls, fifth-place finishers at state last year, lost just two runners off that team and are looking to make the same kind of splash as their male teammates.

Burgess is the patriarch of this successful clan, which has produced 12 zone championships and four state titles since 1984. In his 20th year as Wolves coach, Burgess finds himself, and his teams, in the spotlight once again.

"As a coach, you don't run any of the races," he said. "But it does make you feel good to see your kids excel. All of the good things that have happened to us over the years have contributed. It sets a high level of expectations for the new kids who have come out because certain things are expected from them."

The boys' team seems intent to copy the success of Burgess' 1987-88 squads that won back-to-back state titles.

Leading the way for the Wolves is senior Oliver Reddig, the defending Southern Conference titlist who finished third individually at state. Rob Oslund and Wes Kramer, a pair of juniors, and sophomores Scott DeVoge and Lucas Yeoman round out Basic's top five. Seniors Robert Weedman and Jason DeVoge are improving and give Burgess added depth.

The Wolves are talented and expectations are high, but this group hasn't rested on its laurels. Burgess was impressed with the work turned in over the summer. In short, Basic socked away a lot of cash.

"This is the best I've had any team train in the off-season since the '88 team," he said. "They started off way ahead of where they were last year."

This is a collection of kids, says Burgess, who think little of individual accomplishments. Team is the key word and Basic's coach feels that plays a big part in the success they've enjoyed.

The Wolves have two impressive victories on their resume this fall. Basic won the Las Vegas Invitational, then recently took first in Division II at the Woodbridge Invitational, held in Burbank, Calif. The Woodbridge is one of the biggest meets west of the Mississippi River.

Are the Wolves one of the nation's best? Burgess doesn't know but he made sure his squad didn't get caught up in the publicity.

"All that really means is somebody out there knows you've been working hard," he said. "Rankings don't win meets. That's sort of been our approach."

Lost in the hoopla of Basic's boys' team is a pretty solid girls' squad. They were there, side by side, with their counterparts during the summer and are evolving into a strong unit.

Their strength is in numbers, says Burgess. The top seven Basic runners regularly turn in times within 40 seconds of each other.

"There are no superstars in this group," Burgess said. "They were third in the Zone last year. I keep telling them, 'Who knows what will happen?' Maybe we can move up this year."

Julie Whitehead is the lone senior for the Basic girls. The good all-round athlete really stepped up her practice time and seems poised to bust out. Junior Melissa Weedman is a solid No. 2 and sophomore Laura Weed is a promising work in progress.

Juniors Jennifer Randall and Rochelle Campbell go 4-5 for Basic and Nikki Diebold and Natalie Hicken are slowly becoming factors. Just like the boys, Basic's girls are a close-knit bunch.

When Burgess is asked about the continued success of the program, he cites two reasons -- his athletes tend to be strong students and it's become somewhat of a family tradition.

"Our girls have a grade-point average of 3.75 and several of the boys are up there, too," he said. "We don't have to worry about them not working hard. It's been my experience that if they are diligent students, it carries over to athletics.

"We've had 30 or 40 brother-sister-cousin combinations. That helps ... you get the older brother or sister out and they have some success, then the younger ones want to be a part of it. They also bring out their friends. It helps that we've been successful over the long haul."