More athletes, new course give Cougars hope for future

He sat calmly in his office, going about his business.

Then to his surprise, a member of Manassas Park’s boys’ cross country team dropped by to see Mike Peters and was looking for an ax.

“When you hear a kid say that, and you’re in your office, you’re like ‘Wait a minute,’” said Peters, Manassas Park’s director of student activities.

So Peters walked outside the school, to the site where the construction of a 3.1-mile course was well under way.

“I was like ‘Wow,’” Peters said.

That feeling can be echoed throughout the school. Change has come for Manassas Park’s cross country program and it is not just because of a new addition on school grounds.

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of athletes who have chosen to come out for the team. A total of 30 athletes (16 girls, 14 boys) make up the Cougars’ varsity girls’ and boys’ teams.

That is a far cry from the three runners who attended coach Curtis Yenyo’s first practice in 2007, raising hope that the program is close to establishing itself in the Bull Run District and Region B.

“I’m really optimistic,” Yenyo said. “I’ve already seen a number of students this year who came a little late and said they’ll run cross country next year. Most of the runners on my team right now are younger. They’re sophomores and juniors, so the program’s still going to be there when my seniors leave this year.”

For as far back as 2004, Manassas Park’s cross country program has consisted of 12, nine, 11, 10 and 13 runners per year.

The leap in numbers in 2009 has already translated into progress as Manassas Park’s boys’ team qualified for the Region B race after finishing third in the Bull Run standings.

The girls’ squad, however, remains a work in progress as it placed fifth at the Bull Run race.

That finish, however, does not take away from the positive outlook Yenyo has created.

“I knew when we hired him, he would be a very good coach and would do well,” Peters said. “I didn’t know it would come this quick, not especially with getting the number [of kids] out. You can evaluate programs in many different ways, but looking at extra curricular activities, you want kids involved.

“Like I’ve told coaches, ‘If you get kids out, eventually it’s going to take shape.’”

The difference is having Yenyo teach at the school, something past coaches have not done. News about Manassas Park’s program travels through word of mouth. Yenyo, a math teacher, recruits students that he either has or has had in class.

Yenyo, who also uses his role as an assistant distance coach on the school’s track team to lure students, used that formula to make Jeff Teav come out for the program two years ago. Teav closed his career with an all-district finish and a trip to the regional race.

“He saw I was a teacher and he decided he would come out for the team,” Yenyo said. “That’s a lot of the reason the program has grown. Also, a lot of the students have a lot of friends that are interested, but not sure. They just told them to come out. [They tell them], ‘It’s not really difficult for you to come out and run with us. Coach is really nice.’ It’s helpful.”

Students are receptive to Yenyo’s coaching style. Once athletes decide to attend his practices, he gives them a plan of how to build up their endurance.

“In the summertime, we have a mile club,” said Yenyo, who is in his first coaching job. “It’s an open run for anybody and it’s not just open to Manassas Park. Anybody can come out. It’s not advertised, but it’s suggested to my runners. I also give them suggested runs during the summer for them to run on. I break it down week by week, day by day what they can run that day. They’re not required to do it at all.

“I suggest they go out for extended runs, not real fast runs. Low-tempo, but high mileage runs. In the summer, when we start practice, we do two-a-days not everyday, but twice a week where we have an easy run in the morning and a difficult run in the evening.”

But there is also room for fun. Pre-race rituals include games of tag and capture the flag. Runners even come together for pasta parties the night before a race.

“The games we play get us excited,” said junior Baha Bassil, who transferred to Manassas Park from Chancellor High School in Fredericksburg. “I really like the way coach isn’t just talking about running, but going out there and having fun.”

Many others share Yenyo’s vision. The school’s soccer and wrestling coaches have noticed Yenyo’s commitment to the program and Michael Wilbourn, the school’s wrestling coach, mentioned to Peters that he wants some of his athletes to run cross country.

The first cross country meet at Manassas Park’s course was witnessed by 10 other staff members in the school division, including high school principal Tracy Shaver.

Manassas Park’s boys’ team responded to the support by finishing second, thanks to Thatcher’s victory in 18:43.

“We’re getting better,” said eighth grader Alexis Swanson, who runs on the girls’ jayvee team. “Next year, we’ll have some new girls. I know seventh graders who are in eighth grade who are doing real well and want to do even better.”

Staff writer Robert Daski can be reached at 703-878-8049.