Mack Plaque is a time when athletes can be sure they’ll receive an abundance of fans and also get a chance to be the fan.
However, for the cross country runners, this has been far from reality for the past few years because of scheduling conflicts. The timing of Mack Plaque needs to change because I personally want to be able to fully experience it before I leave LHS.
The scheduling conflicts began a few years back when the SATs were moved to the first weekend of Oct., which had always traditionally been Mack Plaque weekend. Then because they “wanted good weather,” the athletic administration decided to move Mack Plaque up a week, rather than back a couple weeks.
However, having Mack Plaque on that particular weekend posed–and still poses–a difficult situation for both Lancer and Astro runners, because they have to make a choice between participating in the Manchester Invitational cross country meet and attending Mack Plaque.
For the past three years, the cross country athletes have chosen to go to the Invitational because it is such an important race for us.
That means that the juniors, including me, and all runners in the grades below, have never had the experience of dueling in a race with Pinkerton with classmates cheering us on.
Ever.
Fall athletes, you know that your game against Pinkerton during Mack Plaque is one of the best of the season, and you would never want to miss out on that experience.
Yet not only is our team being denied the chance to take part in this special weekend, but we have also never gotten the opportunity to go and support our friends in their games because throughout the Saturday of Mack Plaque, we’re at the Invitational.
We can try to go to the volleyball game in the morning before our race, but that results in tired legs from standing at the game and sore throats from cheering, which isn’t exactly a good combination to have before you run the hardest course in N.H.
For us, going to Mack Plaque games means possibly sacrificing how well you race and also putting yourself at risk of your coach being upset with you.
In fact, the girls at Pinkerton aren’t even allowed to attend the football game on Friday at all, and their coach calls their houses to make sure they’re resting at home and didn’t go to the game.
Take a minute to think about how you would feel if you had to stay home on Friday night and miss out on being a part of your senior section. You’d have to settle for going on Snapchat to see glimpses of how much fun everyone else is having at the game while you’re not there.
Mack Plaque weekend is a huge part of Lancer culture. Growing up in Londonderry, it’s what everyone looks forward to in high school.
But we’ve never fully experienced it, and that’s just not fair.
Yes, we could choose to skip our race, but it would not be without consequences to our team.
The Manchester Invitational is such a big deal in N.H. cross country life. All the state’s toughest competitors, plus the best of other New England states, are there every year to see how teams are shaping up and what’s in store for the divisional championship.
The divisional races that are held later in Oct., are raced on the same grueling course as the Manchester Invitational. For most teams, Londonderry and Pinkerton included, this Invitational is the only time that the runners can race this course during the season, which is why our coaches want us to prepare so seriously for it.
The course involves two massive hills, including one up the McIntyre Ski Mountain, and the runners like to get at least one race at this location under their belts before the final championship arrives.
Either we run at the Invitational and miss the Mack Plaque experience, or attend Mack Plaque games and miss what is one of the most important races of the season.
Cross country is a sport that already gets limited attention with usually our parents being our only fans, so a Mack Plaque race would be the one chance during the season for us to actually get some fan support.
But we’ve been robbed of that chance for three years now.
You might think that either way no one will come to watch the race, but in 2012, the last time cross-country had a Mack Plaque Race, there were fans lining the course. This also happens to be the last time the girls team beat Pinkerton.
This year our Mack Plaque race is being held on Oct. 6. This delays knowing the final outcome of Mack Plaque, which was held on Sept. 26. At this point, even if both cross country teams won, we would still only tie Pinkerton, so we probably won’t have any more fans than usual.
But this year is done and over with, so we need to focus on next year’s Mack Plaque and fix the scheduling problem.
I understand that scheduling all these events must be difficult, but we have a year to work on next year’s schedule. All we want is to be treated like the rest of the teams and to have a Mack Plaque experience like everyone else.
If SATs fall on the first Saturday of Oct. again, Mack Plaque could be pushed back to the second weekend of October, but the athletic administration is worried about it being held on Columbus Day weekend.
But having Mack Plaque on a three-day weekend could actually be beneficial because after a long week of spirit and games, students would have an extra day to rest. That Monday off could be useful for Lancers to get their lost voices back from cheering too hard all weekend.
The long weekend would also be more convenient for alumni to come back and join in on the weekend festivities.
If LHS wants to pride itself on treating all teams equally, then the priority should be making sure that all teams have the same chance to face Pinkerton on the biggest sports weekend of the year.
