Softball completes Mark Your Miles challenge
6/12/2020 1:13:00 PM | Softball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State University softball team had plenty of expectations for the 2020 spring season. Short of having a season, the Huskies expected to spend March, April and May together whether it be at practices, games or on various road trips through the year.Â
Although COVID-19 put a stop to that, the team found a way to stay active and connected while apart, as they participated in the Make Your Miles Challenge, or, as the players dubbed it, "Who Let the 'Skies Out?"
"When we received notice that the NSIC season was cancelled, it was really heartbreaking," said head softball coach Paula U'Ren when describing the abrupt end to 2020. "We wanted to put our preparation [for the season] to work and find a way to compete even if it wasn't on the field."
That competition turned out to be the Make Your Miles Challenge. The players were divided into three separate teams of six people and were tasked with one very simple challenge: be the team to walk, run, bike or rollerblade the farthest amount of miles in a nine week time span.Â
"We established teams during our fall training competitions, so we just carried those over to the spring for this competition," U'Ren explained. The three team captains, seniors Maya Keating (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton-Warrensville) and Cassie Francesconi (Schomberg, Ontario / Emily Carr Secondary) and junior infielder Megan Conrads (Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South), came up with a set of rules for the challenge and were charged with tracking their team's respective mileage during the competition. "The team jumped into the challenge and pushed themselves, stayed together even though we had to be apart and crushed it."
After combining the three teams' totals, the Huskies logged 2884.54 total miles during April and May, which is the equivalent of roughly 15,235,651 trots around the diamond. Conrads team, Team Passion, won the competition after logging 1012.1 miles in nine weeks, while Francesconi's Team Determination was a close second, as they racked up a total of 1004.57 miles. Keating's team, Team Grit, finished third with 870.9 total miles.Â
"The Huskies never fail to impress me," Conrads said regarding her teammates. "This challenge really shows how active the Huskies are and how hard we work in the off season to better ourselves. This team is full of passionate women who are always grinding and giving their best while also motivating each other."Â
"The team can be proud of how they responded to adversity with continued hard work, teamwork and how they picked each other up and moved forward to accomplish an incredible goal," commented U'Ren.
Each team doubled their initial goal of miles logged, and it was Team Passion that took the early lead in the competition. Conrads' team opened the nine-week challenge by logging an impressive 111.39 miles and never looked back. In fact, the team of Conrads, Brooke Bowlin (Chaska, Minn. / Holy Family), Jasmin Estrada (Litchfield, Minn. / Litchfield), Gabby Nelson (Fargo, N.D. / West Fargo), Kylie Thomsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove Village) and Sydney LaPoint (Green Bay, Wis. / Bayport) averaged an impressive 112.45 miles per week and finished with 1021.1 total.Â
"Shoutout to my team, Team Passion, for taking the win in this challenge," continued Conrads. "Every week, [my teammates and I] were always pushing one another, hyping each other up and consistently putting up some big numbers. Team Grit and Team Determination really made it a tough challenge to win, as they were always close behind, grinding just as hard. My Husky girls always make me proud!"
