Yesterday was an attempt at a 3-peat.

Seattle Prep XC Boys Team was attempting to be one of the few teams in Washington XC 3A state history to win back-to-back-to-back state titles. The favorites going into today were the boys from Mercer Island High School. In our minds, however, we were the favorite.

Today, I review a very disappointing and emotional loss at the State meet that we faced. This includes my whole experience from Monday-Saturday of this past week, the trip itself, and some of the lessons that we are using moving forward.

The phrase we said to each other was "you are bigger than the moment".

But sometimes, it doesn’t go the way you planned. Legs feel heavy, the gaps start to form, and all the expectations we carried on our shoulders start to weigh us down. The finish line came, but the result—well, it wasn’t what we had fought for. Not this time.

That’s when the phrase truly matters. Because it’s not just something you say when things are going your way. It’s a belief, a mindset, a call to rise above, especially when you fall short. It’s about understanding that when everything comes down to one race, one chance, one defining instant, you are not defined by that moment.

Yes, we stumbled, and yes, we felt the sting of disappointment. But those moments don’t take away the months of grinding workouts in the rain, the countless miles logged in the early morning darkness, or the brotherhood forged through shared struggle. All the work, all the pain, all the sacrifice—that’s what defines you.

The moment doesn’t make you; you make the moment

And this moment, while a failure, is only a short chapter in our book on SPXC. We still have a lot more book to write.