A familiar face on the course for Asbury became a fan at this year’s River States Conference cross country meet. Senior Justin Spoon was recovering from surgery while cheering on his teammates.
“I had been struggling with a growth on my face for the last month or so, and finally managed to get to a doctor down here,” said Spoon. “He scheduled me for a CT scan on Tuesday, and then we met with another doctor Wednesday to go over the results. He explained that they knew something was in there that scans couldn’t quite identify, so they would have to perform surgery to know exactly what they were working with. I clearly wanted to run conference and asked if there was any way to wait until Sunday or Monday, but the doctor was concerned that if it was a bacterial infection or a tumor, there was a chance it could spread to my eyes or brain and cause permanent damage.”
Spoon underwent surgery Nov. 5. He is slowly and cautiously working through recovery.
“I moved back to Columbus (Indiana) on Sunday so my parents could be around to help with recovery,” said Spoon. “The pain meds definitely help, but they also really knock me out of it, so I haven’t been able to do much… The original estimate was a week or two, but it might be more depending on how quickly I recover over the next few days. I definitely plan to be back in action in the spring track season.”
Although the surgery was on a Thursday, Spoon appeared at the conference meet Saturday with the Eagles at Rio Grande.
“It was hard to stand by and watch my guys go out there and give it their all and not be able to do anything more than cheer them on,” said Spoon. “On the starting line, they all pulled out neon green headbands like the one I wear when I race, so even though I didn’t get to race, I almost got to cross the finish line one last time, in a sense.”
Throughout the 2020 regular season, Spoon has picked up three RSC runner of the week honors and two first-place finishes.
“Every athlete imagines how their career is going to end at some point or another, and there’s definitely a grieving process associated with that end coming before I expected it,” said Spoon. “Still, I wouldn’t say this was a loss as much as it was an opportunity for me to realign my sights back onto what’s important. I’m surprised, sad, and sometimes a little angry, but more than anything, I am resting in God’s hands. Conference runner of the year, all-American, etc. would have been nice titles to earn, but ‘child of God’ has a better ring to it.”
Senior Bethany Hamilton’s 2020 conference story was quite different.
“In our team huddle before the race, I honestly started tearing up a little bit,” said Hamilton. “Cross country has meant so much to me over the years, and it was surreal to think that this could be my last race. … I could not be more thankful for the way that my senior season has played out. It has been such a beautiful story of God’s healing, grace, and redemption. I feel so full of joy for the ways that God has blessed me in ways that I never could have imagined. I have never really had a season of cross country where I came out of every race just feeling good about it, but this season I did.”
With a time of 20:07.68, Hamilton picked up a first-place finish and the title of RSC Runner of the Year. Hamilton’s final race will be this coming spring at the NAIA National Meet alongside freshman teammate Carolina Trumpower, who finished 11th at her first RSC conference meet appearance.
Hamilton’s past seasons were plagued by injuries, and Trumpower’s current season included sickness, stomach ailments and stress and wear on her body. This makes their Christmas break training of biking, swimming and strength training ideal for keeping injury and wear on their body at bay. January will begin their training back into higher mileage and speed work.
“Training with Bethany during the offseason is something I’m looking forward to,” said Trumpower. “She is hardworking and motivated, which inspires me to be the same! I know we will come into the spring stronger than ever.”
Hamilton and Trumpower will be at the NAIA National Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on April 9.
