I bought a topography program which allows us to map the roads and see the changes in elevation and distances, just so we could plan out how tough the days were really going to be.

His skin was pale white, he lost his hair, could barely talk, was coughing, and always had to go in for treatments. His assistants were basically running the team, but he would come to the games. He get upset at an umpire, and he'd try to get up and yell and he'd fall out of his chair.

It was a very touchy time at that point, being a very good friend of his. This kid's a healthy guy, a runner, stays in shape, eats right, doesn't go tanning or anything like that, and he gets cancer. So it was a big eye-opener for us, that anything can happen at any time.

Lou has really put us on the map. He has been so important to this program because he's shown other kids in the school that you can wrestle and be successful at St. Mary's. Just because we're a small school and we have to roll out the mats in the cafeteria to practice, it doesn't mean we can't be competitive.

This is a program-driven park rather than an athletically driven park. The topography of the site naturally lends itself as a gathering place for programs.

You don't lose those kinds of individuals and have your team go unaffected. But you build a program that allows younger runners to develop and take the place of those who graduate when they're called upon to contribute, and we have that here.