Working on the Chain Gang

Inaugural 5K held in memory of Alex Potratz

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

NASHUA — Strength may come in numbers, but not necessarily speed.

That’s why members of the Nashua-Plainfield football team were bringing up the rear at the “We Run to Remember” 5K on Saturday held in honor of N-P student-athlete Alex Potratz.

While running in a close-knit group, each member held a long chain with one of their hands. Such teamwork resulted in a 5K time of around 42 minutes.

“It’s something that symbolizes that we’re linked together as a team,” said Husky senior tight end Chaska Hunt.

It also can be tied to something else … one of last acts of volunteerism by Potratz before his death in September of 2014.

In addition to being a starting center and a senior leader for the N-P football team, Potratz was active in the community. He participated in annual hunger relief missions to blighted inner-city areas during the holidays, and would assist whenever needed at underclass football games. After working the chain gang at a Husky JV away game, Potratz met and talked to his dad, Kevin Potratz, at a gas station before they both headed back home in separate vehicles.

Alex never made it back.

“When I heard them mention a pick-up truck on the scanner,” Kevin said while trying to hold back tears, “I knew it was Alex’s truck.”

“I was a freshman back then, and it hit us hard,” Hunt said. “He was someone who knew how to work to get things done, and he set a great example.”

Alex’s family established a scholarship in his memory.

“It’s based on integrity,” Kevin Potratz said. “It’s something Alex’s mother and I established. We award $500 scholarships to a male and a female each year. We ask possible recipients to answer three questions about integrity … about the roles it plays in the community.”

One of the first scholarship recipients was Kennedy Haut. Now a student at Wartburg College, Haut is one of the founders of the inaugural “We Run to Remember”, which will help replenish the scholarship fund.

“We were part of the same class,” Haut said. “When you go to a school as small as ours, with a senior class of only 48 students, you get to know your classmates better … you become more close.

“We’re almost like family, and when Alex died it was a huge loss.”

N-P volleyball coach Amber Carter was part of Alex’s class.

“For many of us, it was the first time we experienced a loss of one of our own,” said Carter, who was also one of the race organizers.

“We would like to make this an annual event, but we like to get this one done first,” Carter said before the start. “The turnout has been good. We had 96 pre-registered.”

With one of the entries being Jacob Day, who is Charles City’s school record holder in cross country and the 3,200-meter run as well as NIACC’s school record holder in the 10,000-meter run, this was more or less a race for second place.

Day was the overwhelming overall champion as he was doing extra laps around Nashua-Plainfield’s track where the finish line was before his nearest competitors arrived.

Nashua-Plainfield junior and track and field state qualifier Emma Sinnwell was the women’s overall champion.

“I did a 5K p.r., so I thought a ran well,” Sinnwell said of her winning time of 20 minutes, 41 seconds. “I’ve been training well this summer getting ready for cross country.”