The local young men did not win the VIP trip to the Bejiing Olympics, but their Malone College cross country video definitely had a respectable finish in the video contest sponsored by Flo Track, a running Web site.
Joe Siebert and Mike Coates finished third with their video called "This is Malone." Their video, which captured all the hard work, team spirit and dedication to God and their school, earned them 3,355 votes, which was far head of the fourth-place finisher, which had only 1,600 votes. In fact, the little Malone College video ran way past the Duke University women's cross country team, which had only 1,293 votes.
A few of the comments made about the video included this one: "The video touched my heart. Wonderful accomplishment and wonderful memories captured forever." Another viewer said, "The video was just wow!"
Commenting about the support he received from their hometown area and other fans on the Web site, Mike said, "Personally, I would like to thank everyone who put any effort at all into voting for our video because it showed us how much support we have from the community. It wasn't the easiest process to figure out (voting for the video), but being in a clear third-place shows a consistent fan base.
"A lot of people today are satisfied with average performances and expect nothing excellent, but that's not what we're about.We gave it our best shot and the experience was worth all the effort."
Joe added, "It was really a great experience to be able to share our video and the challenge of this contest with so many people. The video itself means a lot to me and it has been very worthwhile to know that there were so many out there who took the time to support it. Our community is really an important part of my life, as well as Mike's, and it was just a really fun ride to be able to bring so many of you in on our journey.
"The end result was not a first-place finish, but that doesn't diminish the value of taking our modest film to unexpected levels through the efforts of those around us. Thanks to all who took part in the experience and helped make it a unique, fun and unforgettable memory."
The winning video, which received 5,848 votes, was called "The Future Champ." It was filmed in Iten, Kenya, described as the "mecca of Kenyan distancing running." It showed a young boy walking and running to school in his bare feet through mud, rain, cow pastures and more just to get to school and back. It later showed how distance runners in the small town run together to train for their distance races.
The second-place video was called "Coast to Coast Relay. Receiving 4,186 votes, the film told the story of 18 runners from the Rochester Institute of Technology who ran from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 2004 passing a gold baton 24 hours a day through deserts, mountain passes, snow and many other types of terrain.
Siebert, who filmed the video, is a graduate of Sandy Valley High School and Malone College. Coates, who helped with the project, also is a graduate of both schools, and both young men were members of Malone's cross country team.