This season will be a challenging undertaking for cross country as the boys aim for higher placement in state and the girls work to cement their place as champions once more.
A lot of the student-athletes running this year have been working during summer conditioning, head coach Jim Barnard said.
“All the kids measure success as, ‘Am I getting better year to year or race to race?’” Barnard said. “If we can have all of our kids who ran last year to improve and get better, it is going to make us pretty hard to beat.”
Senior Phoebe Fletcher said she and her teammates often met at CPA Park over the summer to stay in shape and practice getting better times.
However, the physical demand of being a cross country runner is only half of the equation.
Confidence is a big factor in having a good sense of team morale, especially for new kids joining the team for the first time, Fletcher said.
Junior Zach Arnold is working on multiple goals other than his fastest time by stepping into a leadership role for the boys.
“Last year, we had some seniors that took over that role, so it is kinda new to me,” he said. “If I can get that down and have everyone on the same page consistently, I know we will be better.”
Last year, the boys cross country team took fifth place at the state championship. Arnold and the boys plan on taking home a shinier place at the top this year.
“There are ups and downs. Cross country is not an easy sport, but you just need to work hard. If you do that, then the rest will take care of itself,” Arnold said.
In line with the ups and downs of the sport is sophomore Hanna Keltner’s personal goal of breaking past her limits from last year.
Keltner finished second place in her final race last year. The runner-up position did help secure the girls’ championship title but still left a bittersweet taste in Keltner’s mouth.
“I feel like I have some unfinished business at state this year,” she said. “Being runner-up is pretty tough, so this year I’d love to be a state champ.”
Keltner is also preparing herself for the competition against Wamego as the hills are brutal physical hurdles.
“That place is full of hills,” Keltner said.
The fire of friendly competition between the boys and girls teams started to burn even before the season began. After seeing the success of the girls’ team last year, the boys are pushing themselves harder.
The cross country teams competed in their first meet Thursday where they faced one other Frontier League school, Spring Hill.
Barnard said the teams should use the first meet to gauge where everyone is at for the beginning of the season as well as release any built-up excitement.
“It’s the first meet, and it’s exciting so everyone is ready to see where they are at,” he said.
The next meet the teams have to look forward to will be at 9 a.m. Sept. 10 at Wamego High School. This meet will be an invitational where the team will run with 1A – 4A schools.
The next official meet is Sept. 15 at Wellsville High School.
Reach reporter William Crow at [email protected].
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