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Cross country teams ramp up for new season

Cross country teams ramp up for new season Cross country teams ramp up for new season

In 2022, the Colby girls and Colby/Abby boys cross country teams are looking to continue the success that they’ve captured over the last several years. While they may have lost several key pieces to the teams that took first and third at the Cloverbelt conference meet last year, head coach Bryon Graun sees enough returning and incoming talent that such expectations are certainly possible.

The Colby girls cross country program has laid claim to the Cloverbelt conference title for the last four seasons. Last year, they also were repeat sectional winners, beating out 22 other teams to move on to compete at the state meet as a team for the second season in a row. Last year, the team finished 11th out of 16 teams, with front runner Daisy Feiten taking 28th overall.

While Feiten and fellow varsity runners Trinity Severson and Mecerdes Sarkkinen have graduated, the Hornets will be returning several others from last year’s varsity team.

Leading the way will be senior Willow Oehmichen, who coach Graun believes will be competing near the top at most meets this season and potentially battling for the conference title come October. Oehmichen, who often ran second or third for the varsity team last year, finished sixth at the Cloverbelt conference meet last year and 68th overall at the state meet. Competition for Oehmichen at the conference level will likely come in the form of Fall Creek senior Jenna Anders, who finished second behind Feiten in last year’s meet, and Eau Claire Regis sophomore Carly Borst, who finished fourth at last year’s meet.

In addition to Oehmichen, the Hornets will be returning junior Reagan Schraufnagel and sophomores MaKenna Herrmann and Pearl Feiten, who typically ran five, six, and seven for the varsity squad last year. Graun is expecting junior Payton Roth and sophomore Casey Reynolds, who ran JV at conference last year but finished with times that would have been just short of all-conference X/C

had they run in the varsity meet, to move up and contribute to the varsity team. He also sees incoming freshman Annamarie Schmitt as someone who could see times registering for the varsity team. It’s a squad that Graun could see making another push for a conference title.

“Looking at conference, at first I told the girls, ‘I think we’re going to be good, but I don’t know if we are going to be dominant,’” Graun stated. “But I think we’re going to be better than I initially thought.”

Part of that is looking at what the other teams have to offer. Eau Claire Regis, which took second at last year’s conference meet, only had six members, three of which were seniors who have since graduated. They will be returning Borst, but outside of the sophomore, there could be some question marks for Regis. Fall Creek, which placed third, also lost a number of their varsity runners as well, according to Graun.

Numbers, at the very least, won’t be a problem for either the Colby girls or the combined Colby/Abby boys team, which is certainly something that a lot of area schools can’t say. With 14 girls and 12 boys on the two teams, they once again look to have one of the larger rosters in the conference, giving them the luxury of depth that some other teams don’t have.

Looking at the Colby/Abby boys team, they too will have some holes to fill. Four seniors ran for the varsity team at their conference meet last year and another has decided to join the football team this fall. Luckily, while the girls team will only be bringing in one freshman this year, the Colby/Abby boys team will see a host of new faces vying for spots on the varsity squad.

The athlete that Graun sees as his front runner is a more established entity on the team, however. Junior Max Adams, who typically ran third or fourth for the team last year, placed 21st at the conference meet last season and has dedicated a lot of time and effort into running over the offseason.

“I asked Max what he’s been doing the last couple months,” Graun said, “and he said, ‘Oh, about nine miles a day. I asked him how fast and he said he’s been doing it at a 7:30, 8:00 pace. So I’m really excited to see what he’s going to be able to do.”

Junior Carter Roth and sophomore Braylon Schoelzel also figure to be contributors to the varsity team, as will incoming freshman Matthew Sprotte. Graun says that he has five or six athletes that he could see competing for the final few varsity spots.

“It’s good. They will push each other and it will challenge them,” Graun said. “I’ve got some upperclassmen, like [juniors] Joe Strevler and Jack Schindler, who have never come out before. Those two and Braxton Smith, who’s a senior, and a couple freshmen will all be pushing for those spots. It’ll be fun to watch them duke it out and trade spots.”

While Graun hopes that his athletes from both teams will be competitive on both an individual and team level, he said that there are other goals he has for his runners.

“I think I have pretty high expectations for my kids,” Graun said. “And not just in that I want them to run fast, but I want them to become good people and leaders, to be positive members of society. And the rest of the stuff just comes.”

“You can improve from last year or improve from last week,” he added. “I just expect you to come every day and to do your best.”

The teams kick off their 2022 season this Thursday in Pittsville, where they will be running against teams from eight other schools. The meet is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m.

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