By Kevin Gartman
Head cross country coach
We have 7 high school girls and 6 high school boys right on the team right now. I would love to add a few more bodies to both teams while maintaining the culture and family we currently have, because we’re having a lot of fun as a group. Just would love some depth!
On the girls’ side
The Bravettes have a bit of a new look this season in most ways – other than the uniform. With the majority of the team graduating this past year, only four high school runners return while we’re adding three new runners to the mix.
Senior Ellen Cook is back for her final season, looking to add to a very successful cross country career. Fighting injuries these last two years, Ellen is healthy and running very strong early on in the first two weeks of practice.
Junior Claire Erselius returns after missing her sophomore season due to injury. While easing back into full action, Claire is also running very strong and is looking forward to a big season ahead.
Sophomore Vivian Cook and junior Haileah Eichenberger also return as varsity letterwinners, both having strong summer and early fall practices.
With all four girls returners running about as well as I’ve seen them at this point in the season, there’s lots to be excited about.
Freshmen Alexa Rose and Sophia Semprini both join the team from successful junior high careers, and both are crushing their own standards and goals early on in the season.
The team is also excited to have senior Karlee Knust join the team. New to Montezuma last year, Karlee was involved with cheerleading and golf, and she’s a great piece to round out the squad.
The SICL should be as strong as I’ve seen in the last 10 years this season, with several talented runners back, including multiple state qualifiers, with one of the strongest freshman classes in recent history coming up across all teams.
It should make for a fun season, being able to run against many top teams throughout the year, and if the girls can stay healthy, they could find themselves in a fun underdog/spoiler role at some meets this year.
Meanwhile, the boys . . .
On the boys side, the early theme to the season is parity. With six boys out and the team still looking to grow and fill out the full varsity team, any of the six runners might be running in the top spot on any given day.
Seniors Bryson Stockman and Jusiah Wetering lead the way in practice, both bringing 5 prior years of cross country experience to the table, and they’re doing a tremendous job of leading the way and showing the younger boys how to work hard and still have fun in a challenging sport.
Bryson and Jusiah are both running strong early and I’m excited to see how that transfers to meet season.
Sophomores Cael Cheney and Linkyn Bru both return from a season of great growth last year. Both boys made significant time cuts in their 5K race throughout last season, and they’re both starting far closer to where they ended last season at state qualifying rather than where they started. This should set both up well to go for new personal best times early in the year.
Freshmen Dayton Reif and Cade Lowry round out the boys squad. Both runners bring a strong 8th grade season of cross country and track to this season, and both have shown the potential to be the top runner on the team as freshmen at any time.
Having six runners who could all be at the top at any given race allows for some strong pack running together, and with the pack, a hope for growth across the board.
We’ll head to three common state qualifying courses within our potential driving range that the state might give us (all ones we’ve been sent to since 2017) in Pekin, CCA, and South Hardin as we look to gain experience on a course we might see again come late October.
Though a bit smaller in numbers than in years past, this team is incredibly close, support each other well, and have a lot of fun while pushing each other towards big goals. I can’t ask for much more.