(Avoca) AHSTW cross country coach Jackson Renberg reports his teams have gotten a lot of good work in at practice so far. “We had a lot of positives. We’ve been working on hills, bring up our oxygen level, and getting miles in.”
Renberg says it’s been clear to tell who put in a lot of time in the summer and Cali Petersen is the first one that comes to mind. “She’s doing really good. She’s probably our #2 right now, but it’s really hard to predict until you get to races. She’s a junior and she’s a returner. Rylie Knop is another one, she’s a sophomore, and she’s looking really good. She’s starting to challenge herself in practice and move away from the other group when we run tempos or mile repeats. As she continues to run long distance she’s only going to get better as long as she keeps that mindset and keeps challenging herself.”
Ella Langer and Ellie Petersen have each shown good potential. “Another sophomore we have is Ella Langer. She’s becoming better everyday as well. She’s got a great mindset, she’s a great teammate, she has a great attitude and she wants to be good. That’s huge and she’s holding herself accountable as well as those other girls are. That’s going to be a real positive in the long term. Ellie Petersen had a good track season like a lot of those kids did. She has a great mindset, great kid, great teammate. She’s getting better everyday.”
Abbie Willet is returning from an injury and likely slots into the #5 spot in the lineup while underclassmen Miranda Akers and Caitlyn Dills round out the team.
Caleb Hatch headlines a small boys roster. Renberg says Hatch had a good track season and put in some miles in the summer. “The big thing about him is trying to get him to focus on his mile time and not going too hard right away so he can have a steady run. It’s really tough for him because he’s by himself a lot so we are trying to get creative and figure out some ways we can make him chase and things like that and get better. He’s our best runner right now.”
Other members of the boys team include freshmen Caden Geraghty and Joseph Thornock.
Coach Jackson Renberg:
