With West Fargo Senior Athlete of the Year Sarah Rebenitsch now in the rear-view mirror, the West Fargo cross country team is experiencing life for the first time without their fearless leader.
They're doing just fine, thank you.
";We still have a lot of depth and a lot of experience on both sides,"; head coach Joe Bailey said of his teams. ";Sarah was a great runner, but we have some girls on their way up, and this could be a big year for them. And the boys have some great experience coming back as well.";
Leading the way will be all-conference senior Kalee Kroenke, who emerged as Rebenitsch's second in command last season as a junior. Kroenke will be aided by a young up-and-comer in eighth-grader Ellie Grooters, who nearly broke her way into the all-conference pack as well last season.
Grooters typifies something Bailey looks for in his squad, as the team tries to build young runners throughout their five or six year careers in the program. That process will be aided this year thanks to a pair of new coaches in Kate Bryant and Julie Rosenfeldt. The two assistants replace former Packer runner and assistant coach Tash Dockter, who accepted a new teaching assignment in Minnesota. Both are sixth-grade teachers, and Bailey said they will go a long way to finding new runners for the program.
";We have 30 people out this year at the high school level, and that's a pretty solid number, but we can go higher. And coach Rosenfeldt will be in charge of our Middle School program, so that's going to get a lot of people interested in the sport at a younger age, which is something you need. A lot of those kids will get involved once the school year begins.";
On that note, Bailey has done well in getting young runners to move through the ranks. Seniors Alison Kelly, Elizabeth Peterson have all been with the girl's team for a long period of time. Younger runners like sophomore Cydney Crowe and Cassandra Sayler have been in the mix for at least a couple of years on the girls' side.
On the boys' side, the same holds true, only this is a team where the youth movement is stepping forward right away. Juniors David Baltezore and Alex Olson are expected to be the top two for a team that could have at least 10 guys placing in the top five throughout the season, Bailey said.
";We could have a lot of different people put in low scores if they have a good run,"; he said. ";It's just going to depend on the day, the course and the weather. It will be interesting to see who steps up.";
The boys' team suffered some big losses, too. Kevin Brager had been a mainstay at the season-ending awards ceremony, and was last year's MVP. New, but familiar faces like Alex Windjue (a sophomore) and Andrew Albrecht, Ross Keller, Jasen Walker, and newcomers Travis Stadum and Lane Nelson will have to join Baltezore and Olson in trying to fill those shoes.
The process will be a test of endurance, much like the sport itself. The season was moved up a week due to scheduling conflicts, and the Packers started the season last Monday afternoon in Jamestown at Hillcrest Golf Course. The campaign continues tomorrow in Moorhead, where the Packers will participate in their first of three straight meets at M.B. Johnson Park. The final meet there is the West Fargo Invite, which will be held on Sept. 10.
Bailey said he expects Jamestown to be one of the top boys' teams in the state, and the Blue Jays almost always have a strong girls' representation, he said. Closer to home, Fargo South will have strong teams on both sides, while Shanley is also another team on the rise.
";I think right now, we're in the middle of the pack,"; he said, ";which is a familiar spot for us. But that's going off of last year's results at state and remembering who everybody gets back. We really won't know until we get a couple of meets behind us where everyone is at.";
The season culminates with the EDC Championships at Grand Forks on Oct. 8, and with the State A Meet in Bismarck on Oct. 22. |
