Returning letter winners for the Warrior girls’ cross country team are (front, l-r) Karissa Wenthold, Maddy Jansen, Aubrey Willey; (back) Izzy Kuboushek, Josie Tieskoetter and Katie Shimek. (Photo courtesy of Zak Kriener/Ossian Bee)
Having seen sweet success the last few years with the girls team, the Warrior cross country squads are looking to remain the teams to beat in the area.
With seven total seniors, the Warriors have a strong core of harriers back, aiming for a conference title, despite losing some of its best runners to graduation.
Leading the way are the co-coaches Kevin Kearney and Scott Conway. Kearney has been with the team for 30 years while Conway has been with the squad for 30.
Senior-laden
The Warriors were full of experience last year with 10 seniors split among the girls’ and boys’ teams.
That experience paid off during the season as the Warrior girls raced through the regular season. At the conference meet, the girls defended their Class 1A No. 3 ranking by winning their third UIC title in a row and put all seven runners in the top-15 with a final tally of 32 points. The boys garnered 77 points and finished fifth in the team race with Hunter Wagner taking home all-conference honors with a 13th place finish in 19:01.7.
Putting all their girls in the top-16, the SW girls squad ran away with the state-qualifying meet title with a score of 36 points with an average time of 21:54 and spread of 2:15. Seniors Billie Wagner and Megan Hageman qualified as individuals as well, finishing second and fifth, respectively. Josie Tieskoetter just missed the final individual spot, finishing 11th overall.
For the boys, the Warriors tallied 131 points and finished fifth at the state-qualifier, missing out on a bid to state. Leading the way was Abe Conway with a 26th-place finish (19:31.31) followed by Omar Flores (27th, 19:34.14), Hunter Wager (29th, 19:36.21), John Donovan (31st, 19:46.71), Bo Wangsness (38th, 20:05.93), Brad Dahl (45th, 20:26.10) and Dawson Wenthold (40th, 20:26.10).
At state, the SW girls were looking to return to the top of the podium; however, they came up a little short, finishing second behind Earlham who tallied 101 points, while the Warriors garnered 116. B. Wagner wrapped up a stellar career in the Warrior uniform with her fourth trip to the deck with a 13th place finish in 19:46.18. Hageman crossed the finish line in 20:18.18, taking home 25th place overall. In her first run at state, freshman Maddy Jansen was 43rd overall in 20:48.82. Completing the team score were Tieskoetter (53rd overall, 21:03.22) and Anna Dietzenbach (74th, 21:32.49). Karissa Wenthold (77th, 21:34.82) and Ella Willey (88th, 21:54.79) also raced for South Winn.
Graduating after the season were Dietzenbach, Hageman, Billie Wagner, Willey, Quinn Kruckman, Dawson Wenthold, Chase Adam, Hunter Wager, Kyle Hageman and Nathan Davis.
Team strengths
Both squads return a core group of runners who got a lot of varsity experience last season and have benefitted from tremendous leadership the past few seasons.
“They observed and participated on teams that faced challenges, finding ways to overcome those challenges,” said the veteran coaches.
Leading the way with state experience on the girls team will be senior Josie Tieskoetter, junior Karissa Wenthold and sophomore Maddy Jansen. Joining the trio on the courses will be Izzy Kuboushek who was the UIC junior varsity champion last season. Rounding out the top-four in JV UIC action and also returning for the Warriors are Katie Shimek (second), Josie Tollefsrud (third) and Aubrey Willey (fourth). Joining them will be sophomores Tessa Phillips and Cloey Zweibohmer.
For the boys, it will be returning letter winners Abe Conway, Bo Wangsness and Brad Dahl leading the way with Max Moonen, John Donovan, Diego Flores, Eli Higgins and Henry Willey with running abilities.
“A number of our returners made considerable progress in their other sports as well after the end of cross country last year,” noted the coaches.
Adding to the depth and strength of the teams will be some newcomers including Annie Hageman, Ava Franzen, Lauren Ondrashek, Lukas Weiss, Brennan Franzen and Brady Lensing.
Key losses
Having lost a strong senior class, the coaches know they will have a lot of ground to make up.
“Both teams might look quite a bit different at the end of the year than the beginning. As will all teams, we need to make the most of opportunities, being at practices and staying healthy,” said Coach Conway and Kearney. “In distance running, consistency is key. Athletes need to listen to their bodies and take easy days easy, as well as know when not a workout or run is more important than trying to push through. If we can learn and exhibit that kind of wholesome discipline, it will go a long way toward us maximizing our abilities and strengths.
“Last year’s senior class made an impact on our teams their freshmen year, and this year’s upperclassmen face the challenge of molding this team around their own leadership styles and strengths,” added the skippers.
Another title
It will be another strong Upper Iowa Conference race, with several teams having the opportunity to win the crown as the Warriors will host the meet Thursday, Oct. 14, at Silver Springs Golf Course.
The coaches noted that the boys’ team won’t have a ton of depth, and as a result, injuries and/or illnesses will impact what can be accomplished, though they believe they can battle for a top-5 finish in the UIC. Among the front-runners will be MFL MarMac, Postville and North Fayette Valley.
A top-3 finish in the league isn’t out of the question for the girls as they look to develop a combination of returners and newcomers for the end of the season to battle against North Fayette Valley, MFL MarMac and Central, who all bring back a good core of runners.
The season opens Tuesday, Aug. 22, at Edgewood-Colesburg.
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