Numbers up for CCS cross country; opener this week

    As the cross country season opens, Head Coach Carl Zuege is excited to see how the fall unfolds.
    Experienced runners returning on the girls’ team, including last year’s only state qualifier, and a crop of young boys already making their mark are leading to a lot of anticipation, Zuege said.
    In all, 18 are on the 2021 roster, up from 16 last season.
    The team will be at the Dundy County Stratton Invite on Thursday for its opener.
    On the girls’ side, there are six on the roster—four seniors and a pair of juniors. This year’s squad didn’t yield any freshmen or sophomores.
    “We are experienced and have a lot of leadership,” Zuege said of the girls.
    “We’ll be cashing in on our experience,” he said.
    He said the senior girls—Jordan Jablonski, Matalie Wallin, Caelyn Long and Morgan Peterson—were there nearly every day of summer workouts three days a week.
    Jablonski, after her first season of cross country last year, is the team’s only returning state qualifier.
    The senior girls, he said, do a good job of organizing and keeping teammates on track. There’s a lot of athleticism among them, he noted.
    A big crop of runners, 12 in all, make up the boys’ team this season. Contrasting the girls, the boys will be led by its younger runners.
    Freshman Trevin Moreno is leading the squad on times right now Zuege said, with freshman Navy Smith right behind. Sophomore Mason Tyerman rounds out the top three fastest runners.
    “We’ll be watching this group and how they grow,” Zuege said.    
    They may lack experience competing at the high school level, but Zuege said they have put in the miles and work hard.
    “It’s going to be a year for gaining experience and learning,” he said.
    All three senior boys are first-timers on the team—Keenan Cole, Nick Rau and Emmitt Zuege.
    Zuege said it’s good to have them on the team. They wanted to be out for a fall sport their senior seasons, he said, and will get in some good conditioning, too, as they anticipate the ‘21-22 basketball season.
    “I’m happy with how they are working and how they will help our varsity team,” he said.
    The junior high team has four runners out, two boys and two girls. They have five meets on this year’s schedule, including this week’s at DCS.
    Chris Bartels returns as the team’s assistant coach.
At Benkelman Thursday
    Opener for the varsity team is Thursday this week, when the team travels to Benkelman for the Dundy Co. Stratton Invitational.
    Due to the earliness of the meet and expected heat Thursday, the varsity race will be shortened to a 3.2K (2 miles) starting with the girls at 5 p.m., followed by boys.
    Six runners can compete for each team with four scoring. Other team members can run as well, but not score. Medals will go to the top 15.
    A junior high race will follow varsity but no times will be kept, according to DCS officials.
    Thursday’s DCS meet will be followed up with a morning meet at Cambridge Friday, Sept. 3, then Chase County will host its home meet Thursday, Sept. 9, at Imperial Country Club.
    There are no schedule changes for 2021, Zuege said, and though it’s not announced yet, he expects Ogallala to host the district meet again on Oct. 14.