Cross Country Conference Season Preview
Q&A with coach Marshall about upcoming conference season
September 23, 2021
How many top 10 runners from last season are back this season?
Boys = Only 4 returned (we lost 6 to graduation/moving out of town)
Girls = All but 2 returned
How many freshmen joined the team?
Boys 4 freshman
Girls 4 freshman
Have any new runners emerged as top 10, or top 5? If so, who and what grade?
Boys: Caden Halberg, 12; Michael Brisard, 12; Mason Estes, 11; Lars Uhland, 11; Matthew Walker, 10
Girls:
Grace Gerhold, 9 has stepped into our 2nd place runner position this year
We had less than 10 runners last year; this year we have exactly 10.
Lia Stokes, 12 is a sprinter who joined the team this year and has jumped into our top 5.
We also have three girls who are improving a lot and should help us later in the season: Siena McGarrigle, 11; Abbey Collupy, 9; Emma Reynolds, 9
After the first meet at Rolesville, what can you praise about the team?
They have worked hard to get to the level we are currently at.
Due to track season going so long last year, we are a little behind in training from where we would normally be. Everyone has been working hard to get back to where we should be.
We have a good group of boys who run in a tight pack, so if someone is having a bad day they others can step up and fill in for them.
The girls team is returning one of the top distance runners in Olivia Fishlein. We have a lot of new runners on the girls team, they are all working hard to improve. By the end of the season we should have a good chance of placing high in the conference.
At the first big meet, Friday Night Lights, what were you pleased with?
I thought everyone ran well and it was nice to get back to a normal large cross country meet.
Last year we did not see a lot of competition until we got to the regional meet, due to the covid rules last year. So it was great to get to see some of the best competition in the state early in the season.
Olivia Fischlein had a big race and placed 5th overall in the Girls Invitational race.
What’s the next step for the team?
Last Saturday we had the Adidas XC challenge and we saw a lot of our runners improve their times and placement. This weekend we have the Greensboro Invitational and Next weekend we have the Great American XC festival. We hope to keep improving individually and as a team over the next two weeks leading into our conference meet in October.
