The area high school cross country season is set to start on August 19th with the annual Shelby County Preview. The Preview gives running fans their first look at teams from the Shelby County Athletic League, as well as those from Sidney and Lehman. The rotating role of host school has been given to Sidney this year after Anna previously hosted last year. Below are my opinions on the girls race and I'll follow that up next week with a look at the boys race.
The Russia girls team has a five year winning streak at the Preview
Russia
The Russia girls have been the school to watch at the Preview for the last five years. Head coach Doug Foster and his Lady Raiders have won the team title every year since 2010 and did it convincingly last year, 23-56 over Ft. Loramie. Gone are Kirsten Voisard and Emilie Frazier to graduation and Russia will also be without the benefit of senior Claudia Monnin, who is still recovering from ACL surgery back in January. Losing those three runners will be an adjustment, but the Lady Raiders still have plenty of strength lead by senior Emily Borchers. Emily finished 2nd at the Preview last year and then won eight out of the next ten races, the only non-wins being 3rd in Tiffin and 7th at the State Meet. On Emily's heels should be junior Lauren Heaton. Lauren is fresh off a state track title this past June in the 400 dash and was the team's #2 runner all of last season. Junior Molly Kearns was a dependable #3 runner last year and I expect another solid season from her after spending time at an Ohio State running camp this summer. Battling it out for Russia's #4 & #5 positions most likely will be sophomore Shea Goubeaux and junior Karissa Voisard. One new runner to watch for is incoming freshman Megan Frazier. Megan won the junior high Preview last year and also took home the SCAL title at the end of the season.
Russia senior Emily Borchers returns to lead the Lady Raiders
Ft. Loramie
Prior to Russia's five year winning streak at the Preview, Ft. Loramie dominated the meet from 2006-2009. Head coach Dennis Prenger will no doubt feel like something is missing this year and that's because gone is Meg Westerheide who graduated after a storied career, including an individual victory at last years Preview. The Lady Redskins also graduated another top five runner on the team in Tara Luebke. The junior class will determine the strength of Ft. Loramie and running up front should be junior Rachel Schmitmeyer who impressed last year with a 5th-place finish at the SCAL Championship. Rachel has shown flashes of being a top runner in the past and reportedly has worked hard over the summer to put herself in position as a team leader. Other key juniors include Claire Kazmaier, Taylor Gasson, Sam Bensman, Melanie Kremer and Makenna Geise. Sophomore Kaitlyn Luebke developed into a nice runner last season and is important for Ft. Loramie to perform well at the Preview and during the season. One thing is for sure, with 23 runners in the program this year, the Lady Redskins have the depth to be successful.
Rachel Schmitmeyer is part of a strong junior class at Ft. Loramie
The Botkins fans will have a lot to look forward to this season. While the graduation of Bethany Christman is a loss from last year, the program has a competitive bunch from seniors down to freshman. The team will be lead by one of the stars in the SCAL, junior Chloe Flora. Chloe finished 4th at last years Preview and was 3rd at the SCAL Championship. Head coach Ryan Gutman told me this week when Chloe showed up for the first day of practice on August 1st he asked her why she was smiling so big. Chloe responded, "it's just so good to be back". Botkins has six seniors and two of those seniors I expect in the top seven for the team at the Preview includes Mackenzie Brown and Tayler Weatherhead. The key to the Lady Trojans might be junior Kayla Hueker. Kayla battled injury last season, but had a big spring in track and could surprise a few people. Another junior I expect to be running varsity is Sarah Knoop. Lastly, it's always hard to predict freshman success, but Coach Gutman has an incoming group that won the junior high SCAL team title last year. I look for freshman Cassie McGowan and Brooklyn Flora to be in the mix at the Preview.
Coach Gutman has built a contender this year with the Lady Trojans
You might see three Lehman runners crack the top ten at this years Preview and two of them shouldn't be a surprise. Head coach Kyle Hermiller has a couple of the best back in sophomore Jenna Zimmerman who finished 5th at last years Preview and junior Caroline Heitmeyer who finished 7th. Both girls ended the season with strong showings at the State Meet. I talked to Coach Hermiller this week and Caroline is looking very fast coming into the early part of the season. Junior Janelle Gravunder is back as well after qualifying for the Regional Meet last year as an individual. Also, sophomore Theresa Schmiesing returns for her second season and brings along her cousin, Clare Schmiesing, who will likely battle each other for the #5 and #6 positions on the team. Finally, I expect big things from incoming freshman Alanna O'Leary. Alanna impressed me last year in junior high as runner-up at the Preview and is capable of a top ten finish this year in my opinion. With no seniors on the Lady Cavaliers roster, Lehman is one team to keep on your radar.
Anna
The last time the Lady Rockets made headlines at the Preview was 2006 when Sarah Schulze won the individual title and lead her team to a runner-up finish behind Ft. Loramie. The Anna girls program has good numbers this year, 13 to be exact, and that's a tribute to head coach Dean Stewart. Running up front should be a couple of 2nd-team All-SCAL girls from last year in junior Jennifer Robinson and senior Bonnie Alstaetter. Two other girls I expect in the top five for the team includes juniors Nicole Smith and Jenna Harshbarger. There's also one freshman I believe will score for Anna at the Preview and that's Kara Steinke, who was one of the top junior high runners in the SCAL last season. The Lady Rockets won't make headlines at the Preview this year, but they have a solid team that could show up at the Regional Meet in October.
Houston
It wasn't that long ago that Houston had the top female runner at the Preview in Allison Roeth who won back-to-back individual titles in 2010 and 2011. Like last year though, this will be another rebuilding year for the Lady Wildcats program and head coach Joni Dunham. Sophomore Emma Mertz will lead again after being the teams top runner last year. Emma comes into the season strong and healthy from the summer and could compete for a top 15 finish at the Preview. Another sophomore, Kaitlyn Ellison, also returns for her second year of varsity running. Houston will have two new runners this season in junior Brayden Murray, who joins the team for the first time, and freshman Morgan Ely. With only four Lady Wildcats on the roster, the girls won't meet the requirement of five runners for a team score.
Fish Report's Preview Predictions
Top Five Teams
1. Russia
2. Ft. Loramie
3. Botkins
4. Lehman
5. Anna
Top Five Individuals
1. Emily Borchers - Russia
2. Chloe Flora - Botkins
3. Lauren Heaton - Russia
4. Caroline Heitmeyer - Lehman
5. Rachel Schmitmeyer - Ft. Loramie
Top Five Freshman
1. Alanna O'Leary - Lehman
2. Megan Frazier - Russia
3. Cassie McGowan - Botkins
4. Brooklyn Flora - Botkins
5. Kara Steinke - Anna
Fab Freshman - Keep an eye on freshman Megan Frazier of Russia,
Alanna O'Leary of Lehman and Cassie McGowan of Botkins
No comments:
Post a Comment