Both teams qualified for the Class A State Cross Country Meet last fall, however, due to COVID-19 there was no state competition.

“We had a lot of new faces to the team due to the late starts for football and volleyball and many of our runners had great years,” said Hanson.  “We have very strong and experienced leaders in our program.  We are coming off of a very successful season, both in terms of results and development.  Unfortunately, due to COVID, our seniors and teams last year were robbed of a year of state experience.”

The boys’ team lost Kyle Schill to graduation, but return experienced senior runners Alex Salwasser, Shad Swanson, Kade Runge and Tyler Biss, juniors Peyton Hansen, Roman Hihalovski, Eli Bergman and Neko Moran, and sophomore Dane Anderson.

Lexi Bright will lead the lady Knights in her senior season and is joined by senior Kennedy Porter and sophomores Alexa Blume and Terina Blasyck as returning starters.  Senior Victoria Junker is new to the squad.  The girl’s team will have to fill holes created by the graduation of Brynn Fernholz and Chloe LaRue.

“Many of our athletes are hungry to carry the tradition of alumni and challenge the top teams in our section to get back to where we were last year,” said Hanson.  “As coaches, we’re very excited to see our juniors step into important roles for the boys’ squad.  For the girls’ our two sophomores will be integral to our success.  There are several young athletes that could find themselves very important for our squads.  More than anything, we are really excited to bring back the fun activities and events that were hampered by COVID.  We know we aren’t out of the woods, but we are looking forward to leaning more towards ‘normal’ than last year.  We look forward to seeing smiling faces and helping kids achieve their potential!”

Perham and Staples-Motley are at the top of the list as far as the top teams in the area.