Mitchell Christian girls' cross country team looking to repeat in Region 2B

The Mitchell Christian girls’ cross country team wants to repeat as the Region 2B champs while the boys undergo a rebuilding year.

The top five runners return to the girls’ team this year.

“We kind of have the same expectations as last year, and that would be nice to repeat as the Region 2B champs,” second-year coach Mark Miedema said. “We will also hopefully improve on last year.”

The top runner for the boys last year, Cristian Van Dyke, graduated and is now running for Dordt College.

Miedema said the boys’ team has to become more competitive with the loss of Van Dyke.

“We have a lot of boys who enjoy running, but they need to be prodded a little bit to get going,” he said “They are not as competitive and don’t have that drive that he had.

“For the guys, it’s going to be a couple of rebuilding years before we get things going again.”

Mitchell Christian’s first meet for both teams is at 10 a.m. today in the Mitchell Invitational.

Sophomore Becca Glanzer is looking to build on her 18th place finish at the Class B state cross country meet last year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she was shooting for a top-10 finish at state,” Miedema said. “That sounds reasonable enough.”

Glanzer took second at the Region 2B meet and was followed by junior Katie Reynen, who finished in ninth. Eighth-grader Ashley Glanzer was 19th, senior Samantha Piehl was 22nd and junior Leah Berg was 25th.

Piehl is the only senior on the roster.

Miedema said the girls are looking pretty strong so far in practice.

“A lot of them stepped up over the summer and put their miles in,” he said. “They are a lot of fun to work with and have positive attitudes. They are out because they love to run.”

While Meidema said he is hoping the team repeats as the Region 2B champs, there is still a lot of work to be done with the team yet.

“We are still a young team and have a ways to go yet,” he said. “The kids are still young, growing and maturing.”

For the boys, junior Adam Rasmussen has been leading the team so far in practice.

“So far he is our top runner and coming in first during practice for the boys,” Miedema said.

This is Rasmussen’s first year running for the cross country team.

Mark Pretre is the other junior on the team has been coming in second during practice, according to Miedema. Eighth-graders Coby Lee and Isaak Peitz are also returning letterwinners for the team. Seventh-grader James Krall is another addition to the team.

Miedema said he is looking forward to the opportunity to getting to know his team this year.

“I am looking for a positive experience,” he said. “They all enjoy running and that’s a starting point right there. They will give it their all and they won’t give up.”

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