Head coach Ben Demuth begins his seventh year with the boys cross country program with a need of replacing several departed seniors who contributed heavily to the varsity lineup over the past three or four years. That group includes Jon Koester who represented the team at state a year ago. Having said that, the coach feels he still has a good group of returners.
“Our strength is a good core of runners who have been a part of our success as either varsity or JV runners,” stated Demuth. “These are guys that know what they need to do in order to achieve success on either a personal or team level.” He sees a potential weakness as a lack of numbers. “For the first time, we have a smaller number of runners than what I’ve had in the past,” said the coach. “We only have one freshman out, and that is a potential problem down the road.”
He feels the key to the Eagles season is the same as always. “It’s how fast we can get into shape for running in a competitive nature,” said Demuth. “We had a decent summer running group, but it was abbreviated and so we are a bit behind in terms of where I think we should be at this point. However, I feel good about the guys who we will rely on for the varsity lineup.”
Those runners include Justin Agtun, Cael Wesselink, Adam Herrington, Drake Weland and Jensen Cooper. “They are the returning letterwinners and they’re a good group of guys,” said Demuth. “Adam and Cael have one last go-round, and I know as seniors they are hungry for success. Our juniors Justin and Jensen led our summer runners, as they were at every session and really set the tone for us. Drake is just a sophomore, but has a ton of opportunity ahead of him and if he puts his mind to it could be a real good runner in our program.”
Demuth is again helped out by assistant, and long-time former head coach, Jerry Becker. “He’s back for another go, and as always provides excellent assistance for the boys,” said Demuth. When glancing around the Top of Iowa, Demuth feels West Fork, Newman Catholic and St. Ansgar all have top returning talent. “They will be the teams everyone else is chasing this year,” said Demuth. “We will see these teams at multiple meets, so will be a good way to measure ourselves. They are all 1A, while we’re 2A, so that competition will pay off when it comes to the end of the season meets.”
