There is a lot to look forward to this cross country season, and the schools have shown why thus far. Between great team scores and top individual finishes, the fall is off to a hot start.

Prescott hosted a meet Aug. 27, where the Cardinals finished fourth of seven in the girls race and sixth of eight in the boys race. Senior Kyra Dix finished second in the home meet, followed by senior Emma Schmitz in 16th, junior Kyla Gotzinger in 29th, sophomore Brooklyn Huppert in 37th and junior Mariana Jackson in 42nd. The boys’ top finishers were sophomore Dawson Langer in 10th, senior Rowan Bauman in 12th, junior Connor Anderson in 36th, senior Quinn Justen in 38th and senior Broderick West in 43rd. In Somerset on Thursday, the Cardinals took third in both races. Dix won the race this time around, followed by Schmitz in 10th, Gotzinger in 14th, Huppert in 17th and Emma Bohlman in 28th. For the boys, Langer showed out with a fourth-place finish, followed by Justen in 11th, Bauman taking 16th, Anderson earning 18th and Wyatt Fortney finishing 21st.

Spring Valley has looked competitive against some larger schools thus far. The boys team took third of six in St. Croix Falls, but not enough girls ran to qualify for the team standings. In Somerset, the boys and girls each took fourth. Sophomore Dexter Arco finished fifth in St. Croix Falls, followed by Chase Glaus in 10th, Drake Olszewski in 14th, Seth Palmer in 28th and Bismillah Khan Kaker in 30th. Those five finished in the same order in Somerset, taking ninth, 12th, 17th, 24th and 26th. The girls also finished in a close pack in Somerset, with Gwen Yonke in 13th, Stella Mathison in 16th, Kate Cipriano in 18th, Frankie Hudson in 19th and Harper Turner in 20th. Even outside of the top five, Lillian Ault took 23rd and Peyton Peabody finished 28th.

Ellsworth had the chance to gauge its skill in the early season at Prescott on Aug. 27. The boys took fifth of eight and the girls took seventh of seven teams. Both the boys and girls showed a lot to look forward to. Sophomore Mackenzie Hince finished sixth at the event, and senior Adolfo Mendez took third. The two have had plenty of top high school finishes over the years, and they will be expecting themselves to finish in the top 10 every time they hit the course this season. Rounding out Ellsworth’s top five in Prescott for the boys were junior Carter Lampman in 24th, senior Parker Lampman in 30th, freshman Zakary Zierl in 31st and senior Brock Fairchild in 45th. For the girls, the top five was rounded out by junior Evie Peterson in 24th, junior Blakely Lucente in 28th, freshman Hayden Welch in 41st and freshman Linnea Sears in 57th.

Elmwood/Plum City does not have the roster size to earn team placements this year, but two individuals did compete in Somerset. Senior Tessa Asher has been a key piece of the team for years, and the senior finished 31st of 51 runners Thursday. Sophomore Kyra Duval was the other competitor for the Wolves, taking 44th place.

River Falls kicked its season off Aug. 27 with one of the runners’ favorites, the X-Treme Meet. The event takes the runners through the Kinnickinnic River, making for a wild course. Both the girls and boys finished second for the Wildcats at the event. The girls had each of the top five runners finish in the top 20 of the event. Sophomore Annie Csiacsek was the runner-up, followed by Risa Kleven in eighth, Willa Barry in 10th, Berkley Petta in 12th and Shaelyn Schommer in 19th. The boys team had all five of its best runners in the top 15. Micaiah Black led the way in fourth but was followed closely by Owen Koepke in sixth. Next for the Wildcats were Cruz Johnson in 11th, Dylan Henjum behind him in 12th and Gunnar Johnson in 14th.