Prescott cross country is in the midst of a great year. The girls team made State for the first time as a team last year. They are defending that reputation well, most recently finishing second in Osceola on Saturday.

“They were a State qualifying team last year for the first time in the history of the school,” Head Coach Tim Philips said. “They have a lot to live up to because they kind of flew under the radar last year.”

Philips said they still have the target on their backs as nearly the entire girls squad returns. To maintain what they worked hard to build, they just have to keep working hard.

Junior Kyra Dix has retained the role as the team’s top finisher, winning by an entire minute with a 20:11 time in Osceola. Seniors Addyson Allsop and Amber Van Loon are also having great final seasons. Van Loon placed third in Osceola and Allsop eighth.

Philips has noticed the two working even harder than usual, showing how much they want another State appearance to close their high school journeys.

“Our goal is to get the girls back to State,” Philips said. “In order to do that, what we’re going to really need is we’re going to need our four, five, six, seven runners to step it up a notch or two. You’ve gotta have five solid runners in order to be a good team in cross country.”

Junior Emma Schmitz is one of the racers carving out a spot, who Philips said worked hard over the summer.

On the boys side, the team is young but showing potential. Freshman Dawson Langer took 11th in Osceola to lead the team, taking the second fastest freshman time in school history. It was Dix who dominated in her first year of cross country last year, and this time around, Langer is competing for the first time.

“We kind of came in this season feeling like it might be a little bit of a rebuilding year,” Philips said. “Some younger kids are really stepping up and they grabbed those varsity spots, and in three meets they just keep coming back and running well for us.”

Senior Nolan Leask has become a strong leader for the young team.

“While we’ve got a youth movement going on, Nolan is kind of the sturdy senior backbone of our boys team,” Philips said.

Junior Quinn Justen is another racer rounding into form with a 19th place finish. Philips said Justen is a competitive mountain biker who is tough and athletic. Sophomores Connor Anderson and Wyatt Fortney are two runners Philips is excited to see grow.

With the girls team having a successful stretch and the boys finding their footing, it is motivating the team to work even harder.

“As soon as you taste a little bit of success, that generally tends to motivate athletes and then they work a little bit harder,” Philips said. “It just becomes really self-fulfilling.”

He wants to see the boys team follow suit from the girls’ hard work over the summer to get them where they are now.

River Falls

The Wildcats are finding success of their own through some tough circumstances. They had their annual extreme meet where they trekked through grass, water and mud to a first place boys finish and second place girls finish. Senior Olive Halvorson also got a win individually.

River Falls has also battled through a blazing hot meet in Lakeville and the Roy Griak Invitational with long rolling hills.

“Every meet we just get stronger. It’s a huge fitness builder racing, especially on a course like Griak,” River Falls Head Coach Kari DeLuca said. “Every race kind of feels easier after that.

“They don’t feel fast at those races, but it will make them fast in the future,” DeLuca said.

The team saw great placement at the Griak, but they also had two top 15 finishers. Halvorson took fifth to highlight a girls race with well over 200 runners.

“Olive, it’s her senior year and so she’s put a lot of training in over the years and is just ready to compete at every meet,” DeLuca said. “To get fifth in a meet as big as Griak is a big deal, and there’s a lot of work that went into that.”

Halvorson has State expectations and is so far well on her way. Freshmen Risa Kleven, Berkley Petta and Ashelyn Schommer and senior Afton Gillis also all finished in the top half of the Griak for the Wildcats.

After missing the week leading up to the race with an injury, junior Owen Koepke placed 14th.

“Tough to come back and Griak be your first race back, but he handled it really well,” DeLuca said. “He’s going to just get even better going forward.”

Senior Henry Cronk took 24th, freshman Macaiah Black took 48th and junior Cruz Johnson took 50th. The teams had good results as well, taking on great teams to place ninth of 30 in the boys race and 14th of 25 in the girls race.

DeLuca said both squads are doing everything asked of them, and a large and talented freshman class is already starting to blossom.

“They just have to stay focused and be willing to not get frustrated,” DeLuca said.