2023 Cross Country Season Preview

The Ledger caught up with the Lowell Boys and Girls Cross Country Coaches Clay VanderWarf and Paul Judd.

Coach VanderWarf

What event on the calendar are you and the team most looking forward to?

We are looking forward to running in a new meet for us this year, Under The Lights Invite at South Christian High School. It is a meet with races in the evening. Because we're a new team to the event our race times will be 8:00 pm (Girls) and 8:35 pm (Boys). The last race is at midnight. Nonetheless it will still be a unique experience for the runners.

Tell me about this year's team. A lot of new faces? Plenty of seniors?

We have 19 members on the team. Overall it is a younger team when you combine the Freshmen and Sophomore numbers (6 and 5). We have 5 seniors and 3 juniors. Sophomores through Seniors are all returning runners from last year.

What returning seniors do you expect to make a big impact this year?

Braylon Lakiri and Antonio Casarez were members of the varsity team last year so we're looking to see them have some good races in the season. Juniors Paul Fowler and Wyatt Remur had a good offseason of training so we're looking to see them step up as well.

Who are some new faces this year that you expect might make an impact?

The freshmen are the biggest group in the team. Cody Bromley, Drew Swayze, and Marshall Huhn had a successful 8th grade season and look to contribute to the team this year. They had a good start to the season by being part of the varsity team in the Portage Central Early Bird Invite.

While not new to the team, Sophomores Cooper Byrne and Mason Saylor will help the team out as well. Both Cooper and Mason have trained a lot in the summer which helped Cooper kick off the season with a personal record at Portage (17.30) and Mason was the third Arrow in. They ran varsity last year and so they know what it takes to have a successful season, individual and team wise.

Coach Judd

What event on the calendar are you and the team most looking forward to?

We coach for October and that hasn’t changed but with a team filled with so many first-year athletes the first meet will be of greater importance than in the past as racing 5k is a new experience.  Portage will offer many surprises to the team, and we will have two additional meets in the next week for the girls to build on the initial effort. This year we will have three races at Riverside Park which is a fast track.  The Ottawa Hills Invite will be the team’s second look at the course and PRs should be plentiful.

Tell me about this year's team. A lot of new faces? Plenty of seniors?

There are a lot of new faces as eight out of the fourteen runners are new to the HS scene. Jadyn Young is the only senior and is coming off a strong finish to her 2023 track season. Of the new faces we have five freshmen and three juniors who will learn to race a 5k from the returning girls.

What returning seniors do you expect to make a big impact this year?

Our returning members are a two-sided coin as we are returning five members from our 2022 State Meet Qualifying team of which they are runners four thru seven. It will be a learning experience for them as they will need to take the lead rather than follow the lead of the Sandman sisters. Sophomore Audrey Latchaw had a great track season and I feel her 800m speed should make this season stronger than last.  Junior Claire O'Boyle has come into the season with a strong base and should be able to build on it when we hit the intervals. Lastly, sophomore Evie Deur is in better shape than her freshman campaign and I am excited to see her use her athleticism.

Who are some new faces this year that you expect might make an impact?

Mia Vonderheide and Olivia Lothian probably come in with the most running experience.Their ability to shoot for their fastest two miles ever in a 3.1-mile race will be the trick. Generally, you must prove to yourself that you can go beyond what you know (MS runs 2 miles). Brooklyn Jackson will use her athleticism as the season goes on but first, we need to make her a believer. Our first two weeks have been focused on helping the kids gain more confidence in themselves.This will be a season long objective because as you get faster you enter unchartered waters.