Ending the cross country season with the 6A State meet on Nov. 6, junior Isaac Teague placed 8th overall and finished with a time of 16:24. 

   “I feel great to be running at my state meet and to show what I have against the fastest in our state. I feel amazingly honored to be able to represent our state against the best of Oklahoma in the All-Star meet,” Teague said.

   The All-Star meet took place in Oklahoma on Nov. 14 where Teague placed 25th.  The meet hosted the best athletes from Oklahoma and Arkansas.

   “I could not be more excited and proud of the work that Isaac put in this year and his desire to race has really shown. Being tenth fastest high school kid in the state of Arkansas is an amazing accomplishment. He earned his position on the Arkansas vs Oklahoma All Star team. He proved that hard work and determination led to success,” coach Aaron Kareus said.

   Covid restrictions changed the meets and limited the team bonding. However, the team still came together and supported each other. The team was also plagued with multiple injuries, especially on the girls team. 

   “I was extremely proud of my runners this year. This has been our best year for both boys and girls in the four years that I have coached.  It was more of a struggle with covid restrictions and we had to switch up how we did meets and team bonding but the team pulled together, worked very hard and we are better for it.  It was awesome to see so many kids drop their personal best times and have success,” Kareus said. 

   Kareus highlighted three senior boys that went to the state meet: Jackson Messenger, Macksimus Burke, and Chris Kaelin. He would also highlight junior Xander Naegle, who dropped considerable time, as well as sophomore Chris Rhomberg, who was consistently the third fastest runner. 

   “I feel great about the season. We weren’t even sure we were gonna be able to have one so we were grateful for the opportunity to even be there. As for my times, I think I started off well and a lot faster than last year. I think everybody else on the team did great and it’s exciting to see how they all contributed to the team in their own ways and got better as the season progressed,” Xander Naegle said.

   With only a few female returners, the young team was led with the help of Heidi Marsh, Judith Ramirez, Kaitlin Seiter, and Finley Rossi.

   “It was a fun season and the new sophomores were such a joy! I think everyone had a great season. Many people got new PR’s and everyone should be proud of themselves. Overall, I think the team had a good turn out and season,” Ramirez said.

   As the semester ended, the team focused on next year’s season.

   “We are losing a few key members of our team due to graduation, but I am happy that there will be so many returners next year.  We have started something great and I look forward to seeing the runners progress for the next few years,” Kareus said.