Kee cross country program gets boost for 2016 season from handful of newcomers for girls team, return of all top scorers for boys team


Left to right - Front row: Laura Colsch, Nicki Wood, Makayla Peters, Rachel Walleser, Katie Brennan, Makayla Walleser. Back row: Theron Maddox, Jacob Berns, Evan Whalen, Spencer Colsch, Ryan Whalen, Jack Mooney. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.

When second-year Kee cross country coach Pat Wagner says, “I definitely feel Kee’s boys and girls will make some strides in distance running this fall,” he’s not just talking about the steps taken by his Hawk runners as they navigate the course. Instead, it’s no loss of runners to graduation from last season and a considerable increase in female participation this year so that both the boys and girls squads can now compile a team score that has Coach Wagner seeing his Kee distance charges taking considerable steps forward with the strides they take.

“We lost no one to graduation, that should automatically make us better,” Coach Wagner said. “And we have added several quality people. I have been pleased with how early season workouts have gone. Cross country is a hard sport so you do have to do some work on a daily basis. The student athletes have come in and done that. They have shown enthusiasm, and we are off to a good start.”

The boys squad returns five of last season’s performers and adds a sixth from last year’s middle school ranks in freshman Theron Maddox, while the girls squad shows a significant increase in participation numbers, from just one high school competitor last season to six runners this season. With junior Nicki Wood being the only returning high school competitor for the Hawks, three freshmen - Laura Colsch, Makayla Peters and Rachel Walleser - will make up half the high school squad, and a pair of newcomer sophomores - Katie Brennan and Makayla Walleser - help push the Hawk ladies’ program into a team scoring competitor for the first time in quite a few seasons.

Although in just their first high school cross country seasons, Brennan and Walleser bring plenty of higher level experience and competitiveness with them. Both joined Wood in the starting line-up of Kee’s State Championship softball team this past summer, with Walleser also helping Kee’s girls basketball team to a first-ever State Tournament qualification earlier this year as well. Brennan further brings her own individual State-level success, running to a fourth-place finish in the Class 1A 3000 meter run at the State Track Meet this past spring.

“Rachel Walleser and Makayla Peters were both solid junior high runners the last two seasons,” Coach Wagner said. “We are also very happy to have Katie Brennan and Makayla Walleser join our squad this fall, Katie is such a natural distance runner. All of these girls are success-oriented people, so the Kee girls cross country team should be solid.”

Five of this season’s six runners for the Kee cross country boys are returning letterwinners, including the two seniors, Evan Whalen and Spencer Colsch. Jack Mooney is the lone junior, with Ryan Whalen and Jacob Berns rounding out that returnee list as sophomores.

“Plain and simple, I expect them to turn in better times than last season, and I think they will,” Coach Wagner said. “Our attitude, effort and approach in early season workouts reflect a willingness to improve and represent our school well. I feel we will be much more competitive this season. Everyone is a year older and more mature.”

Coach Wagner looks to his four upperclassmen runners to share their experience in helping their younger teammates. “In terms of leadership, Evan, Spencer, Jack and Nicki are probably our leaders, but Katie’s enthusiasm and competitiveness has already added a lot to our squad,” he said. “All the kids add something positive and I think the older runners recognize and respect that.”

No matter if veteran competitor or first-year newcomer, Coach Wagner knows that it takes the efforts of all members to achieve true team success. “A successful season will include developing team camaraderie, making sure all people feel part of the group and making sure all people do their part,” he explained. “I just want to be able to look at last year’s times and see improvement this season. I want to look at times in October and see them significantly better than what they were in August. It is important to me that we do our job the right way on a daily basis. That will lead us to the success we deserve.”

That success will get its further motivation from the other runners the Hawks encounter throughout the season, according to Coach Wagner. “One thing a lot of people don’t realize is how competitive distance running is,” he said. “If you go to a few meets you find  out real fast that there are a lot of people out there who want to do well. So we have to work hard on a daily basis because when we go to meets we are consistently facing strong competition. So, I guess I am thinking more along the line of consistently doing our best and letting the results take care of themselves. If we do that we will work on our weaknesses and polish our strengths.”

It will be that competition throughout the season that will provide the foundation for what the team ultimately wants to achieve during its 2016 campaign. “Some goals include being at our peak when the Conference and State Qualifying meets come around in October,” Coach Wagner said. “We need to see where we are at in the early season meets and start trimming time from there.”

Those early season meets were scheduled to get underway for the Hawks Tuesday, August 23 at the Edgewood-Colesburg Invitational. The Kee distance dandies will then compete at the MFL/MarMac Invitational held at Luana Thursday, September 1.