Season Preview and Schedule Release: Record Numbers Fuel Optimism for XC
For the first time in his coaching career at Faith, Coach Ryan Long has enough runners to field a five-person scoring team for women's cross country. This year, a record ten runners (six women and four men) will compete for the Eagles. It's a great reason for excitement as Faith enters the 2021 season. The talent level of the returnees and newcomers are other reasons for optimism.
Josiah Brown is the team captain and will be flanked by Isaiah Crute as the lone returnees for the men. Ethan Wooten, a sophomore, and Dawson Woolett, a freshman, are the newcomers. Wooten fared well in distance events for the Eagles men's track team last spring, and Coach Long is excited about the potential of the long-legged Woolett.
For the ladies, Laney Jones and Emily Anderson return after fine campaigns a season ago. They are joined by newcomers Rachel Franklin, Kierstan Fritz, MaryAnn Hendrickson, and Kristin Yuan. Fritz and Yuan are doing both women's soccer and cross country.
The first meet is Saturday, September 4, at the NCCAA Falcon Classic, hosted by Kansas Christian College. Coach Long is excited that the first event is a little shorter (5k for men and 4k for women), allowing the team to ease into longer distances. Faith travels to Grinnell on September 11, Des Moines on September 25, Waverly on October 2, and Mason City on October 8. The regional event is October 23, with Nationals in Joplin, Missouri, on November 13.
