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MFL MarMac runners eye higher Upper Iowa Conference finishes

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Members of the MFL MarMac cross country team include (front, left to right) Mariah Moser, Sawyer Keehner, Emma Koether; (middle) Cadence Weber, Will Koether, Clare Grau, Jacob Schellhorn; (back) Ayla Gerndt, Tricia Bacon, Kaylee Nuehring, Tucker Ruff, Cora Keehner, Jaron Wille, Evelyn Ruff, Logan Ross, assistant coach Megan Schellhorn and head coach Eric Koenig. (Photo by Audrey Posten)

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

A mixture of returning talent and new additions has MFL MarMac cross country coach Eric Koenig excited for the 2022 season.

 

“Numbers aren’t quite as high this year, but we’ve got one of the most cohesive and harder working groups I’ve had. A good group of runners,” he said. 

 

“Both girls and guys, I think in the conference we’ll be top five, hopefully top three,” he added.

 

Leading the effort will be sophomore Jacob Schellhorn, a state qualifier and Upper Iowa Conference runner up a season ago. Koenig projects Schellhorn to take the top spot this time around, if his early season form is any indication.

 

“Jacob, already in practice the other day, ran under 18 [minutes]. I don’t think he was close to that until halfway through the season last year,” the coach shared.

 

Sophomore Tucker Ruff and senior Will Koether both put up times under 19 minutes last season and will be strong contenders again. Newcomers Sawyer Keehner, a junior, and Jaron Wille, a sophomore, will round out MFL MarMac’s top five boys.

 

“Definitely quality to make up our top five,” Koenig said.

 

On the girls side, the Bulldogs will have Clare Grau, a junior who qualified for state as a freshman. After an injury-hampered sophomore campaign, Koenig expects her to return more to form.

 

“She had surgery on her feet, so hopefully that is solved,” he said. 

 

Freshman Cora Keehner has also been impressive early, as has sophomore Evelyn Ruff.

 

“Those will be our top three,” Koenig stated.

 

Other runners include senior Cadence Weber, juniors Kaylee Nuehring and Ayla Gerndt, sophomore Tricia Bacon and freshmen Mariah Moser and Emma Koether. 

 

Koenig said the team has a new approach to practice this season, which is already showing results. Rather than running a different distance each day, the length of time run is upped instead.

 

“Last week Monday we started with 20 minutes, then added a minute each day,” he explained. “For me, it helps organize practice better because, if I’m only running them for 20 minutes, then everyone is done at the same time and we can move on to the next thing. When you have both guys and girls running together at different levels, when you go out and run 3.1 miles, the guys are finished in 20 minutes and the girls in 28 to 30 minutes. So the guys are cooling down before we get to the next thing. Here, everyone’s done at the same time and we can hit the next exercise and keep going.”

 

The group has also enjoyed having the roughly 3.1-mile Butterfly Trail to run in Monona, and they’ve hit up other area locations, like Effigy Mounds National Monument.

 

Limiting time on roadways is better for safety and health, Koenig noted.

 

“Typically, we have shin splint issues, but so far everyone is still running,” he said. “Maybe that’s part of limiting distance, taking a break and then going out and doing quicker paces. It splits that monotony up. Then, a lot of times, after we do our miles, we either go onto the football field or a grassy area and do our sprints. That helps not pounding the concrete for a half hour plus every day.”

 

Looking ahead, Koenig said each runner has set individual goals for the season. Collectively, that can aid team success.

 

“Most focused on time and where they want to be. I think a lot of them will reach that,” he said. “Obviously, we’d like to continue to finish higher in the conference. I think that’s a real possibility.”

 

The Bulldog boys and girls start their seasons Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Ed-Co Invitational. They will then be at home, at Tri City Golf Course in Luana, on Sept. 1.

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