Wildcat girls second at home invite
Koch, Schmidt both place sixth
By Casey Krautkramer
Dennis Webb is in the midst of his 16th year coaching Edgar’s boys and girls cross country teams. Tom Normington is the middle school coach.
Edgar’s top returning girl cross country runner is sophomore Samantha Schmidt and the top returning boy is sophomore Cade Koch. Both runners took sixth place at the Edgar Invitational on Sept. 26.
Webb explains who the top new girl and boy cross country runners are this season.
“The top newcomer for the girls is actually senior Natalie Thompson that took last year off,” he said. “Natalie is an outstanding athlete and I am so happy to see her back running the trails with the team. Natalie brings a spark to each practice and has shown leadership.”
Thompson placed 12th at the Edgar Invitational.
“The boys don’t have a top newcomer but I have another sophomore boy, Dillan Sondelski, that is showing impressive improvement from last year and is going to have an outstanding season due to his dedication through the summer.”
Sondelski placed 16th at the Edgar Invitational.
Edgar cross country runners competed in the River Falls High School Extreme cross country race on Aug. 24 to help them get a head start to this season.
“We run the Extreme meet every year,” Webb said. “This meet is a great opportunity to test the athletes early in the season and it also promotes team bonding through shared misery.”
Morgan Schnelle was the only Edgar cross country runner to compete in the state tournament last season, but she graduated high school in spring.
“Qualifying for state as an individual or team is an incredible honor,” Webb said. “Only five individuals and two teams qualify from each sectional which consists of at least 24 teams and over 130 individuals. I have been fortunate to have an individual qualify for state 10 of the last 15 years.”
“This year I have been thoroughly impressed with the work Samantha Schmidt has put in through the summer. She has put in many miles and there is an opportunity for her to be the next female individual to qualify for state. Cade Koch is always in amazing shape and it’s just a matter of time and sweat for him to get his opportunity to run for a state championship. Both of these athletes trained with Morgan Schnelle and they saw Morgan’s nonstop work ethic. Morgan is attending UW-La Crosse and she is not running cross country but she’ll be on the track team. Morgan was an incredible leader and she dedicated herself to be the best student and athlete.”