Edgar has many young runners this year

By Casey Krautkramer

Edgar junior Cade Koch was the school’s only all-conference cross country runner among both boys and girls last season. He took 10th place which earned him second team all-Marawood Conference.

Dennis Webb is in his 17th season as Edgar’s varsity boys head coach and in his 11th season as the girls head coach. His top returning Wildcat boys cross country runners are juniors Koch and Dillan Sondelski and his top girl runner is junior Samantha Schmidt.

Webb believes that based on Koch’s offseason that he can run faster times in races this season than he did last season.

“Cade has been a beast all summer so he is currently in excellent shape,” he said. “Cade is a no nonsense kind of guy and has goals that drive him to be a top competitor. He has been running all summer and that work has certainly shown up in his first three races. Dillan Sondelski is pushing and challenging Cade and I expect both of them to do well in our conference.”

Webb describes his top boy and girl newcomers to the varsity team this season.

“On the boys side is freshman Fynn Olmstead who is my third best runner on the team,” he said. “He works hard and challenges himself to stay up with Cade and Dillan. Ashley Krause is a freshman and she is my second best runner on the team. She has an incredible sense of humor and is focused on becoming a better athlete. When she gets to the point that she believes in herself, she should be one of the top runners in the conference.”

No Edgar girl cross country runners earned all-conference accolades last season, which Webb is hoping will change this season.

“It’s as simple as the girls need to run over the summer,” he said. “In cross country there are no secret formulas for success. The kids that do the summer work enjoy the fruits of their sweat in the fall. I strongly believe I will have a couple girls that should be competing for Marawood Conference honors this season.”

The boy and girl team goals are simple this year.

“I have nine freshmen girls and four freshmen boys so our goal is to build up our mental fortitude and learn to compete as a team,” Webb said.

Edgar cross country runners again competed in the UW-River Falls Extreme meet on Aug. 29 to begin this season, which Webb said helps prepare his runners for the upcoming schedule of races.

“Cade and Dillan both medaled and Sam was just outside the top finishers,” he said. “The race was held just before the thunderstorms rolled through the west side of the state. The race is our team building experience. It’s grueling and it pulls the group together.”