This year’s cross country team has been off on a running start. In an interview, Tyler Ketelson, MCHS cross country coach, talked about how the runners in the season were doing so far. The top girl’s time so far this year is junior Hannah Thomas with a time of 20.28. Hannah ran her best time at the Newman Invite. Her time is only 19 seconds away from the school record. The top boy for this season is senior Michael Rowe, who ran a time 16:52. There are only about 5 more meets for the rest of the season. The next meet will be held this Saturday at the Mental Health Institute Campus in Independence, Iowa.
The Press got the opportunity to speak with two senior leaders of the cross country team, Joey Daoud and Michael Rowe. For these varsity runners, this is their 4th year with the team. They plan to keep their options open to continue cross country in college.
When asked about the biggest improvement of the year, Daoud stated that it was about, “truly understanding the mental side of running.” Daoud also commented about the season, stating that, “the times this year haven’t been the best for myself, yet I am hoping to peak for the rest of the season.” When asked about what he could say to the younger students on the team, he stated that they all must, “push themselves when no one is watching, and put in the work.”
Michael Rowe, who qualified and competed for state last year, stated, “Everyone has been competing hard and putting in a lot of effort into every race and workout.” Rowe also commented about the coach, Tyler Ketelson, stating,”TK does a great job of making sure we are all training the right way.” Rowe also mentioned that,”We could improve upon racing better as a team by running more as a pack in the race instead of spreading out.”
The team had a great showing at their home invite on Tuesday, September 18th. Both the girls and boys varsity teams earned 2nd place. Hannah Thomas and Sami Miller, both juniors, placed in the top ten for the girls race, with Thomas coming in 5th and Miller in 10th place. The Mohawk boys had a strong showing as well. Michael Rowe, senior, placed 2nd, followed by Christian Rodriguez, freshman, in 3rd place. The Mohawks did extremely well overall. Congratulations on a great meet, and good luck with the remaining season!