MONROE — The Cheesemakers coaching staff has high praise this spring for their boys and girls cross country teams.

“We’ve got great kids out for the team this year, and this isn’t something we say about every team. These kids are outstanding,” said Scott Mosher, now in his sixth year as Monroe’s coach. “They are very competitive and hard workers, which they’ve shown through a year-long offseason of training. It’s often difficult to keep kids motivated for the 11 weeks of summer, and these athletes stayed motivated for 52 weeks of COVID.”

The girls roster graduated just one runner from its 2019 squad and return top finisher Jacie Hayes, who was just six spots back from qualifying for state as a junior. Hayes, also a first-team all-conference runner last year, leads the girls team, while returning letterwinners include Sierra McGuire, Ellery Bazley, Jenna Brower and Lauren Coppes. 

“We have a big group of freshman girls with a strong competitive drive who will all be competing for varsity spots this season,” Mosher said. “Freshman Jayden Elgin was our top runner at the time trial and looks like she’s ready to step into a varsity role right away.  Marlies Brandli, Skye Dickson, Ximena Miranda, Anna Polnow, Katrina Sathoff, and Aleigh Zettle (all Freshman) will also fight for varsity spots.  That entire class will be fun to watch, not only this year, but the next three seasons.”

Also joining the team this year is Alyssa Roelli, a junior. An accomplished swimmer, Roelli also excels in track and field and decided to give cross country a try.

“She is an incredibly hard worker and will step right into a top role with the team,” Mosher said.

On the boys side, three of the team’s top runners graduated, and then a couple of other would-be top returners will also not be on the squad this spring.

“The boys side lost a big senior class to graduation last year that had both varsity experience and leadership. We also had a couple other current seniors who decided to graduate early and have already have jobs lined up so decided to pass on the cross country season,” Mosher said. “While we’d love to have these guys out, we understand how difficult the last year has been and it made sense to graduate early if they can.”

Juniors Heath Huschitt and Lucas Sathoff, as well as sophomore Zander Slack are the most experienced runners returning in the program. 

“Both (Huschitt and Sathoff) had great seasons as sophomores and runners typically make big gains as juniors, so we are ready to see what they can do,” Mosher said. “Slack is another returning varsity runner looking to make a big jump in times.

Sophomore Jared Batz gained nearly a foot in height in the offseason, and Mosher said he looks the part of a “stud runner.”

“I think he’s one that could surprise some people with how much he improves from his freshman year,” Mosher said of Batz. “The boys team also has quite a few freshman and sophomores out this year, which will make the next few years exciting to see how the team develops.”

With just a handful of races, Mosher is hoping his young runners can figure out how to pace themselves earlier than others from years past. “We are very young, but fortunately the upperclassmen we have are great leaders,” Mosher said.

Mosher said he has no clue which teams will stand out in the conference. Typical answers, he said, including Monona Grove, Stoughton and Mount Horeb because they are all well-coached programs. But with all the uncertainty, each meet could be anyone’s race.

“Eighty-two percent of schools in the state held cross country this past fall, and they were able to get in a complete season culminating with a state tournament,” Mosher said. “Because of that there are not many schools left to compete against. We are fortunate to have some top quality programs from the Badger Conference that we can go head to head with. Our goal will to be competitive against those teams.  We are unsure what will be in place for a post season so it’s tough to put a goal on that.”