DARLINGTON — The Redbirds will open up the fall boys and girls cross country season with solid returning talent, but the challenge for another successful run at conference and state will come down to depth.

“We have a mix of experienced runners returning along with a group of new runners who have the potential to be a part of the varsity and have an impact on the team,” said Arnie Miehe, now in his 40th year in charge of the program. “How we mesh and challenge each other will be a key factor to our success.”

The girls roster graduated five runners with varsity experience, including all-conference runner Morgan Black. Returning will be 3-time all-conference and state runners Judith Meister and Allyson Meyers. Meyers was the team MVP in 2019 as a sophomore. Also back include 2x all-conference runner, junior Ashlynn Norgard, sophomore all-conference runner Alexis Murray, and state qualifying sophomore and 2020 team MVP Raquel Reuter. The girls team will have just shy of 25 runners in total. 

“Strong leadership from our upperclassmen is crucial,” Miehe said.

Last year in the fractioned 2020 fall season, Darlington finished second in the conference meet and third in the subsectional. Meister and Reuter advanced to the sectional meet, with Reuter eventually reaching state, where she placed ninth — just the third girl in school history to do so.

Miehe said the conference will be strong this year, with Boscobel returning six of seven top runners from 2020, and Albany bringing back its top six.

“Those teams will be joined by powerhouse and defending state champion Lancaster at the sectional meet, which will make qualifying for state a difficult task,” Miehe said. “We hope to be in the thick of things at the conference and sectional meet. In order to do that we will have to have everyone pull together and be all in. We will have to make improvements throughout the year and not put a limit on what we can do.”

On the boys side, the Redbirds were third in the conference meet in 2020 and won the team sectional title for the 12th time in 13 years. Darlington placed fifth at the state meet, but graduated three of its top runners in Cristian Gutierrez, Michael Thompson and Caleb Weaver.

Returning this year includes seniors Rhett Reuter, Ethan Thompson, Luis Rios, George West and Liam Lansing. Reuter is a 3x all-conference runner and 2019 and 2020 team MVP. Thompson is a two-time letterwinner and competed in the state meet last year, as did Rios, a 3x letterwinner. West, a junior, has been all-conference twice and was 19th at state last year, bringing home co-Team MVP honors. Lansing, just a sophomore, was an alternate on last year’s state team. Fourteen other runners will try to provide depth for the Redbirds this fall.

“I have been impressed with the senior leadership and that leadership and our team dedication and toughness will be key factors in our pursuit of success this year,” Miehe said. “We are lacking depth and so we need to have guys step up and fill positions for us to be in the hunt at the conference and sectional meet.”

Boscobel and Iowa-Grant should be in the mix for the conference title, Miehe said, given that both schools return a majority of their varsity lineups from 2020.

“We want to be competitive at the conference and sectional meet and in order to do that we will have to keep the gap between our first and fifth runners at a minimum. We have a group of runners who are running with a high level of purpose and dedication. We have to keep adding to that group to get the job done,” Miehe said.

The exhibition Alumni Meet at home on Aug. 28 begins competition, with the first official race, the Darlington Invitational, slated for Sept. 4. There are seven regular season races on the calendar before the conference meet in Darlington Oct. 14. The sectional meet will be in nearby Albany Oct. 23, with state scheduled for Oct. 30 in Wisconsin Rapids.