BLANCHARDVILLE — The Pecatonica-Argyle cross country team graduated a strong class of runners from last year, but return plenty of talent to compete again this fall.

Ridge Toay, now a senior, nearly broke the school record multiple times a year ago. He capped his junior year with a ninth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles at the WIAA Division 3 state track and field championships in June. “Ridge Toay is currently being pursued by several D3 schools across the state and eastern Iowa, he could compete at the next level in both cross country and track if he chooses to go that route,” said Jason Klocek, Pec-Argyle’s coach.

Also back are dual-sport athlete Sammy Nelson, who is also playing football this fall. Abraham White, Aiden Gruenenfelder and Jakob Orloff are strong runners with under 20-minute potential, according to Klocek. Trevor Doescher, Braelyn Miener and Samuel Koch all got solid experience last year in cross country and track.

Norah McCarthy returns as the senior team leader on the girls side, as well as two-time state-qualifying hurdler Anna Tisch, who will also play volleyball this fall. 

The program also welcomes several newcomers, including Emerson Koch, Loretta Tisch and Nathan Burkeland. Burkleland and Tisch are also dual-sport athletes this fall, and Koch is a “really strong, intense athlete with the heart and desire to compete on varsity as a freshman,” Klocek said.

“We are big believers in the one word goal mantra, so this year, its Consistency. We need consistency week in and week out in order to compete in the SWAL, which is the premiere D3 XC conference in the state. We have to be consistent the entire season in order to finish strong late season,” Klocek said. “We have an elite runner in Ridge Toay to lead the boys. Ridge’s desire, leadership and work ethic is contagious and will carry over to the rest of the boys team which at its core remains young, but has shown promise. The boys team needs to feed of Ridge to improve themselves along the way and we will be right in the thick of it come conference time. 

“For the ladies, we are still down on numbers, but have some strong talent at the individual level. The Tisch sisters will lead us when they are there in between volleyball and us, and they could very well be in the thick of things for the conference meet as well. Norah McCarthy will do just fine for us as a senior leader, she’s been a constant in the program for the past four years.”