The Shawano Community High School cross-country teams could be in for a strong season after an active offseason.
Coach Steve Stomberg, though, knows not to make bold predictions.
“How are we going to compare? I don’t want to put the cart in front of the horse,” he said. “This is my 17th year of coaching; you never know. I hope my kids are going to be mentally and physically prepared to go out and do the job. That’s all I can ask.”
A lot of the Hawks’ varsity runners had an active offseason, running daily with the Shawano Running Club. The coach has already seen the benefits in practice.
“We had a lot of kids over the summer come to running club, parents, young kids, older kids,” Stomberg said. “It was great. It’s something that is going to continue.”
Three runners on the boys team — seniors Jake Klister and Austin Lhotka and sophomore Andrew Cardish — participated in the group and are expected to form the core of the boys team this year.
“These guys ran a lot over the summer,” Stomberg said. “They have built this bond with each other over the summer to see what we can do and push each other. That’s kind of what we’re focusing on, getting these kids to understand that if they work together they can accomplish a lot of great things.”
Klister led the team most of last year, but Stomberg expects the senior to have some company near the front this season.
“We have some kids that have put in a lot of time and effort into it,” Stomberg said. “It’s only going to make him stronger, and it’s going to make everyone else stronger. That’s what we need for those top spots. Jake is going to be right up there again. People know he’s coming back, but they don’t know some of these other kids coming up. It’ll be fun.”
The girls, too, have been active in the summer program, including junior Teagan Monfils, a state qualifier two seasons ago.
“She knows what it’s like to run at the state meet; she had that opportunity her freshman year,” Stomberg said. “She realized that if you don’t put a lot of time and effort into it in the offseason, you’re not going to be ready compared to these other kids that do put the time in. … She wants to make that trip back.”
Monfils and junior Kristy Kurtz could form a strong dual threat at the front of the pack for the Shawano girls.
“She’s going to be right up there with Kristy to take the lead on our girls team to, hopefully, one of the best finishes that we’ve had in our conference in a long time,” Stomberg said.
The duo will be joined by a strong group of sophomores.
“Some excellent returning sophomore girls — Hannah Williams, Savannah Johnson, Sophia Holstrom — are excellent girls that are coming back that ran on varsity last year,” Stomberg said. “I’m looking for our girls team to be improving this year and the next couple of years. They’re a strong team if they stick it out. We need to recruit a few more girls to come out and push some people.”
One of the biggest challenges for the girls will be running longer courses this season. The WIAA shifted from 4,000-meter courses for girls to 5,000, the same as the boys.
As the team prepares for its season opener Aug. 29 at Pierce Park in Appleton, it’s a change that will challenge some of the girls.
“They’ll have the base down,” Stomberg said. “They’ll be able to run the 5K no problem. Just the extra 1,000 meters, they’ll have to work on their kick at the end. They’re going to have to change it around a little bit. … I guarantee by the time we go to Appleton, they’ll be ready to go.”
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