Perkins County cross country team gears up for the 2020 season

The Perkins County High School cross country team has another week before their first meet, and Coach Seth Burge says the team will be ready for competition when September 3 rolls around.

Burge and Assistant Coach Tristan Stephenson will be leading the cross country team this year. The team currently has nine runners and two student managers.

Returning athletes are junior Colton Pouk, sophomore Brient Wood and sophomore Meredith Gloy. All three students were letter winners during the fall 2019 season.

The boys varsity team includes senior Keegan Sims, Pouk, Wood and freshman Wyatt Quinn. The girls varsity team includes junior Kiara Schulze and Gloy. Student managers are Mason McGreer and Gavin Kohmetscher.

Gloy, Wood and McGreer trained hard through the summer and earned their way into the 50 and 100 Mile Clubs. Gloy and McGreer both joined the 100 Mile Club, and Wood joined the 50 Mile Club.

Burge says the returning runners who have put in time and dedication are one of the biggest strengths for the team. One weakness he sees is team size.

Both the girls and boys teams are small, he said, which will put the teams at a disadvantage when it comes to team scoring and tie breakers.

He also noted the extra week of practice the cross country gets before their first meet will be an advantage compared to the other fall sports.

“I think by the time the meet rolls around next week, the runners will be more than ready to finally compete,” Burge said. 

“We will be working through some very warm weather during practices this week so no matter what conditions race day brings, I think these athletes will be mentally and physically ready.”

The cross country team will compete in their first meet on Thursday, Sept. 3 in North Platte at 4 p.m. MT.