Trish Reimer-Kealy is back at the helm of the Becker boys and girls cross country teams for her 12th year and is very optimistic about this year’s rosters on both her teams.
“The girls team is working on the goal of repeating as Granite Ridge Conference champs for the third year in a row and look to have some stiff competition from several conference teams who have some new runners,” she said.
“The boys had their best conference finish ever last year, placing fourth and look to maintain or improve that spot.”
Reimer-Kealy has 34 girls (24 returning) and 24 boys (16 returning) along with two managers (Abby Fingarson and Belinda Edling) and two assistant coaches (Corinne Steele and Dustin Weege).
“It is so nice to have them (Steele and Weege) both return and it is a nice thing to have consistency within our staff,” Reimer-kealy said. “They do a great job.”
Competition on Reimer-Kealy’s teams are expected to be fierce.
“There are seven varsity spots in any given meet and runners rotate in and out of the line up depending on performance,” Reimer-Kealy said. “The boys lost several varsity seniors to graduation last year so we have several spots to fill.”
Returning for Reimer-Kealy on the boys side is Luke Pappenfus, who was the team’s number one runner at the section meet last year. The coach also has Jonathan Novak, who is a veteran varsity runner and Basil Ricker in his second year.
A few of the team’s top JV runners from last year who look to be contenders for a varsity spot are Lachlan Lahr, Erik Parson, Bennett Edling and David Myres.
New members who Reimer-Kealy says are looking good so far this fall are Justin Kringler, Evan Shafer and Christian Riffe.
“There are also several ninth graders who will be running the 5K distance for their first time and they could also challenge as they adjust to the new distance,” she said.
The girls return most of their varsity team, including state meet competitor and conference champ Lexi Dehmer. Alli Hendrickson is another top sprinter as she traded off top finishes with Dehmer all last season.
Complementing these two runners, Reimer-Kealy has a strong group of returnees including Victoria Kolbinger and Sydney Stommes — both all conference team members. Gabrielle Imm is another star on the rise and was honorable mention all conference last year. Allyna Storms, Tate Spinner, Alli Garding and Callie Doucette ran varsity at least once last year.
“Our JV ranks are looking strong and will have some contenders from that group as well,” the coach said. Newcomers include Adeling Kent and Grace Smith, who also could provide a challenge once they get experience.
“We have some challenging meets along with the Granite Ridge Conference meet,” Reimer-Kealy said of this year’s schedule. “We have the Lucky Lindy at Little Falls (9/15) with many of our section teams competing,” she said. “The Roy Griak meet at the UofM (9/24) is one of the largest cross country meets in the nation and involves races from the high school through college level.”
Reimer-Kealy also expects the Alexandria Lions meet Oct. 8 to also have top teams from across the state.
Their first home meet at Pebble Creek is Oct. 4.
“We as a staff love working with these kids and enjoy seeing their growth throughout the season and from year to year,” said the head coach. “This is such a fun group that supports one another and show appreciation for everyone's efforts.
“From the so-called small successes to the large ones, we celebrate them all and hope to see supporters at our meets,” Reimer-Kealy said.
The girls team consists of Caylah Chonsky, Lexi Dehmer, Callie Doucette, Bryanna Edling, Alexandra Garding, Megan Gregory, Alli Hendrickson, Gabrielle Imm, Kaitlyn Janisch, Adeline Kent, Victoria Kolbinger, Karly Kowalsky, Jaden Kraus, olivia Mateyka, Madison McDonald, Abby Nelson, Trinity Olsen-Burkman, Cayla Paumen, Jessica Sand, Maddy Schmitz, Ellie Schwartz, Grace Smith, Madison Spaeth, Tate Spinner, Sydney Stommes, Allyna Storms, Alyssa Thielen, Renee Tripp, Aria Webster, Kayden Westin, Kaylin Wiehle and Grace Wilhelm.
The boys team consists of Aaron Gregory, Adrian Johnson, Basil Ricker, Bennett Edling, Blake Soenneker, Cade Stommes, Christian Riffe, Cole Wilhelm, Cristian Rothfork, David Myres, Erik Parson, Ethan Baker, Evan Schafer, Jack Budd, Jake Nelson, Jonathan Novak, Justin Kringler, Lachlan Lahr, Logan Bigelow, Luke Pappenfus, Mason Doucette, Trenten Woolhouse, Tucker Schmoll and Wyatt Hiltner.
The first meet was Sept. 1 at Princeton.
Schedule:
Sept. 1 @ Princeton;
Sept. 15 @ Little Falls;
Sept. 20 @Big Lake;
Sept. 29 @ Buffalo;
Oct. 4 Home vs. GRC;
Oct. 8@ Alexandria;
Oct. 11 @ Albany;
Oct. 18 @ Little Falls;
Oct. 27 @ Little Falls
