Entering his 11th season as a coach at Becker High School, Dustin Weege will again hold the reins to the boys cross country squad for the 2020 school year.

Weege has Patrick Drury as his assitant coach, who is also in his fourth season teaching youngsters.

“I devote time to coaching high school student-athletes in order to pass on the blessings that have been shared with me over the years and in attempts to help young men and women continue their growth as great citizens within our society,” said Weege when asked, why he continues to coach.

“ I am in the business of building relationships and mentoring young minds in order to guide them into being individuals that will help lead our future generations as servant-leaders that work to make positive impacts in our world and discover their great purposes in this life.” 

In order to do this, Weege says students must all recognize that they hold unique responsibilities as part of a team.

“We can accomplish amazing things while supporting each other to maintain our determination and grind through the challenges with grit, strength, and endurance,” he says.

His captains this year are seniors Lukas Karel, Cade Stommes and Luke MacDonald, along with sophomore Tyson Ricker. He also credits seniors Wyatt Hiltner and Keegan Murphy — along with sophomore Mason Becker putting in a ton of work during the off-season to prepare the kids.

“Junior Ryan Nelson holds some nice leadership qualities as a strong young man, too,” said Weege.

When asked who is the team’s biggest rival, Coach Weege had a unique answer.

“The Clock. We recognize that we must control our controllables and we step out on the course each meet to compete against the clock and that little voice that tries to tell us to quit.”

“We work to minimize that voice as we strive forward toward many worthwhile ventures in our lives.  Racing brings to light the internal battle that we all face in our lives and we work to always run the race with endurance and perseverance.”

COVID-19 is bringing immense challenges to schools and sports teams, but Weege and Drury are anxious to face those challenges.

“The reduced season complicates things as it takes time to create the physical adaptations in endurance training,” Weege says.  “Additionally, we have been adjusting to the mask mandates as we are outdoors and exerting ourselves during our workouts.”

Weege says his team   is spreading out more and are working to keep all members safe. 

“Our events are now significantly smaller than what we have often had in the past as we are limited to two or three teams at a venue.  This makes it a different environment for all, and yet we are embracing it and controlling our controlables to make these great experiences.”

Weege’s background in athletics includes football, wrestling and track and it wasn’t until college days did he give cross country a try.

“I decided to join the fall cross country team in preparation for further preparation for college wrestling,” he said.  “It was then that I fell in love with the running community and added another passion.” 

Weege ran for four years in college and was a captain his senior year. 

“I have also continued my running and have been working to continue to pass on knowledge and passion to others as well.”

One of the hardest things to teach youngsters in cross country is consistency, Weege says.

“Recognizing that physical fitness requires daily investments throughout the year (even if it is not always running), I encourage many to be multi-sport student-athletes and engage in great workouts throughout the year,” he says.  “Additionally, it is a little tricky to teach student-athletes about different intensity levels as we work on different energy systems with our workouts.  Some days we need to push significantly hard, while other days are intentionally designed to be lighter exertion days in which we focus more on running form/economy.”

Weege’s team’s motto this year is to “run the race with endurance”. He says they are working to accomplish that as they continue to take one step at a time over the course of their journey.

“Running is a great life-long activity that continues to see more and more opportunities.  Virtual events have become more popular in recent months due to the pandemic, yet it is still great to be able to get together and compete in person.  Our numbers within the team have remained fairly steady over the last several years and I’m looking forward to seeing the great work payoff for our nice group of runners now and in the future.”

The roster includes: Dailen Adu-gyamfi, Isaac Bauer, Isaac, Mason Becker, Bryce Berger, Kabir Bhakta, Hank Bjerga, Noah Bloch, Ryan Boecker, Thomas Cota, Jonathan Drury, Ethan Duncombe, Logan Eisle, Austin Ekley, Henry Epperly, Oakley Esping, Jacob Gareis, Landen Goebel, Nathan Good, Nathan Gunderson, Ryan Guthmiller, Denlan Harmoning, Braeden Heinen, Wyatt Hiltner, Benjamin Howe, Kellen Hurt, Martin Huwe, Calvin Hyrkas, Lukas Karel, Alex Kinney, Owen Kolbinger, Bruce Kraemer, Bryce Kuschel, Matt Kuschel, Landon Lahr, Carter Leither, Ray Lyon, Luke Macdonald, Bodie Moore, Colt Moore, Keegan Murphy, Ryan Nelson, John Nielsen, Luke Oconnor, Emery Olson, Jacob Peterson, Tristan Pickwall, Brock Ramola, Caleb Reckelberg, Jonathan Remker, Tyson Ricker, Grant Riedel, Devin Riley, Joshua Robertson, Derek Roske, Tucker Schmoll, Christopher Stich, Cade Stommes, Ethan Tobako, Jase Tobako, Sam Warren, Jace Weinmann, Alexander Weiss, Nathan Zimmerman.