Coaches Dustin Weege and Patrick Drury will be once again guiding the Bulldogs boys cross country team.

Though things will look a little different, according to Weege.  

Due to a recent surgery, Weege is currently restricted from running and biking so he will be needing to do some coaching from his moped.  Fortunately, this option has been working out so far, but Weege is eager to get back to a bicycle and eventually back to running again.  Pat Kealy also has offered to help out during the season on occasion for which the coaching staff is grateful.

The Bulldogs have 25 boy harriers that have been racing around town this late summer and are looking to make some big impacts this season. They’ve been practicing 7:30-9:30 a.m. Monday thru Friday while mostly gathering at the Fieldhouse.

The roster of runners is as follows: Keaton Colford, Tanner Schmitt, Jacob Kurhajetz, Aiden Jacobs, Mason Tschida, Brandt Hemmelgarn, Carson Schuster, Weston Denne, Mavrick Pink, Alexander Schermer, Caleb Reckelberg, Jase Tobako, Mason Becker, Parker Spindler, Evan Hubbard, Denlan Harmoning, Jonathan Drury, Vincent Martin, Noah Bloch, Aiden Frommelt, Thomas Cota, Tanner Felton, Tyson Ricker, Alex Swanson and Ryan Boecker.

The Bulldogs return their full squad of seven runners from last season’s section meet along with several talented reserves that have continued to develop well and are looking to be a part of that varsity line-up in the postseason.  

“We have a great group of six seniors that will be fun to watch,” said Weege.  “Tyson Ricker, Mason Becker, Caleb Reckelberg, Ryan Boecker, Noah Bloch, and Vincent Martin will be working to guide the younger runners and share what they have learned through their experiences and investments.” 

Senior All-State runner and Co-Captain Tyson Ricker looks to lead the Bulldogs again and hopes to return to and improve upon his placement in the state cross country meet in November. Ricker was 17th in 2021.  

Fellow 2021 cross country state entrant Mason Becker also hopes to return to the state meet and place well in his senior season.  

Caleb Reckelberg is eager to perform for his senior season as well as he has been a steady plotter in his progress through the years. 

Junior co-captain Jase Tobako seeks to continue his quest in CC.  Jase placed 25th in the section meet last season and has nearly gone under the 18-minute mark.  

“He also looks to invest well in the team along with other teammates to help the Bulldogs rise to the next level,” said Weege.    

Additionally,  Becker’s ninth graders will be a group to watch as Parker Spindler, Evan Hubbard, and Tanner Felton all placed in the top 40 of last season’s section meet.

Weege, his coaches and runners all say the Becker course at Pebble Creek stands out s as being one of the best in its class and has a great location, good spectator visibility, good footing, and fantastic fan support.  The Bulldogs work to chase the prize as well as there has often been a toy dog bone hanging from the lead cart.  

“Each course/meet though the season though offers different challenges and neat things to celebrate,” said Weege.  “Starting off with Princeton’s meet at Fairway Shores Golf Course in Zimmerman. It is a nice starting spot with good competition.”  

This year the Bulldogs will heading to Bertram Regional Park for the second meet of the season in order to get a preview of this year’s section course and to match up with several section teams.  Next, the Bulldogs head to the 57th annual Lucky Lindy/Myron Ahle meet in Little Falls, which is a big well-attended meet.  After that, the Bulldogs go to Buffalo to take on the infamous Buffalo Heights hill which challenges the legs with the long climb.  

“The 21 team event at Foley this year at the end of September will be a nice, relatively flat course to hopefully be speedy at,” said Weege. “We look forward to hosting here at the beautiful Pebble Creek Local 9 on October 4.” 

Also on the docket is the 49th Annual Alexandria Lions “Meet of Champions” held at Arrowwood Resort.

“That has often stood out as a great meet as the Fall colors are typically in full display there and the elevation drop between the start and the finish line also helps,” said Becker’s head coach.  

For the final regular season portion, the Bulldogs will be heading to the Princeton Golf Course for their Tiger Invitational.  From there, the Bulldogs look forward to competing in the Mississippi 8 Conference Championship meet in Mid-October.  At the end of October, the Bulldogs head back to Bertram Regional Park for the Section 5AA meet which brings stellar competition as one of the top sections of the state.

Weege and his team have been holding morning practices (Monday-Friday) during the weeks leading up to the school year.  The Bulldogs intentionally hold early practices as it provides opportunities to ‘beat the heat’ from the August dog days.

“It tends to be a little clearer weather and helps to prepare student-athletes morning routines for the start of the school year.,” Weege says.  “The early season practices are used to gain better perception of how student-athletes have continued their development from summer miles and activities.”  

Weege says his student-athletes test out a variety of paces that will be used for different training purposes during the season.  Time is also spent getting to know each other better and establishing some shared and individual goals for the season.