Currently with 26 runners, and expecting to be close to 40 runners once school gets underway, cross country head coach Sandy Birch thinks that the large numbers and some talented returners will have BBA in the thick of things in Div. II.
"It's a really big team," said Birch. "I put out a very rigorous training schedule for the summer. I feel really good about the summer work that has been done and we are going into the season looking pretty strong."
Birch is looking to get the team more trails and assistant coach Heidi Welch - the first assistant the cross country team has ever had - is going to be working on cross training and getting the runners in the weight room.
"We'll be doing a little bit of everything, because that makes you a better runner," said Welch. "At least once a week we will go into either the fitness center or on the field and do circuits, really get them in shape."
On the girls side, Lauren Miskovsky, Abby Lord, Sarah Baum, and Mary Leech are some names that Birch mentioned, but also mentioned that this early in the season, she has her eye on multiple runners.
"Some of the folks that I didn't coach last year I have high hopes for," said Birch. "I don't really know yet."
On the boys side, Birch once again has returning runners that she has high expectations for. Luke
Each meet is in the woods and the distance is around a 5K, with each member of the team participating in each race, all 40 of them.
As the Marble Valley League races start to come around towards the end of the season, then the coaches will pick seven runners from each the boys and girls to compete.
"Every course is a little bit different," said Birch. "If you are a returning runner, It's a little bit easier."
Birch expects that her team will be in contention at the end of the year, taking advantage of the large numbers.
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