By Sydney Hauser

The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Boys Cross Country team had high expectations coming into the 2016 season. The boys are ranked number 1 in the state in class 3A.  The team placed first in the first two meets of the season.

“We’re just doing what we’ve always done, training hard, doing the little things, just staying focused on the next meet,” said Jack Young.

What better place to start the year than at home. The team ran in the Mount Vernon meet on Tuesday, Aug. 23. With 265 individuals running, Young finished first in the meet with a time of 16:45. Less than a minute after, his teammates Liam Conroy, Zach Krogmann, Chase McLaughlin, and Thatcher Krob finished 6-9 respectively and all sealing a top 10 spot. This allowed the Mustangs to win as a team with a total of 31 points edging out the competitive runners of Hempstead who finished second with 45 team points.

Four days later, on Saturday, Aug. 27, the team traveled to Cedar Rapids for the Prairie Invitational. Although the muddy ground proved to be quite a challenge the cross country team was still able to put on a great performance. The team  ran with athletes from much larger schools, but they were only scored with runners from their class. The Mustangs placed first as a team in the Orange division with a total of 31 team points beating second place Marion who finished with 45 points.  Like a repeat of last meet, the boys had five runners in the top 10 which helped them clinch another win for the year.

Placing first in the first two meets of the season is an incredible thing, and the MV-LBXC team did just that. The runners are working hard in practice every day and pushing themselves, to hopefully make it back to Fort Dodge.

“To get there we need to just stay focused and smart, slowly bringing down our times and competing in every meet,” stated Conroy. With the way they have begun the year, it looks like a promising season ahead for the Boys Cross Country Team.

strong start:

Strong finish: