Emporia State cross country coach Dave Harris hasn’t sugar-coated anything for his men’s team heading into Saturday’s MIAA Cross Country Championships in Bolivar, Mo.
The Hornets know they will face tough odds going up against a talented conference with their young roster.
“We’re kind of down at the bottom looking up,” Harris said. “It’s really going to be how they react to this position that they’re in. We will have to run exceptional to even try to finish in the top half.”
The meet is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start at the Bolivar Golf Course in Bolivar, Mo.
Without front-runner Eric Wellman — who was lost for the season because of an injury — ESU will look to make the most with a squad of six runners that are all either freshmen or sophomores.
That includes a trio of former Emporia High athletes. Freshman Skyler Delmott has been the top finisher for the men in each race this season, while sophomore Brock Ternes and freshman Shea Camien have also been among the top four runners consistently for ESU.
“Right now, I think we’re going into it full-force,” Ternes said. “We have a small team, but I think we’re all pumped up for it.”
ESU has only defeated one of the six MIAA teams this season — beating Truman twice in separate meets.
Harris believes his team can close the gap on both Pittsburg State and Central Missouri with a good showing.
“We will have to beat some teams that have beaten us,” Harris said. “That’s all there is to it.”
On the women’s side, Jonel Rossbach has put herself in a position to run for the individual title.
She finished fifth in the conference meet a year ago and has only been beaten by three other conference runners this season.
“She would like to go after it, and her workouts have been tremendous lately,” Harris said. “I think she’s got as much confidence as I’ve ever seen her have.”
Krysta Fennewald has been ESU’s No. 2 runner, coming into the event after finishing 15th in the MIAAs her freshman year and 48th last season.
Harris said was confident his teams were ready to perform on the big stage.
“This is the most important meet of the year for our program,” Harris said. “Everything up to this has been a regular season to me.”