By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorAfter serving as a track coach for the last several years, Jeremy Collins is excited about what he sees heading into his first season as Warrenton’s cross country head coach.While several runners battled through injuries last fall, promising signs have been noted for the Warriors.“A lot of our runners weren’t at full strength last season and had injuries,” Collins said. “This year it’s going to be nice to have them healthy. They all are better and running stronger than when I had them in track in the spring. It’s exciting to know they will be full-go in the conference.”The boys team will consist of 12 members while the girls have nine.Sophomore Randy McRoberts returns as the boys’ top runner after narrowly missing out on qualifying for state by six spots.Through summer workouts and fall practices, McRoberts has shown improvements and looks poised to have an even stronger cross country campaign.“I know that qualifying for state is one of Randy’s goals,” Collins said. “He’s only a sophomore, but our team is going to be led by underclassmen on the boys’ side.”McRoberts’ personal-best time was 18 minutes and 20 seconds at the Class 3 District 4 meet on Nov. 7, in which he finished 21st.Collins thinks another young talent could also help Warrenton and finish strong in several meets.“Nathan Norwald has great potential, too,” he said. “Last year as an eighth-grader he ran the mile in 4:56. He is going to be a strong runner as are our top five on the boys team.”Matt Hackman, Dylan Chandler and Ryan Spoede were noted by Collins, who thinks they will have strong performances on varsity as well.“If the boys team stays healthy this year and they run workouts well, it’s a high possibility a few can make it to state this year,” Collins said. “Several other programs lost their top runners and I think some windows are opening up for us.”On the girls side, senior Mary Broker and junior Andrea Poole look to lead the way with state experience.Broker, who had been injured her freshman and sophomore seasons, finished 13th in the district meet to be one of the top 15 qualifiers for a trip to the state tournament in Jefferson City.As the lone state representative, with Poole making her trip to state as a freshman, Broker finished 114th out of 170 spots.“With two state qualifiers from previous years coming back, we have leadership and talent that will help us out in the conference,” Collins said. “Mary had a great season and proved to herself she can do it. As long as she and the other girls stay healthy, we should see positive results.”Warrenton will open its season with an appearance in the Fleet Feet Cross Country Classic at Quail Ridge Park in Wentzville on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

After just missing out on state last cross country season, sophomore Randy McRoberts (left) hopes to qualify this fall for Warrenton. This season he hopes to have several top-15 finishes.

Derrick Forsythe photo.