Everything the Warrenton football team has achieved in the past is in the rearview mirror – and their eyes are on the road ahead.
The Warriors are coming off of two back-to-back …
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The Wright City cross country program brings back talented veterans alongside a splurge of underclassmen.
Juniors Ada Ferrell and Matthew Johnston and sophomore James Guinn will lead a Wright City team that has nine freshmen who competed in middle school cross country.
Ferrell is the Wildcats’ top returning runner. She qualified for the Class 3 state meet last year.
“We’re looking pretty strong up front and (Ferrell) is an incredible runner,” Wright City coach David Schnell said.
For Ferrell, getting back to the state meet is the goal. She noted this season she’s coming in with a strong mentality.
“I know I can get there if I stay positive,” said Ferrell, who is one of three runners on the girls team. “What’s really motivating me (to get back to state) is that everyone saw cross country as a real sport instead of it being ‘oh, you just run,’ and now it’s more of ‘wow, you actually went to state for that.’”
The boys team has 10 runners this season, including Johnston and Guinn.
“(Johnston) and (Guinn) had great track seasons,” Schnell said. “We’ll be looking to see both of those guys make a leap this year and see if they can compete for that state qualification.”
Schnell said Johnston has provided leadership after the first few weeks of practice.
“From day one, he’s been making everyone from sixth grade and up feel comfortable,” Schnell said. “It’s fantastic to have him a part of this team.”
Johnston has embraced his leadership role by making practices fun.
“People say running all that distance kind of trauma bonds you and it really does, so I think it’s starting to work,” Johnston said. “I’ll just go around and say the randomest things or give high fives, whether or not they think they did good.”
Last season, Johnston earned EMO second-team all-conference.
At practice, the team is focused on building mileage and helping the younger runners adapt to the distance of 3.1 miles.
“We’re getting these guys used to what it’s going to be like and (Johnston) has been great getting them used to the idea of ‘hey, you’ve got to do more now than you used to do to be at that same level,’” Schnell said. “There’s a lot of talent on this team and once they get used to the distance, we’re going to see some really great things.”
One of the team’s biggest strengths has been its unity.
“They work well together. Everyone’s always running with someone and they support one another,” Schnell said.
Wright City will begin its season at 4 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Van-Far Invitational.
