By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorIn order to be successful, Wright City cross country Head Coach Sue Wright believes her team needs two specific things: a strong nucleus and the will to get better each time while running a different course.With the likes of Jynna Fritz, Courtney Lawson and Erin Tomschin on the girls team, and Javier Gonzalez, Nick Mueller, Kyle Bruning and Brice Reash, the longtime coach feels as if the Wildcats have the makings of a successful season already.“You don’t have to have the fastest runner in the district for your team to go to state,” Wright said. “You need to have a strong nucleus of players. It’s about having five kids that are really close. Our goal for this season is to finish in the upper half of our district for both teams.”While not sure whether a girls team would exist this season, the requirement of five girls to a team was met for Wright City.“We are really excited to have a girls team because some years we haven’t had one,” Wright said. “I’m really excited about the girls this year.”Fritz will return with the most accolades and valuable experience of any runner. After succeeding at the state level and finishing amongst the top 50 in Jefferson City, the senior is believed to be headed toward her most memorable season yet.“Jynna is our unquestioned leader and is going to do really well this year,” stated Wright. “Her leadership is strong. If you’ve been to state, you know what to get better at for the next year and can help others improve as well.”Another state qualifier returns for the girls team, which will consist of seven girls, in Erin Tomschin.“We expect a lot of great things again from Erin,” Wright said. “She qualified for state last year and also played softball. Now, she’s totally focused on running cross country.”Tomschin finished just three spots away from being in the top 100 out of 170 racers at the state meet last November.The experience from the pair of state qualifiers is something that can’t be overvalued for Wright’s team.“I can tell people how to run and when to run faster, but experience can’t be taught, it has to be earned,” she said. “We have a group of kids that have done well running for us this year.”Lawson is also expected to be one of the three leaders for the girls team.Wright City has seen great participation from the boys team, which consists of 12 members.Seniors Javier Gonzalez and Nick Mueller return after successful seasons in track and cross country.Luke Bruning and Brice Reash have also impressed through fall workouts and look to have solid seasons.Bruning’s older brother, Kyle, was an all-state finisher for the Wildcats last year with a 23rd place finish at the state meet.“Brice is another runner we have who has also played baseball over the years,” Wright said. “I’ve seen a lot of nice things from him. We have a lot of young talent this year and they are all working hard.”For both teams, new goals will be established after each race.“The goal for our kids is always for them to improve their time,” Wright said. “That’s sometimes a little difficult because the courses are different, but I find that if that’s their goal they are going to do it no matter what the course is.”

Jynna Fritz has made back-to-back appearances at state, in which she has finished in the top-50 each time. As a senior, Fritz has goals to strive for even greater accomplishments.

Derrick Forsythe photo.