Demon Cross-country led by crew of returners

There?s a new head coach at the helm for the Washington cross-country team, but for those who have been around the Demon runners before, they know there won?t be much changing.

Stefanie Tschantz is taking over the reins of the cross-country team, but after being the longtime assistant coach for the Demons, she said there wasn?t much of a transition period.

?This is my 15th year of coaching cross-country,? Tschantz said. ?I?ve been the assistant coach, so it?s pretty much the same, but now I?m just in charge of everything.?

Just like the head coach position for the Demons, not much will change in their running personnel this year, after the entire team only loses one varsity senior.

With so many returners, the Demons know they will need to impress to get into the varsity spots, and that hard work has paid off early on in the season.

?It?s been a lot of fun this past week and a half. They have really been working hard this summer and they definitely have some high goals they want to accomplish. We have 30 kids out, 15 boys and 15 girls, and pretty much everyone is back from last year.?

The big loss comes on the girls? side of the team, with top runner Emme Keith graduating after last season; however, Tschantz said there are plenty of runners looking to fill the void.

?Meredith Raber, Molly Sparks and Brooke Stout, they are all back and they were in last year?s top five,? Tschantz said. ?Maggie Voss is back too and she looks much stronger this year and I?m anxious to see how she?ll run at meets.?

However, one of the Demons? strongest runners may just be a newcomer who is joining the fold.

?Claire Horak was a runner in seventh and eighth grade, but didn?t come out as a freshman,? Tschantz said. ?Right now she?s looking like our top runner on the girls? side. She looks extremely strong.?

With many returners, Tschantz noted that nearly every girl has taken on more leadership on the squad.

?They are stepping up and being a more vocal leader and pushing the pace at practice,? Tschantz said. ?Maggie Voss has been one of our top leaders vocally and running-wise. She?s been out there and encouraging everyone. I can?t tell you how good she looks right now. She?ll be one of our top runners.?

On the boys? side of the team, the Demons return their top three runners from last year, and have a lot of confidence with a pair of newcomers looking to establish themselves on the varsity squad.

?The boys will have Owen Horak and Brennan Horak, with Jacob Van Osdol ? those three were our top three last year,? Tschantz said. ?Evan Horak, Brennan?s little brother, will help factor into that top five group, and then we have Kyle Anderson as a newcomer, so I?m curious to see where he?ll end up as well.

?They look really good and then Evan just squeezes into the picture and mixes well with them. Jacob has also been running well with them.?

With so many returners, the Demons have their sights set high coming into the 2016 season.

?Our goals are to continuously improve,? Tschantz said. ?We want to place better as a team than we have and peak at the right time of the season. We definitely want to get a couple of all-conference runners this year and see if we can get anyone to state.?

To get to state, however, the Demons are going to need to control their own destiny and continuously improve as the season winds down.

?At conference and districts, it all depends on those given days,? Tschantz said. ?We won?t find out where we are going until October, but if you finish in the top 10 (at districts) you are in state, so we want to be peaking at that point.?

The Demons will open their season on Aug. 30 at Iowa Mennonite, with the Demons? home meet coming on Sept. 27 at the Washington Golf and Country Club.