Demons prepared for home conference meet

There will be a sense of comfort for the Washington cross-country team on Thursday night when they compete at the Southeast Iowa Conference meet.

The Demons will be running on their home course at the Washington Golf and Country Club, and the team will be looking to earn a number of All-Conference honors at the meet.

To earn All-Conference, an individual must finish in the Top-10 of the race, and Washington sophomore Jacob Van Osdol is hoping to make that cut.

?I?d like to be under 19 minutes,? Van Osdol said. ?It?s what I?ve been wanting to do, and I just want to run my best. It?ll be nice (running) here.?

The Demons have two returning All-Conference runners looking to add to their medal collection with senior Emme Keith and sophomore Owen Horak, but on the girls? side of the meet, the Demons are looking to beat Fairfield and take a potential second-place finish behind No. 8 ranked Fort Madison.

?If every single one of us beats at least one Fairfield girl, then we?ll beat them,? Washington junior Maggie Voss said. ?We just have to focus on finding that one girl who is your spot in the lineup and stay ahead of her.?

Voss is another Demon looking for an All-Conference honor at the Demons? home course, noting that she is hoping to run under 24 minutes at the meet; however, she was more focused on her role on the team and picking up a valuable low score for Washington.

?If I don?t get a good place, then I?m in sixth so my points won?t matter,? Voss said. ?It?s good to keep your place so you can compare with your teammates.?

Voss has been the No. 4 and No. 5 runner for the Demon girls this season, while Van Osdol has routinely been the No. 3 runner for the varsity boys.

As his second season as a Demon runner wraps up, he said he has become much more comfortable in the races.

?The confidence (is the biggest thing),? Van Osdol said. ?Last year I?d get nervous, and I?ve gotten much better with that.?

For Voss, she noted that the biggest thing she?s seen out of the year was how the girls? team came together and she hopes it sticks around in the future.

?We grew a lot,? Voss said. ?If you look at last year and the year before that, we didn?t have anyone who is super impressive. This year we have some pretty good runners and we got to the next level that (Washington head coach Steve Roth) wanted us to.?

The meet will begin at 4 p.m. at the Washington Golf Course, and fans will have a number of opportunities to see the runners throughout the length of the course, as Demon head coach Steve Roth calls it a ?spectator friendly? course.

Roth and the rest of the coaches are still looking for volunteers to help with the meet, and if anyone is interested, they can contact him at Lincoln Elementary.