Fall sports: Van Buren cross country coming on strong

John Simmons has been able to keep numbers up in the Van Buren cross-country program, and 2011 is no different.

Now the Warriors are blessed with some talent at the top of their lineups heading into the fall season.

Unity Daugherty broke onto the scene as a freshman in 2010 and is the clear-cut No. 1 runner for the girls? squad. Daugherty tallied a 12th-place overall finish in the conference meet last October, and will now be tasked with leading the Warriors, who have lost a good group of seniors.

?Unity really had a good year as a freshman both in cross country and track. She?ll have to be our leader again this year,? Simmons said.

Faith Murphy and Caitlin Millard are returning letter winners while Jessica Saunders and Jesse Cassens will make the switch from volleyball to cross country. The first-year runners will be counted on to fill the varsity lineup.

On the boys side, a group of experienced seniors are the experienced upperclassmen on a roster made up primarily of freshmen and sophomores. AJ Penn and Jordan Staton both made big strides as juniors and now return to lead the 14-man squad.

?We have a good nucleus of boys who are all relatively young, the we have AJ and Jordan, who will be our senior leaders,? Simmons said. ?They both came on toward the end of last year, and I hope to build on that.?

Levi Sherod and Will Slack also enter 2011 with varsity experience and add to the competition for varsity lineup.

?I feel that there are nine or ten guys who will challenge for the varsity spots after the first three meets,? Simmons added. ?Competition will hopefully remain strong throughout the season with improvement the key goal for many of the younger runners.?

Van Buren also has the services of assistant coach Lucinda Moews this season. Moews is primarily the coach of the junior high team, but continues to lend a helping hand to the varsity squad, and, according to Simmons, has been instrumental in building strong numbers.

The Warriors will now prepare for their season-opening meet next week against a big field at Wildwood Park in traditionally Ottumwa. Van Buren will then host its annual early-season Van Buren Invite at Riverview Country Club in Keosauqua Sept. 6.