Wildcats see higher numbers in 2015

A sudden surge of numbers has Columbus cross-country head coach Steve Riley feeling very optimistic about his boys? team.

?Last year we finished the year with two boys on the team,? Riley said. ?We?ve added several more boys, and now have 12. We are really happy with that. Armando Quiroz is looking to be our No. 3 runner, and we have a couple of guys who were on the football team and decided to run cross-country this year.?

Leading the charge is state-meet qualifier Josh Keller, who will enter his senior season this fall. The second-place state-wrestling finisher at 106 pounds has his sights set on another state berth and according to his coach has looked good this summer.

?He had a good summer,? Riley said. ?He wrestles a lot during the summer, so he?ll never be a guy who puts in a lot of summer miles, but this summer he looks better than ever. He ran a 5K early in the summer and he ran that in high 17s and that?s a really good indication that he is ready. He has high goals this year.?

The Wildcats will also return Adrian Santos, who had varsity experience last season, and with the addition of a number of talented runners, they are looking to see how far they can go.

?All of a sudden we have a lot of good possibilities with the boys? team,? Riley said. ?They?ve worked hard and I like their attitude. They have a good team approach and are

looking good.?

The girls? side returns a pair of runners in Ashley Canny and Janessa Carpenter, both of whom Riley thinks could compete for the top spots in the conference.

?(Ashley) got 24th in the district meet last year, and the big change is that now there are 15 qualifiers at the district meet,? Riley said. ?We really think she has a chance to do that this year. We also really think that Janessa Carpenter really has a chance to do that as well. She had a really good summer. We think they?ll be among the better runners in our conference.?

The Wildcats will run on Aug. 25 at Mount Vernon to open the season.