Classes are back in session, athletes are trickling into the track, and we are all excited for the upcoming season. We have a great group of returners this year led by two National Championship participants of Kevin Arthur (SR, Champlin Park) and Carter Grove (SR, Osakis). Carter ran an outstanding 8:59 for in the steeplechase at the MIAC Championships last year. Kevin set the school record in the 200m dash with a 21.15 and was All-American in the 100m. We added a large group of freshmen as 45 new athletes will be joining us. Many of those should contribute immediately and I will highlight some of them as we get going with practice.
Many of you may have heard that we had a change in our coaching staff. Tim and Maxwell Kuzara have switched roles. Maxwell has taken over head coach duties for the cross country team and Tim is his over-qualified volunteer assistant coach. I love this duo working with the distance runners. Tim created a great program by building relationships with athletes by genuinely taking an interest in each person, meeting the athletes where they are at for training, and providing an environment for all to succeed. I see that same ability in Maxwell.
The beginning of the school year also means the Go Johnnies Challenge. This fundraising event has been imperative to the team. In previous years, your donations have allowed us to buy new uniforms and take the team to high-level competitions. More importantly, it allows us to have a larger roster and travel everyone to competitions. This year’s Go Johnnies Challenge is Thursday, September 7th. The website is currently live and you can donate now.
Details are below and I will include more information next week.
Jeremy
How to help
Support the Cross Country/Track & Field Teams through a simple donation. Make sure to set Cross Country/Track & Field as the designation.
Become an advocate and encourage and promote the event on any social media outlets. We can use all the social media help we can get!
If so inclined, set up a matching gift that will encourage others to donate. Make sure to set Cross Country/Track & Field as the matching designation.
Enter dollar amount and decide if you will make the full gift regardless If the match is not complete met (check box)
Select “Other” and enter a dollar amount to give and check the “Per donor” box
Select the Match a designation box and select the designation you want to match
Fill out the rest of the form