Lynx XC: Coach looks to returners to guide young runners in '17

By: 
Jill Meier/Journal Editor

The Lynx boys’ cross country proram returns seven runners with varsity experience. Among the team’s frontrunners are (front, from left) Caleb LKlatt, Kuke Kocer and Britton Elkin; (back) Zach Hentschel, Tom Redford and Colter Elkin.Not pictured: Eli Cheever. Jill Meier/BV Journal

The Lady Lynx cross country team is among the pre-season favorites this year due to the wealth of returning letter-winners. Frontrunners for the team heading into the 2017 season are (from left) Kylie Foss, Mikaela Birath, Haylee Waterfall, Allison Rief, Hannah Hendrick, Megan Pickering and Katy Wentzy. Not pictured: Lauren Wells. Jill Meier/BV Journal
There are a few unknowns for Brandon Valley’s cross-country programs heading into the 2017 season.
Although the program graduated just five seniors combined and return with a wealth of seniors that number 10, head coach Larry Beesley will need underclassmen on the roster to fill the void.
“We have senior (boys) but none of them have varsity experience and we don’t have a junior boy, so it’s going to be sophomores, freshmen and eighth graders for the next few years,” he said. 
Graduating from the program were frontrunner Jakob Hanna, Josh Powell, James House and Roman Berestyuk.
The Lady Lynx, who finished fifth at state, were second in the Metro and third in the ESD in 2016, show more promise. The team has eight runners with varsity experience. “I see us on the awards stand, and that would make it six straight years there,” Beesley said. “If we get there, it would arguably be the best stretch of cross country for the girls in the history of Brandon Valley.”
2017 seniors Sarah Presler and Abbi Hanna have departed from the line up, and so Beelsey will look to senior varsity letter winners Mikaela Birath, Haylee Waterfall and Hannah Hendrick to lead the charge.
“Last year Mikaela was running stride for stride with (junior) Allison Rief who ended up all-state except for the state meet. That was the day that she (Mikaela) had an off-day, and just missed out on all-state honors,” he said. “We were hoping for a little higher finish (at state) but we had a couple girls that had an off-day out there on the course; it happens. I ran for eight years and I didn’t have a perfect race every day.”
Beesley also has high praise for both Waterfall and Hendrick.
“Haylee, who had an unbelievable track season, is a former all-state runner. She looks great and ran 2:18 in the 800 this year, so she’s not afraid of the big races,” he said. “And everybody knows she’s (Hendrick) a heck of a pole vaulter and runs the 400 because she was on that state relay team, but she can run cross country, too. She’s a competitor and she doesn’t like to lose,” he said.
Also hailing from the senior class are Kelsey Frost, Shianne Dutson, Mackenzie Hochhalter, Sydney Cloutier.
Junior Danica Kocer, who’s been a mainstay on the course since middle school, has been sidelined by a knee injury. Beesley said she’s hoping to be back in action the last part of the season, “But I’m telling her not to push it.” 
Juniors Allison Rief and Lauren Wells are also returning letter winners, as is eight-grader Kylie Foss, who was the first Lady Lynx to cross the finish line at state last year.
“The surprise this spring was Megan Pickering, who will be a sophomore,” Beesley said. She placed in the ESD in the two-mile and recorded one of the fastest times in the state in the spring track and field season.
Beesley said Aberdeen Central has the possible edge in the ESD Conference this year, but believes the Lady Lynx can go stride for stride with the Golden Eagles. He also gives a nod to Yankton. 
Sioux Falls Lincoln is the obvious choice to snare both the Metro Conference and state.
“Right now, it seems like every good runner in Sioux Falls is going to Lincoln, both boys and girls,” he said. “If we stay healthy and keep these kids running, hopefully, we can find a few of the seventh and eighth graders move up to help us out.”
 
LYNX BOYS
One of the most noticeable changes to the boy’s lineup this year will be the absence of senior Max Wilde, who opted to play football this season.
“That’s a huge loss for the program,” Beesley admits. “We are very young and have no seniors at this point (with varsity experience),” he said.
What experience the Lynx boys do have comes from the underclassmen ranks, starting with sophomore Eli Cheever.
“Eli has the most experience. He’s been on the varsity since the seventh grade. He’s been the young one who had Jakob and Josh and all those guys to help him through, and now he’s got to be the guy that says, ‘This is what we’ve got to do,’ and that’s tough for a sophomore,” Beesley said.
Cheever will be supported by sophomores Caleb Klatt, who’s run varsity since the eighth grade, and Zach Hentschel, who has a year of varsity experience under his shoes.
Freshman Luke Kocer, who ran JV the majority of the 2016 season, also shows great promise, the coach said.
Beesley is also expecting freshman Britton Elkin to be in the varsity mix. As an eighth grader, Elkin went undefeated in all of the middle school races.
“I don’t think they’re (the competition) going to be surprised because he ran the ESD meet by about 35 seconds ahead of the others, so he will definitely be moving up to varsity,” Beesley said.
The coach also hopes to gain support from the middle school program, which won the ESD Conference last year.
“There’s some talent there, we just have to get them older and stronger,” he said. “I have 10 freshmen boys and six sophomore boys that don’t have any varsity experience, so if I can find a couple out of there, that would help us out.”
Similar to the girls, the Lynx boys will have Aberdeen Central and Pierre to contend with in the ESD, Beesley said. The Lynx placed second in 2016.
“Aberdeen didn’t lose a lot of kids, so for the boys they’re the favorite,” he said, “and with Pierre, they’re probably the class of the ESD.”
Brookings could also make some noise in the conference. “They went through last year what we’re going through this year,” Beesley said. “But we could be fifth or we could be ninth, and if we ran really well, we could be third.”
Coming off a fourth-place finish in the Metro, Beesley also cites Lincoln as the favorite in that conference and the state, too. 
The Lynx thin clads open their 2017 campaign at 4 p.m. Friday at Pasley Park in Sioux Falls. The O’Gorman-hosted meet, which is run on a relatively flat course, is a good measuring tool for Beesley and company. 
“The first couple meets is getting our feet wet, where are we going to be at, who’s going to step up, who’s going to be the surprise,” he said.
The team’s next outing is the Sept. 1 Augustana Twilight, which is run at Yankton Trail Park, starting at 6:30 p.m.
The teams’ experience on these two flat-course races could be beneficial by season-end, as the new state course in Rapid City is flat and fast.
“With our tendency on the girls’ team to have some pretty good half-milers, that’s not a bad thing,” he said.

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