Bulldog runners lacking in numbers but not spirit

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BOYCEVILLE – For head Bulldogs coach Corey Day, it’s like starting from scratch for this year’s cross country season.

Besides losing Cade Klefstad, Steven Rasmussen to graduation from the boys’ team, both of whom consistently finished in the top five for the Bulldogs and Noelle Wheeldon, Naomi Hillman and Rachel Becker for the girls, several more runners didn’t return due to the current circumstances.

“My numbers are down. Sixty-six percent of my athletes that are eligible to return, are not returning because of COVID-19 concerns, depression, working jobs, and babysitting family members during this difficult time,” lamented Day.

“The cross country program was at a low 12 years ago when I took it over. I had six boys and one girl when I started. I ended that first season with thirteen boys and one girl.  In a few years, the program built up to 22 boys and eight girls.  On average, I have carried 13-15 boys and 5-7 girls for the past ten years. This year I am starting with five girls and one boy.”

That one boy returning is senior captain Nathan Corr who made the trip to the state tournament two years ago. This will be a tough year for Corr as he has no one to run with to push him. Coach Day commented, “You have a strong runner like Nathan you fill in guys around him and you put yourself in contention to be very successful.  I went from thinking we had that to not even filling a roster. It is a hard pill to swallow. Nathan is a 4.0 student and has a great attitude. He has been able to push himself in practice, which is tremendously difficult to do alone. If anyone could handle it, Nathan would be the one.”

Day noted that the kids who did come out this year have a tremendous amount of character.

“I hope that we can salvage some positives this season. “

The girls have a very young team this year with Shiloh Wheeldon, their only junior on the team and no senior girls running.

Shiloh has taken a leadership role and made contact with the other girls to run during the summer so they have a good start to the season.

“Jaden Stevens and Sarah Stoveren are two incoming freshmen that show a lot of potential,” remarked Day. Returning with Shiloh are sophomores Haylee Rasmussen and Rachel Montgomery.

“The girls I have out are young and have a bright future. Our strongest runner is not returning and it has not deterred the girls from working hard,” concluded Day.

With the pandemic, the Dunn-St. Croix conference has revamped the cross country schedule and divided the schools/teams in to two pods, an east and a west. Boyceville is part of the west pod along with Glenwood City, Spring Valley and Elmwood/Plum City. The east pod consists of Colfax, Elk Mound, Durand and Mondovi.

Right now the schedule has the teams running five times and then the conference championship all within those same pods rotating schools as to where they run. The first meet is scheduled for September 10th at Spring Valley.

When asked what he thought of the new schedule Coach Day responded, “Under the circumstances it is a good plan.  Several conferences have not rolled out any plan and some are waiting for after Labor Day to begin their practice. I feel fortunate that we have been able to start and move forward with a plan that allows for opportunities without jeopardizing anyone’s health.”

2020 Roster

Boys:

Senior: Nathan Corr

Girls:

Junior: Shiloh Wheeldon; Sophomores Rachel Montgomery and Haylee Rasmussen; Freshmen Jaden Stevens, and Sarah Stoveren