Boyceville cross country team expects underclassmen to lead the team in 2023
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
BOYCEVILLE — With just two senior girls on the team and not a single senior boy, third-year Boyceville head cross country coach Jacob Peterson expects his younger kids to step up to help the Bulldogs place higher in the Dunn St. Croix Conference this season then they did a year ago.
The Bulldog girls placed third in the conference and were led by graduating senior and all conference runner Haylie Rasmussen along with fellow senior Rachel Montgomery. The boys were seventh in the conference meet and lost Simon Evenson via graduation.
Senior Jaden Stevens and sophomore Ashlynn Maska are both all-conference runners from a year ago and return to lead the girls. They have worked hard to put some summer miles in and will push the rest of the team to be competitive throughout the year, according to Peterson.
All but one of the boys from last season are returning and are all letter winners. They have set goals they want to achieve and Peterson is excited to see what they can accomplish.
Five freshmen all had successful middle school races last year including Ellie Engeman for the girls and Nicholas Keeley for the boys. Peterson hopes with the young team the girls can finish in the top three again in the D-SC Conference meet and the boys can move up to the top five.
“One strength the kids have shown is the dedication they have to the sport,” coach Peterson noted. “Many of them put in summer miles. Another strength for the program is a heavy underclass team so we can gain a lot of experience early in the season,” he added.
Assisting Peterson this year is long time varsity coach Corey Day and Cass Bettendorf. Both have supported the team by attending summer running events. Middle school coach Melissa Moore has over 25 kids who have been highly competitive in their races the past few years which will help build the varsity for the future.
2023 Roster
Seniors: Jaden Stevens, Sarah Stoveren
Juniors: Dominic Anderson, Keegan Cole, Aidan Madison, Michael Montgomery, Ashley Prestrud,
Sophomores: Forest Bettendorf, Victor Pattermann, Ashlynn Maska, Brylee Stevens, Halle Tonn, Isaac Williams
Freshmen: Ellie Engeman, Nicholas Keeley, Sydney Larson, Layla Score, Jace Traxler
THE 2023 BOYCEVILLE High School Cross Country teams have 18 runners out this season. Front row (L to R): Sarah Stoveren, Ashley Prestrud, Ellie Engeman, Halle Tonn, Jaden Stevens, Layla Score, Jace Traxler and Sydney Larson. Back row (L to R): Ashlynn Maska, Dominic Anderson, Aidan Madison, Michael Montgomery, Nicholas Keeley, Victor Patterman, Forest Bettendorf and Issac Williams.
—photo by Shawn DeWitt