HHS boys favored to win NCC title, girls look to surprise
Returning lettermen for the Wildcat boys' cross country team, front row (l-r): Trevor Jacobson and Quinton Orr. Middle row: Eric Wittrock and Nolan Jergens. Back row: Carter Theesfeld and Jackson Chambers. Independent photo.
Cross country teams eye NCC titles, state meet
By Phil Monson
Thanks to the return of Quinton Orr and a talented supporting cast, Humboldt’s boys are expected to win their fourth North Central Conference cross country title out of the last five years.
The Wildcat girls, meanwhile, begin a season without the services of standout Bryce Gidel, who was their top runner for four straight years, but veteran Humboldt coach Dean Clasen thinks his girls can surprise this season.
“Quinton has been the runner-up in the state meet the last two years and not having the spring track season, he has been pretty motivated to have a really good senior year. That has rubbed off on some of the other boys. Some have run more miles in the off-season than they ever have. A lot of kids had over 200 miles they’ve put in over the summer,” said Clasen, who begins his 23rd season as head coach.
“We are a senior-laden class for our boys. Out of our top six, we’ve got one junior and everyone else is a senior. The next group has a junior and a couple of seniors fighting for that number seven spot,” Clasen said.
“After we get past the top seven through nine runners, then there’s a gap, and we’re working hard to get that gap closed. We have a lot of senior boys who will graduate this year so they have to be ready to step in so the work they are doing now will help them make the progress toward that next role they will have,” Clasen said.
“The opportunities the boys have in front of them is very exciting. That is some of the motivation for the work they did in the summer,” Clasen said.
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