Head men’s cross country coach Colin Altevogt and JV runner Tim Metken both said they believe in a strong Sectional race for the team on Oct. 8 at White River Elementary School. With a successful season so far, runners and coaches are ready to excel in the postseason.

“As always, we want to make the most of each week and perform well in each round of the tournament. We see a lot of top teams on our route to the State Championship, and we feel like that optimally prepares us to run in a very competitive field at the State Finals,” Altevogt said.

Metken agrees and said that he expects nothing but success in upcoming races.

“This team has a very great chance to win all four post season meets. Our varsity has been undefeated in Indiana all season. Winning the first three meets will be hard fought, but certainly likely. I still have complete faith that we will win the state meet,” Metkin said.

According to Altevogt, runners have been patient and persistent in dealing with sub-optimal conditions through August and September.

“This season has been like a burnt hamburger. On the outside, it looks burnt and not very well, but when you cut it open, there is indeed some well cooked meat. The burnt outside for us has been our crazy weather. We only had two meets (of six) that did not have rain as a large factor,” Metkin said.

Despite hardships during season, there are still 100 runners who are willing to run through September and support the team.

Altevogt said, “Our guys have shown a great tendency to run well together, and we have historically had our best performances with teams that do that. We’re hopeful that some of our veterans benefit from our training and turn it up to eleven toward late October.”