North Montgomery cross country coach Cassie Hicks is excited to be returning her top two runners from 2020 in seniors Claire Bonwell and Elijah McCartney.
“I am very excited to see seniors Elijah and Claire return,” Hicks said. “Coaching them has been both a fun and a rewarding experience, and I am looking forward to seeing their hard work pay off for them.”
Hicks is equally excited about the depth the Chargers have added this offseason.
The Chargers welcome senior Wil Campbell, who will double in cross country and football and has been a distance runner for the North Montgomery track and field team and Tim and Paul Lueking, who are experienced runners coming from Sullivan High School.
“The two of them will make a big difference in how we perform as a team,” Hicks said. “Gabby Lucas comes with both track and cross country experience as well, so she will help lead our girls.”
Lucas is a senior, and she will join Taylor Hankins and Nichole Hoffman as newcomers for the girls’ team.
Conner Hankins and freshmen Jack Rogers and Nolan Yarger are also newcomers to the boys’ team.
While McCartney was a first-team all conference runner a season ago and qualified for the semi-state along with Bonwell’s regional qualification last season — Hicks expects more team success this fall.
“We would like to perform at the top in both county and conference, especially on the boys side,” Hicks added. “I’m also looking for a few runners to advance to regionals and semi-state, but once we start the season, it may be realistic to advance to adjust our goals to advancing to regionals as a team.”
