Fairfield boys cross-country looks to add to seasons of success

For the past three years, the Fairfield Lions boys cross-country team has qualified for the Division III State Cross-Country Championships, and they have plans to work and race their way back to the same destination yet again in 2016.

The Lions began their three-year state-qualifying streak in ’13 by finishing 15th overall (1:31:11.64) at the state level, followed by a 16th-place finish (1:31:33.26) in ’14. After two years and various runners joining the program and making their mark on the team, the Top 7 runners from the ’15 season for Fairfield raced to an eighth-place finish at state, finishing with a time of 1:26:25, jumping up eight spots in the standings from their previous state visit.

The state-qualifying streak isn’t the only thing on the mind of the Lions, as they have a goal to repeat for the sixth time as Southern Hills Athletic Conference champions (they won their fifth straight title in ’15), while winning the district title also for the sixth consecutive time and gaining a regional championship too after placing second at the event in ’15.

FHS won their fifth straight district title last season with all seven runners placing in the Top 11, finishing with a time of 1:26:40 at Rio Grande, winning by seven seconds over second-place Racine Southern.

Last year, the Lions finished ninth in the OATCC Division III poll. Also looking back at last season, from the start of the year until the state tournament, just three teams finished ahead of the Lions in competition. Add even the schools who placed ahead of the Lions at state, and just 10 total teams placed ahead of the Lions all of last season.

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To get there, the Lions will have all seven runners back from last year’s state-qualifying team, plus four to five runners who are looking to take those spots and join the Top 7 of the Lions program.

Seniors this season include Wyatt Evans, Dillon Burley and Trent Tate.

“Wyatt came into camp in really good shape and has worked extremely to make sure his senior year is his best,” FHS head coach Raymond Friend said. “Dillon Burley had a solid offseason and will be tough to knock out of the Top 7, and Trent has been running a lot of miles and is looking to improve in his senior year.”

In all, there are 16 boys on the Fairfield cross-country team, with juniors being Matthew Mangus, Noah Richmond, Andrew Davis and Nick Price. Mangus was the district runner-up in ’15.

“Matthew was one of our leaders last year that has put in the work to be even better this year,” Friend said. “Noah has steadily become stronger each year and should have a breakout year. Andrew has put in a lot of miles and just seems to have a great race when we need it, and Nick was in the Top 7 as a freshman and is looking to return.”

Sophomores for FHS are Austin Setty, Brandtson Duffie, Bennett Hodson, Sam Buddelmeyer and Riley Friend.

“Austin had a phenomenal freshman year and has been training with the upperclassmen, which will help him in October and November,” Friend told The Highland County Press. “Brandtson had a great track season, and I look forward to him running a good 3.1 miles.

“Bennett has put in a lot of miles this summer and keeps getting closer to the upperclassmen, and Sam has shown in practice that he can also push our top runners.”

Freshmen include Derek Cooper, Trey Wilkinson, Gavin Campbell, Logan Woods, Tristan Victor and Ethan Davis.

“Ethan came into camp in shape, and it shows,” Friend said. “He will not be far behind his older teammates.”

Though the Lions have goals of making it a long postseason run for a fourth straight season, their head coach wants them to know how much they can accomplish with their hard work.

“Our main goal is for this team of student athletes to realize that hard work pays off. Last year, we placed second in the regional tournament by one point,” Friend said. “Instead of pointing fingers at individuals, the team doubled down on training and mileage to make sure that does not happen again.

“Whatever place we finish this year is irrelevant, as long as the kids did the best they can, and if they do that, I think we can surprise some people. When you have underclassmen pushing hard to take the Top 7 spots for the tournament, it creates an environment where the athletes know they need to be in shape or their spot could be in jeopardy. Therefore, a lot of miles were run this summer, which helps obtain all of our goals.”

This Lions team has the experience to take it to the next level this season, even though last year during the regular season they were nearly perfect, winning various meets and invitationals, leading them to be able to have the postseason success they had in ’15.

“This year, I have a seasoned team that will not be scared to line up and run against anybody, and that has not always been the case in years past,” Friend said. “We have had some good years of success, but we have still been beaten at the state level by other Division III teams. So myself and the boys are still hungry to move up in the places.

“I am extremely proud of both my high school boys and girls teams because we have been fighting through the heat and humidity of the last few weeks. They do not give in and give it their best in practice each and every day.”

There is also excitement for the FHS girls team, as they can compete in the SHAC this season, having 12 runners on the team this season, including All-SHAC runners Megan Gragg and Alexis Swisher, both sophomores.

Some of the runners looking to compete to be in the Top 7 on the team are: senior Hayleigh Bates; juniors Chloe Barber and Sarah Young; sophomores Andrea Spears, Hayleigh Lowe, Meadow Cunningham and Brianna Barnes; and freshmen Sarah Wuellner, Alexis Tompkins, Ciara Colwell and Laynee Dufie.

“I am excited about the girls this year, as this is the most talented and deep team that I’ve had in my 16 years of coaching,” Friend said. “This is the hardest-working girls team that I have had from top to bottom. They don't complain, and I really think that they can be a solid team to push for the SHAC title and some top spots at the district race.”