Chad Fletcher has taken over the reins of the Carl Junction High School cross country program.
Fletcher spent the last five seasons coaching Carl Junction’s junior high teams.
“Each year we’ve increased our numbers a little bit at a time, and hopefully we have laid the foundation for CJHS XC to be a player in the COC and beyond,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher noted he’s been pleased with what he’s seen thus far.
“Attitudes are very upbeat,” he said. “It takes a very special kind of kid to willingly get up so early each day to train and work to improve. They have a very specific individual set of goals for themselves—to make it to state, to make varsity, to improve and set PRs, to challenge for varsity in the future. It’s going to be a fun season.”
Entering the 2022 season, senior Lexi Carpenter is the program’s lone returning state qualifier. Fellow senior Sadie Burchett, who missed out on state by two places last season, is another top returner.
At last year’s Central Ozark Conference Meet, Carpenter finished 18th and Burchett was 22nd. Carpenter placed 22nd at the district meet and Burchett was 34th. Carpenter finished 82nd at state.
Senior Klohe Burk, juniors Audrey Fletcher, Bailey Feken and Bryanna McCabe and sophomore Delaney Harris return with varsity experience for the CJ girls.
On the boys side, senior Brock Feken and junior Jack Lawson are the team’s top returning performers from last season. Both Feken and Lawson have just missed qualifying for state the last two seasons.
Feken finished 31st at the conference meet, while Lawson was 33rd. Feken and Lawson placed 38th and 56th, respectively, at the district meet.
Others returning with prior varsity experience are junior Luke Battagler and sophomores Alex Allison and Gavin Hall.
The Bulldogs lost two state qualifiers to graduation—Collin Emmert and Hannah Franks. Emmert was a state medalist.
Both squads have increased numbers, as several newcomers, including many incoming freshmen, have joined the program..
“We have a ton of new runners from our sophomore and freshman classes that we’re hoping to contribute this season,” Coach Fletcher said. “They are working hard to sort themselves out in practice to hopefully earn some varsity time this year.”
One positive for the program is that with the numbers up across the board, there’s been more competition in practice.
“We have more XC athletes (34 combined boys/girls) than we’ve ever had, and many of them are young newcomers eager to earn their place at the table,” Coach Fletcher said. “They will push the varsity to keep their spots. Iron sharpens iron, and competition is always good.”
As far as a main goal, Fletcher hopes to see the Bulldogs make steady progress throughout the season.
“This will be a challenging but fun season,” Fletcher said. “We have plenty of opportunities to compete against larger COC schools where their sheer numbers can make it difficult to match up one-on-one with them, runner for runner. But that gives us a target—to be the best, you have to beat the best. Both teams want to make it to state. Our hard work will give us a chance to do that.”
Fletcher noted the keys to a successful season are simple.
“Pushing each other and never being satisfied,” he said. “We can always improve, and we know that every other team is working just as hard as us. Positive attitudes are a must.”
The Bulldogs will run at Joplin’s warm-up meet on Aug. 27. Carl Junction will compete at Aurora on Sept. 1.
