After 27 years at Carthage High School, Andy Youngworth is beginning a new chapter of his coaching career.
Youngworth is now leading the McAuley Catholic cross country program.
“I’m excited to start this new chapter in my coaching career,” Youngworth told SoMo Sports. “And I look forward to helping these young men and women become better runners, but more importantly, better people.”
McAuley’s boys team features a large group of returning runners. Juniors expected to play a key role are Aidrian Keefer, Phillip Motazedi, Kable Reichardt and Drew Zeb.
Kevin Tran, Michael Parrigon, Armando Alberto, Aiden Logan and Grant Horinek are other athletes who could be competing at the varsity level. A senior, Tran is a first-year runner.
“We have four or five of our top runners back from last year,” Youngworth said. “I feel we will be able to field a team that will be able to compete in Class 1 in this area. We also have a solid freshman class to go along with the five upperclassmen. They made a commitment to the off-season voluntary program this summer and I believe that dedication will result in improved results from last season.”
An area of concern is “big meet” experience.
“I feel we have put together a schedule that will prepare them for the championship season,” Youngworth said. “There is not much distance running tradition at McAuley, and I have challenged them to be the building block for future success.”
Youngworth noted team goals for the fall are to win the conference meet, finish in the top four at the district meet and qualify the entire team to state, which would be the first McAuley team to do so.
“All of these are lofty goals, but setting a high standard in year one is important,” Youngworth said. “In order to achieve these goals, several things must occur. We have to respect our opponents and compete to the best of our ability, work hard every day in practice and work together as a team in races. And putting your teammates first is a constant emphasis in practice.”
The McAuley girls team has just one runner — sophomore Kendall Ramsey.
Ramsey finished fourth at last year’s Class 1 District 7 meet and advanced to the state meet, where she finished 56th.
“Kendall is a hard working athlete who does a great job of mentoring her middle school teammates,” Youngworth said. “Kendall needs to continue to work hard despite not having a team to race or train with on a daily basis. The race experience she has from last year will be very beneficial as she prepares for the championship series in October and November. She’s looking forward to improving her district place from last fall and hopefully will earn a medal at the state meet.”
