Andy Youngworth sees a highly-motivated group each and every day when he watches his Carthage High School cross country team go through preseason workouts.
After the spring track and field season was eliminated due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Youngworth is certain his Tigers are ready to make up for lost time this fall.
“Other than a couple of road races, most of them haven’t ran in a competitive high school race since either early November or late October,” Youngworth said. “We had a really good offseason. We had several guys that ran on their own when we couldn’t meet as a team. We didn’t get to have a track season, but the work we did in the spring and summer has really set the table for a lot of these guys and girls to have a special season if things work out right.”
Junior Mariques Strickland is the top returner for the Carthage boys. Strickland finished ninth at last year’s Central Ozark Conference meet, 12th at the district meet, 28th at the sectional and 143rd at state.
Strickland finished fourth overall at Joplin’s warm-up meet on Saturday at South Middle School, and Youngworth expects him to be his team’s No. 1 runner.
“Mariques has had a really good offseason,” Youngworth said. “We’ve done a time trial race for 26 years, and we keep a database for it. Mariques just ran the sixth-fastest time overall. That goes back to more than two decades, and we’ve had some good runners here.”
After contributing at the varsity level a year ago, seniors Malcolm Robertson, Ty Lewis and Richard Contreras and junior Joseph Wyrick are also expected to be key performers this fall.
“Our seniors are all four-year guys and they’ve really improved over the years,” Youngworth said.
Newcomers to watch include juniors Joel Pugh and Landen Schrader and sophomores Miguel Solano, Caleb Fewin and Coltyn Herrera.
“Our boys team is really deep,” Youngworth said. “Five or six have separated themselves and we’ve got four or five other guys who are vying for the seventh spot. That’s a good problem to have.”
The CHS girls team will be led by seniors Kimberly Hernandez, Lauren Wilson, Hadley McBride, and Keysli Elias.
“Our senior girls have really done a good job,” Youngworth said. “It’s always awesome when you have girls who hang around for four years. Their leadership has been great.”
Hernandez, who finished 27th at last year’s COC race, has made big strides, Youngworth said.
“She ran a lot on her own and it shows,” Youngworth said. “I think Hadley, Lauren and Keysli have also been really dedicated and we’re looking for good things from them.”
Junior Morelia Reyes and sophomores Diana Pichardo and Lilianna Vasquez are newcomers to watch.
“The girls who came out are working very hard and were committed to the summer offseason program,” Youngworth said. “We have several holes to fill, but the pieces are in place and I think we can be a competitive team.”
The program’s numbers are down a bit on the girls side, Youngworth noted.
CROSS COUNTRY NOTES
Youngworth is the dean of area cross country coaches. This is his 27th season as Carthage’s head coach.
After the Missouri State High School Activities Association expanded classes for a number of sports this fall, there will now be five classes for cross country. Youngworth expects Carthage to compete in Class 5.
Carthage is scheduled to compete at the SWCCCA Meet in Bolivar on Saturday. Races begin at 9 a.m.
The 47th Carthage Invitational is scheduled for Sept. 10 at the Carthage Golf Course.
For more reasons than one, Youngworth noted this should be a memorable season.
“We’re stressing staying healthy and following all of the protocols like taking temperatures every morning and wearing masks when we have team meetings or when they’re stretching,” Youngworth said. “It’s all about taking care of today and just trying to get a little better each day.”
