Indians ready to run
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays High School coach Jerold Harris has a long list of positives when he discusses the Indian cross country teams. Hays High has 41 runners out, the most in Harris' 15 years with the program. HHS has often held fall practice in stifling heat, but the Indians haven't complained. Only one runner has left the team in camp.
"I have been so pleased with this group," Harris said. "Cross country is not fun when it's hot, windy and you are out of shape. Usually, you lose a few people for that. ... They just have been working so hard.
"They are expected to go out and run hard with each other and finish the workouts," Harris added. "There hasn't been any griping. This team has been unbelievable. There have been days (I'll say), 'It's got to cool off, it's got to cool off.' We have never had this many hot days. They are like, 'We are good with it.' "
For the first time in several years, the Indians don't return a runner who has earned all-state honors. However, the HHS has depth with both squads, a strength that has fostered strong practices.
"If there is a little injury, they don't want to take a day off, because they are like, 'I am afraid so-and-so will get ahead of me,' " Harris said.
Hays High has set a goal to qualify both teams for state, an accomplishment that has never happened in Harris' tenure. It's been close to happening, including last year when the girls qualified and the boys finished one spot short at regionals.
Hays High opens the season at the Great Bend meet on Thursday. Start time is 4 p.m.
The HHS girls graduated all-state runner Bailey Zimmerman, but bring back their No. 2 and 3 runners in junior April Johnson and sophomore Wendy Zimmerman, who could miss the first meet with an ankle injury she suffered last spring.
"I think this year we can all come together as a team and I think that we can all qualify," Johnson said.
Senior Dallas Kaiser, a varsity veteran known for his strong work ethic, and junior Josh Brungardt have led the boys after two-time all-state runner Seth Tophoj graduated.
"We just have to stress our pack attack," Harris said. "That pack time for both teams will need to be less than a minute, which is really hard to do for a 4k or a 5k. That means we'll need a bunch of girls near April (or) whoever our lead runner is -- then I think we will beat people."
Kaiser ran well in several summer races, including a sixth-place showing at the Wild West Fest in July and a second-place finish at the Herzogfest in late summer. In both races, Kaiser broke 18 minutes, 41 seconds.
"I was pretty pleased," he said. "I knew that if I was at that speed in the summer, then I could do pretty well in the school year."
Kaiser, who Harris calls "our workout leader," was the top runner for the first part of camp before Brungardt ran with him in the last week. Brungardt came out for cross country late last season after the Hays High team bombarded him with Facebook messages and phone calls asking him to join. Brungardt progressed rapidly throughout the fall and emerged in track season when he ran on the state title-winning 3,200-meter relay.
""You could just tell that he was getting stronger through the cross country season last year, but he was just still learning," Harris said. "During track, he just blossomed into an all-star."
Junior Derek Drees, sophomore Kendall Kandt, sophomore Landon Munsch, senior Jake Nelson and junior Alec Webb form the rest of Hays High's tight pack. On the girls' side, Johnson, who would like to match Bailey Zimmerman's season from last year, led the team's time trial. Four freshmen -- Summer Smith, Lisa Quinn, Jenna Luebbers and Bailee Leiker -- followed Johnson, a surprise to Harris. Sophomores Reagan Kaiser and Shelby Matlock round out the top-7 for the Indians.
"It is going to be a fun team to watch us improve," Harris said.