BY JIM MISUNAS
ELLINWOOD – Ellinwood’s Heidi Brauer is a 3-time regional and Central Prairie League competitor who has placed ninth at league and 19th at regionals.
Brauer is the Eagles’ lone runner who owns more than one year of varsity experience.
“At CPL, Heidi cracked the top 10 for all-league honors,” said Ellinwood coach Jeff Zook. “At regionals, she hit a personal record that got her inside the top 20. She looks to build on her great end of the year.”
Senior Dallon Luker (42nd) also returns.
“Dallon hit a PR on a tough regional course to end 2023,” Zook said. “Dallon made great improvements over the summer. Every mile he gets in his legs will help him late this season.”
Regional runners Joe Brauer (33rd), Caleb Zook (40th) return.
“We’re excited to get going. The runners have put in a great summer and are ready to get race season started,” Zook said. “We have a lot of new runners, which brings a lot of unknowns as well as a lot of excitement. We also have a great group of returners.”
Juniors Ethan Robl and Jonas Kern are first-time runners. Zook is interested to see how they progress through the season.
Sophomores Madison Dombroski, Joe Brauer, Shae Hoskins and Caleb Zook return for their second season. Grey Ringwald is a new addition.
“They’re building on what they learned last year,” Zook said. “They put in a solid summer. Ringwald has junior high experience. We’re excited for his first season of high school cross country.”
A 4-runner freshman class will allow the girls to score team points.
“We’re excited to have a full girls team after lower numbers,” Zook said. “The freshmen have competed in middle school cross country and track. They look forward to making the transition to high school racing.
Zook said the boys and girls teams want to be competitive in the Central Prairie League, and perhaps surprise some teams in October. Ness City swept the CPL boys and girls titles in 2023. St. John’s boys and La Crosse will also field strong teams.
“The men’s and women’s teams want to compete for a CPL title and work towards a top three regional spot. The CPL meet should make for a great race. At regionals, we need a top three team finish to punch that ticket to Wamego.”
Past state qualifiers Hannah Winget and Allison Ricker graduated
EAGLE ROSTER
SENIORS—Heidi Brauer (R 19TH, 23RD, 35TH; CPL 9TH, 11TH; 15TH); Dallon Luker (R 42ND, CPL 25TH)
JUNIORS—Ethan Robl, Jonas Kern
SOPHOMORES—Madison Dombroski, Joe Brauer (R 33RD, CPL 19TH), Shae Hoskins (CPL, 17TH), Caleb Zook (R 40TH, CPL 15TH), Grey Ringwald
NINTH-GRADERS—Jenna Borror, Ali Gonzalez, Eleanor Joiner, Kyla McCormick
EAGLE SCHEDULE
9-7—at Hays
9-14—at Wamego
9-19—at Stafford
9-26—at Larned
10-3—at Halstead (Wedgewood GC)
10-12—at Wichita Trinity
10-17—Central Prairie at Ness City
10-26—at 2A regional
11-2—at 2A state, Wamego
