ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s cross country teams begin a new era today under the direction of head coach Brenden Huber, who was promoted this summer after serving as an assistant for the past decade. The Gusties travel to Crown College with the women’s race beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 6 p.m. Preseason training has been going on for a couple weeks and the anticipation for the season to begin is running high.
“Preseason has been great. A lot of our kids came in great shape after working hard over the summer,” Huber said. “It’s great to see the commitment and work ethic they have, which is going to put us in position to have a successful season. These first two weeks we have been gelling as a team and working on the little things. We are putting the building blocks together to have a good year.”
This season’s captains are Ryley Sandberg (Sr., Alleman, Iowa) and Alex Wischnack (Jr., Norwood, Minn.) on the men’s team, and Huber is expecting the success posted in the past few years will transition into the 2017 campaign. Sandberg took 38th at the MIAC meet last season, while Wischnack took 22nd, earning All-Conference honorable mention.
“They are continuing the tone and the culture we’ve built over the last few years as staying relevant in the conference and region,” Huber said of his men’s captains. “We lost a lot to graduation so we’ve brought in a big freshman class. Those guys are learning the right way from those captains – what being a Gustie cross country runner is all about.”
Ben Madigan (Jr., Kohler, Wis.), who is in his first year on the cross country team, Bridger Pavelka (So., Minnetonka, Minn.), and Andrew Wischnack (Jr., Norwood, Minn.) are expected to help contribute to the men’s team as well.
This year’s women’s captains are Olivia Rosenow (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) and Oliva Crocker (Sr., Big Lake, Minn.), who are looking to bring the squad back into the upper echelon on the MIAC.
“They did a lot of great work during the track season getting our group of gals closer together,” Huber said. “The big push is for them to believe that we can be competitive. The work has shown already in early camp that we are ready to be more successful than last year. Our big challenge is to stay hungry and see how far we can climb.”
Sadie Klug (Sr., Waseca, Minn.) is the women’s top returner after taking 19th place at the MIAC meet a season ago. Lotus Schifsky (Jr., Prescott, Wis.) took 81st and Gabriela Passmore (So., Mapleton, Minn.) placed 84th.
“The team dynamic and culture right now is awesome to see,” Huber said. “Our group has really come together and looking out for one another. They are challenging and pushing each other. That’s really fun to be around. It’s really about the team more than the individual.”