Lone senior to lead Eagle cross-country

Written by Katie Morford Tuesday, 30 August 2011 17:03

?Canton-Galva will have three boys and two girls running for honors this season. Pictured are: back row (from left), Coach Lyle Silsby, Eli Janzen, Jon Weber and Helena Clausing; front row, Justin Hiller and Katie Diehl.

The Canton-Galva cross country team is depending on senior Justin Hiller and returning junior Eli Janzen to set the pace this season.

“They’ve both been working hard all summer,” coach Lyle Silsby said. “Eli’s coming off a pretty strong year. I’m hoping he can improve some more this year.”

Silsby said Hiller’s junior year was plagued by injuries, but he hopes to get past those injuries and get Hiller back to where he was as a sophomore.

Silsby said it would be interesting to see how junior Jon Weber progresses this year.

“I’m just trying to get him stronger so he can keep that speed for a little longer,” he said.

Beyond those three boys, the rest of the team is new. Junior Helena Clausing and freshman Katie Diehl will run for the girls.

“The young ones, or the ones who haven’t run before, teaching them how to run the distance—that’s the main thing right now,” Silsby said. “Strength and endurance.

“I’m excited about having the three new ones, teaching them something new. Hopefully they learn to like running. The goal is to try and get them to keep improving.”

Silsby said one area his seniors need to strengthen is sustaining a strong pace through the entire 5-kilometer course.

“We can easily get two miles, it’s getting that third mile, keeping it up,” he said. “That’s mainly strength and conditioning.”

The Eagles will need strength and conditioning to compete with the top runners in the Wheat State League.

The Eagles won’t have enough runners to compete for team honors, but Silsby said he expects some familiar names to be at the top of the Heart of America meet.

“The ones who are always strong are Bennington and Berean,” Silsby said. “Hutch Trinity is always strong, too.”

The Eagles will have the chance to test their mettle when they compete Sept. 1 in their first meet of the season.