Senior Co-Captain, Most Dedicated Runner
Tiger boys cross country coach Keith Revels fielded a varsity lineup of extremes for most of the 2010 season.
At the front of the pack were a pair of seniors, two-time state meet qualifier Elliot Fenske and dependable Carl Elmer. The other spots were usually occupied by a group of underclassmen long on effort but short on experience.
The result was a middle-of-the pack finish at both the Missota Conference (5th of 8) and Section 1AA (8th of 14) Championships.
"There are always things you'd like to improve upon," Revels said, "but as a group I think we competed close to our potential. The boys trained hard and improved every week. You can't ask for much more than that."
All in all, Revels awarded 15 runners varsity letters for their work during the 2010 season: seniors Fenske, Elmer, Austin Bell, Drew Cayard, Chris Gorder, Brian Huls, Justin Rees, Josh Ruthenbeck and Brandon Strofhus; juniors Lincoln Kirchoff and Chad Retterath; sophomores Ben Olson, Adam Wallenta and Alec Wilson and freshman Dan Block.
"Having Elliot(Fenske) and Carl (Elmer) the only healthy runners with experience, the younger guys had to step into scoring roles," Revels said. "Olson, Block, Wallenta Kirchoff and Wilson improved as the season progressed. No pun intended, but they made great strides."
Revels said disappointments were few and far between but noted that losing Retterath to injury early in the season took its toll.
Co-captain Fenske won team MVP honors for his stellar senior season's work that included an individual title at New Prague, a fourth place finish in the conference, a seventh place effort at the section meet and a 40th place finish at the state finals.
"Elliot is a great, mentally tough talent who trained hard," Revels said. "He is the complete package who will do well at the next level regardless of where he goes."
Elmer served as co-captain and according to his coach earned his "Most Dedicated" award.
"Carl was a workhorse," he said. "Perhaps not a natural, but his efforts were second to none. There was never any doubt about him giving his best. A great quality possessed by a great kid."
The steadily-improving Olson was named the most improved runner while Block who moved up from the middle school this fall earned Rookie of the Year honors.
Revels said that he should start the 2011 campaign with six runners with varsity experience but cautioned that alone won't mean a move up the conference and section ladders.
"It's going to take five guys getting under 18:00 (for 5000 meters) and one or two under 17:30," he said. "Red Wing, Chaska and Chanhassen will all be pretty good and we can't overlook any of the teams that finished behind us this year, either."
