Winfield-Mount Union is rearing and ready to go for a new season of cross country, and the Wolves have a number of talented runners back. That includes junior Kohlby Newsom, whose time of 18 minutes 15 seconds was seventh at districts last year before he eclipsed that mark by 39 seconds at state.

Newsom starts this season ranked 20th in Class 1A individually, but he’ll have plenty of teammates hot on his heels. Seniors Gabriel Hemsworth and Ty Scorpil are back for WMU, as are junior Jacob Nelson and sophomore Bowen Thomson.

The Winfield-Mount Union girls will look to a pair of returning seniors in Afton Wilkerson and Maggie Hutton. Wolves head coach Amanda Hemsworth tells KCII Sports that her message to her runners is a simple one.

“Just continue to push each other,” Hemsworth says, “be positive and get those times down every week. Even though it’s an individual sport, it is a team sport as well, and you’re only as fast as your slowest runner, so you want to keep up with them and keep pushing each other.”

Winfield-Mount Union’s first race of the new cross country season will be this Tuesday at the Hillcrest Academy Early Bird Invitational.