Some of the area’s best cross country runners are back for a new season, and they won’t be hard to spot after they were recognized in the preseason Class 1A state rankings by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches.

That includes Columbus senior Damian Vergara, who is the 22nd-ranked individual boys’ runner in 1A. Vergara reached the state championships by finishing sixth at districts last season and then ran his fastest time of the season of 17 minutes 39 seconds to earn a top-50 finish at state. Vergara had four top-10 finishes in 2022 for the Wildcats, who are ranked 20th in 1A as a team.

Winfield-Mount Union junior Kohlby Newsom also makes the individual preseason rankings in 1A at #20. Newsom piled up eight top-10 medals last season, including a seventh-place finish at districts, before running a top-50 time at state with his season-best mark of 17:36.