Holden Cross Country Teams Set To Start New Season

 

The Holden high school cross country teams are set to take to the course for the first time this season on Saturday, Sept. 6 when the Eagles and Lady Eagles compete at the St. Mary’s Cross Country Invitational Meet at St. Michael the Archangel High School in Lee’s Summit.

This year’s Eagle boys team features four returning team members and two incoming freshmen.
The Lady Eagles squad consists of four returning runners.

Holden cross country head coach Scott Teufel returns to lead the cross country team members. He is joined by Megan Gipfert who is in her second season as assistant coach.

“I am excited for the season to start,” says coach Teufel. “We work all summer long for three months building up to the beginning of the season, and I’m excited to begin to build towards meets.”

Eagle Boys Team
This year’s Holden Eagles boys team consists of junior Evan Robinson, sophomores Liam Claxton, Paxton Zeikle, and Nick Moore; and incoming freshmen Porter Eissler and Luke Tebbenkamp.

Robinson, Claxton, Moore, and Zeikle represent the experienced returning runners on the team as Eissler moves up from the middle school level, and Tebbenkamp competes in cross country for the first time this season.

“This boys team really gets along together!” says coach Teufel. “They push each other and are there to help make each other better while also having fun. Everyone of these guys will have eligibility to run next year as well, so this should be a chance for a young team with five freshman and sophomores to gain valuable experience competing as a team.”

Robinson returns for his third varsity season as the most experienced runner on the team. Robinson’s sophomore season ended with a 74th-place finish at the district meet after regularly running as the team’s number-three runner in most races during the season.

“Evan is one of our leaders,” says coach Teufel. “Evan always shows up with a positive attitude. Evan comes to practice and works hard to push himself and the other runners to do better. Evan was one of our most improved runners last year. I’m excited to see Evan’s progression this year.”

Claxton returns for his sophomore campaign after running as the team’s number-two runner in most meets last season. Claxton turned in an All-MRVC-East medal finish last year as he and graduated Eagle runner Rett Hankins both made the medal podium at the conference meet. Claxton’s freshman season ended with a 42nd-place finish at the district meet.

“Liam is our best returning boy runner and is always pushing himself to be better,” says coach Teufel. “Liam had a great freshman year and is looking forward to showing his improvement as the season begins. Liam is using Rett’s career as a guide to his and what he can accomplish in the next three years.”

Zeikle gained valuable experience as a freshman on last year’s team, and returns with that full varsity season under his belt.

“Paxton is returning for his second season running cross country,” says coach Teufel. “He started last year having never run cross country and made a lot of progress throughout the season. Paxton has been working hard all summer, and I can’t wait to see what he can do this season. Paxton is looking to use the experience he gained last year to help the boys team this year.”

Moore eagerly returns for his sophomore season after missing a majority of last season due to an injury.

“Nick is returning after having his freshman year cut short by an ankle injury,” says coach Teufel. “I think Nick was on his way to a strong freshman year before the injury. Nick looks strong, and I’m excited to see how he does this year. Nick always is the first to ask what we are doing at practice everyday.”

Eissler steps up to the high school level after contributing to Holden’s middle school cross country team.

“Porter ran both years in middle school, and I’m excited to see his transition to high school cross country,” says coach Teufel. “Porter always brings an ability to lighten the mood at practice with his humor.”

Tebbenkamp looks to take to the cross country course for the first time this season as this young Eagles team looks to gain experience with competitive efforts.

“This is Luke’s first year running cross country, but he has been with us working out all summer long,” reports coach Teufel. “Luke has worked really hard and has shown a lot of grit. These are not easy workouts during the summer, and he has been showing a lot of good effort to finish them, especially when you are the one high school runner who hasn’t run cross country before. We’re excited to have Luke on the team.”

As noted above, gone due to graduation from this year’s boys team is Rett Hankins who ran to an all-state medal finish last season. Also missing this year is Joseph Samilin who graduated after contributing to the team for the past two seasons.
Coach Teufel lists as highlights from last season, “Rett Hankins finishing in the top-30 in state and earning all-state honors, and Rett finishing in the top-10 in districts.”

He also added watching all the boys runners break their own personal records multiple times throughout the season.
“The thing I’ll take away was the way Rett led the boys team and how the other runners looked up to Rett and tried to emulate what he was doing, as best as they could. Rett was that team’s leader,” continues coach Teufel. “He was who they looked up to and tried to emulate. He led by example and was extremely dedicated to achieving his goals. He showed everyone that if you have a plan, and put in the work to achieve, you will.

“Joseph was a great member of the team. He always worked hard, he was a positive role model because of his great attitude.”
Lady Eagles Team

This year’s Lady Eagles cross country team includes senior year team members Malea Brewington and Abby Miller, junior year runner Madi Talley, and sophomore Jessy Stringer.

All four runners return this season, though Miller is likely to sit out cross country competitions this season as she recovers from an injury. She will look to guide the cross country team as a team leader while also competing on the Holden Lady Eagles tennis team this season.

“This girls team might only have three runners competing at every event, but all three will be competitive,” says coach Teufel. “I know all three would like to make state, but I think they will be judged on how well they compete and help other members of the team be the best version of themselves.”

Brewington returns for her fourth varsity season as a steady, consistent runner. Her junior season ended with a 46th-place finish at the district meet.

“Malea is one of our senior leaders this year, and I’ve been impressed with her confidence and ability to communicate with her teammates,” says coach Teufel. “She has been a contributor for all four years of high school. Malea had a really good year last year. Malea is one of our most consistent runners and has the ability to lock in during races and run very consistent splits.”
Miller also returns for her fourth varsity season as she looks to guide the team from the sideline this season after regularly running as one of the team’s top-three finishers in meets last season. She led the Lady Eagles at the MRVC-East Meet last year with a 13th-place finish, and placed 43rd at the district meet in her final race last season.

“Abby was running really well last year and was running times that would have put her in the top half of our district and qualified for state, but she got hurt at the end of the year and finished the year gutting it out,” says coach Teufel. “This year Abby’s leadership will be a key to how successful this team is.”

Talley returns for her junior year season after ending her sophomore season with a 44th-place finish at the district meet.
“Madi has had a really good summer and has been the strongest runner on our girls team, and one of our top runners on either team,” says coach Teufel. “Madi has kept improving from her strong finish last year. Madi always brings a positive attitude to practice and is one of our most thoughtful teammates, always there to bring someone in and to encourage her teammates.”
Stringer returns for her sophomore campaign as a team leader after regularly running as one of the top-two finishers for the Lady Eagles team as a freshman last year. She placed 16th at the MRVC-East Meet and closed out her freshman season by placing 31st at the district meet, just one spot away from qualifying for the state meet.

“Jessy had a strong freshman year, finishing one spot away from qualifying for state,” says coach Teufel. “I think her best running is ahead of her in the next three years. Jessy is really good at teaching the middle school runners what the program’s expectations…

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