The Press-Dispatch

August 21, 2019

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D-10 Fall Sports Preview Wednesday, August 21, 2019 The Press-Dispatch GIRLS' XC Pictured above is the 2019 Pike Central girls' cross country team. They are, front row (l to r): Lexie Neese and Shelby Vaughn; second row: Kennedy Willis, Quinlan Teague, Laney Johnson, Kayla Cannon and Morgan Sallee; third row: Jade Kamman, Libby Stone, Jenna Meyer and Morgan Anderson; fourth row: Charlotte Dudenhoeffer, head coach Josh Roach, assistant coach Wil Teague and assistant coach Joe Chamberlain. This year, they have all been there [semi-state.] They have to fight complacency and fight to get better and try to take it even farther. We will keep improving and this team can get back to semi- state and perform even better this year. They have all put in a lot of work this offseason." -Coach Josh Roach Pike Central racers strive to continue growth By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central girls' cross country team has the talent and ex- perience to not only return to the semi-state meet, but finish even better than they did last season. The key to the Chargers' suc- cess will depend on their dedica- tion and desire to improve, accord- ing to head coach Josh Roach. "Last year, they were fighting for semi-state and none of them had been there before," Roach said. "This year, they have all been there. They have to fight compla- cency and fight to get better and try to take it even farther. We will keep improving and this team can get back to semi-state and per- form even better this year. They have all put in a lot of work this offseason." Roach coaches both the boys' and girls' cross country teams at Pike Central. He said both teams' philosophy is to always aim to get better. "I fully believe in the growth mindset," Roach said. "All of these kids have goals and I love that, but none of these kids are defined by that goal. They strive for it and my job is just to help them get there. I set out to teach them the lessons that will help them in every aspect of life. Focus on the process, not the result. They need to know that sometimes you will do everything right and still not get the result that you might think is fair. But that doesn't mean we stop doing the right things. Control what we can control and live with the rest. I want these kids to look back on high school and think their years in cross country were some of the best times of their teenage lives." The Chargers finished fourth at the PAC and sectional meets last season. They followed that up with a fifth-place finish at regionals to qualify for semi-state, where they placed 20th. Roach said the girls' experience can benefit the entire cross coun- try program. "They have all gotten to see what running in that type of envi- ronment is like," he said. "They've gotten to see how rewarding it is to get through those hard workouts to get there. They can draw on that experience when things get tough. They can remember what it's like when we go up to a bigger meet earlier in the year and guide those that haven't been there through it. They can lead both teams through our toughest times because they have been through it and know how much fun it can be." The Chargers are good at pack- ing together during races, with their top seven runners staying fairly close throughout the race. "We can push that whole pack further up the in the race," Roach said. "They can all push each oth- er in practice everyday and having that competition with each other will help tremendously." Pike Central returns top All- PAC honorable mention selec- tions from last season in junior Lilly Stone and sophomore Quin- lan Teague. Stone is a highly disciplined runner who always gets her work- outs in no matter what. "If she missed any summer run- ning because of work, she was ask- ing me for the workout as soon as she got off work to complete it," Roach said. "She finds a way to push herself in every run that we do." Teague is known for her quiet demeanor, but also always staying laser-focused. "Quinlan is very quiet but when she finds something that moti- vates her, she stays focused on that," Roach said. "She uses that to keep going. She always does what is asked of her and more. Even though she is younger, that allows others to look up to her and use that as inspiration to keep go- ing as well." The Chargers will also rely heavily on the hard-working and gritty pair of Shelby Vaughn and Jenna Meyer. Both are multi-sport athletes. Vaughn approached last year as a way to get into better shape for soccer and exceeded her own ex- pectations. "She will get to practice ear- ly to start her workout so she can go straight to soccer as ev- eryone else is finishing theirs," Roach said. "She never complains. And I truly believe that all the oth- er girls respect her and look up to her for that." Meyer competed in cross coun- try, cheerleading and gymnastics at one time. "She battles through a lot with how much energy she uses with these things, but yet continues to fight no matter how beat up her body is," Roach said. "Then as soon as she can recover after her race, she is right back out on the course cheering others on. It's hard saying what can actually hold her down because she fights through so much." Charlotte Dudenhoeffer has a great ability to read her team- mates and know what they need. "She loves to laugh and if she knows her team needs to let go of stress, she will have them roll- ing," Roach said. "She will also go back out when she is done with her workout and push another runner for an extra minute or talk them through their finish. During a race, she talks to her teammates whenever she can to encourage them." Laney Johnson, Morgan Ander- son and Morgan Sallee also return from last year's squad. "Laney stays consistent in her effort and her attitude," Roach said. "She stays within herself no matter what. She is willing to stick with a teammate and push them, but she also won't step out- side of herself to do it. Morgan is very hard working. She pushes to her limits very often, and Morgan loves to run and she shows it ev- ery day. She stays consistent in her approach and strives to get better day in and day out." The team will also get a boost from the additions of Kennedy Willis, Jade Johnson and Kayla Cannon. Willis also plays soccer and is the record holder for the mile run at the middle school. "We think she can be a big help as she gets used to being a dis- tance runner, as she has never ran cross country before," Roach said. Johnson has participated in track, but has never ran cross country. "She is taking everything in stride as far as what it takes to run distance and we are excited to see how much better she can get," Roach said. Cannon rejoins the program af- ter running cross country while she was in middle school. "She works hard as well and knows she is capable," Roach said. "We are excited for her as well to see what she can grow into as a runner." Pike Central's cross country season begins on Thursday, Aug. 22 at the Forest Park Invitational. CHEERLEADERS Pictured above is the 2019 Pike Central cheerleaders. They are, front row (l to r): Jenna Meyer, Emma McKinney, Peyton Thorne, Lexie Neese, Carlie Hal- brader and Mackenzie Woodland; back row: Madyson Satterfield, Kayla Cannon, Haven Longest, Grace Brandle, Chloe Willis, Jillian Bailey, Alyssa Young, Hannah Cassada and Caitlyn Tyree.

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