By Zach Cantalice, WKTV intern
Wyoming’s The Potter’s House Christian High School started their cross country program last year but their success looked like an established program which has been winning for years.
Coach Kristopher Koster led the first-year high school boys’ team to the state finals, where his team made a statement about their arrival. The Potter’s House boy’s team finished 6th overall as a team in all of Division 4.
But this season, like many other sports and teams around the area, cross country is tasked with adjusting to the changes caused by Covid-19, according to coach Koster.
For starters, warmups for events have been cut down to as short as 15 minutes for a race. The limit of competitors has also been cut down to 70 racers. Each school races their top seven runners so this new rule limits 10 teams to a race at a time. Bigger cross country meets are now splitting up meets over a long day or even multiple days to complete the meet.
“Teams now have team boxes their team must stand in at the starting line,” Koster told WKTV. “Each team box has a box or two to separate a team from another team.”
“This trend of separating teams also occurs at the finish line,” he said. “Usually following the race, teams would gather together and have an award ceremony to hand out medals and team awards. COVID-19 has eliminated award ceremonies as medals are handed out as soon as you finish your race. After being handed your award, you are required to immediately go to your team’s bus and leave. Teams are not permitted to even do a cool-off jog on the site of the meet.”
Coach Koster also said that “most meets have no spectators due to the difficulty regulating two guests per runner. If the meet sees a spectator from your team then they will disqualify your team.”
Despite changes, coach and team expects success
Even with all the changes, coach Koster is confident in his team’s ability to have continued success.
The Potter’s House top three boys’ team returners — senior Andrew Blum and sophomores Moses Osterink and Logan Swiney — are expected to be big for this year’s team.
Coach Koster says the there make the team “so much better from last season that it’s almost like we have three guys who maybe aren’t as good as Caleb Stout last year. But it could be. by the end of the year, instead of just having the one guy who consistently finished at the top of races.”
The boys team, overall, has high goals for this season.
“I am confident we can place much higher in states,” another senior, Eli Hart, said to WKTV.
Coach Koster also coaches the girls’ cross country at the high school and the middle school team at the elementary school. The girls’ high school team had one runner, Ester Cole, attend the state finals last year. But the girls hope to attend as a team this season.
“Our team goal, the girls want to go to states,” Erika VerBeek said.
Coach Koster has also installed a mindset into this team to push each other everyday, no matter what your spot on this team is.
“If the 12th guy gets better that pushes the 11th guy and the dominoes keep falling all the way to the top,” coach Koster said. “Everyone has an impact.”
This mindset has connected with his runners.
“We are trying to become stronger runners, stronger people, and stronger followers of Christ,” said Joshua Lundberg.
