Boys Cross Country Focusing Inward, Building Preseason Confidence

Shine a light on issues that matter—support local news with your gift today. DECORAH – The Decorah boys cross country team placed fourth at state last year and returns eight seniors and 13 juniors from that group, along with 14 sophomores. The team welcomes 12 freshmen. Coach Brad Johansen says the team has "talented runners in every grade. This will make for great competition within the team. It will also promote a highly competitive team at meets this season." This preseason, the team has been focused inward—building confidence among this new group and helping those runners to believe in their ability. Coach Johansen says this is a focus: "Our ability to believe in our training and come out on top of the mid-race mental challenges." And running, in addition to being physically demanding, is, according to most high-level runners, "all mental." If the team can stay focused on staying positive about their training, Johansen says they could see positive results late in the season. "Very exciting times ahead. Many runners put the time in last spring running and this summer training. Staying healthy and injury-free will be our limiting factors this season. When we are healthy and injury-free we will be a top-notch Class 3A team." The team kicks off its season Aug. 25 at Waverly. Full schedule and more information about the team can be found here. Stay ahead of the curve! Subscribe to free newsletters for exclusive insights, local trends and analysis delivered straight to your inbox.