As part of the Prep Sports interview process we ask every coach to share some details about their players. The Cardinals Head Coach Dustin Miller gave shoutouts to the following players.

Most Valuable Player:

Brooke Hedger –

“Brooke is coming off of a 4th place finish in the state 800m and looks to compete for a top spot at the state cross country meet. Brooke has great foot speed, which made the 400 & 800 an easier transition for her. It took most of the year for Brooke to learn how to succeeded at the longer distances & she is really crushing workouts this summer.”

Evan Stevens –

“Evan is a joy to coach. He is dedicated, consistent & tough. He is a wonderful teammate and a great student. Evan is coming off of a phenomenal junior campaign. Evan finished 11th in cross country, 5th in the 1600 & a state title in the 3200. He has had a great summer of training and has his eyes set on a state champion this fall.”

Underclassman To Watch:

Emma Mckinzie –

“Emma dedicated herself to consistent training starting in junior high. She has excellent focus, grit & determination. She is a sweet young lady always willing to give her best effort. I’m very excited to see how she performs at the high school level.”

Note: Freshmen Olivia Klotz & Mia Antillon will challenge for out number 3 spot. Freshmen Hadley White (heart) & Araceli Perez (ACL) will both be contributors, but have had significant training time missed due to injuries.

Noah Lankard –

“Noah struggled with the transition to high school training last fall (freshman year), then he started coming into his own over the winter training period. He had a very good track season & looks to build on that success this fall. I look for Noah to challenge for our number 3 spot most of the year.”

Note: We also have 2 more solid sophomores, Andrew Dawson & Fen Rice. They will be in the mix to be our number 3 most of the year as well.

Unsung Hero:

Emily Countryman –

“Emily is a senior who has been extremely consistent training through her high school career. She has battled illness & physical ailments throughout her career, which has made it difficult for her to achieve her potential. This spring she had a major break through with large pr’s in the 1600 & 3200. She has carried this momentum into summer training. She is a quiet young lady, but she is gritty as a runner. She is starting to believe that she is a threat to be reckoned with.”

Spencer Kendall –

“Spencer is our only JR on the team. Spencer has come a long way over the past two seasons. Spencer is great at suffering. The kid knows how to hurt and it motivates his teammates to give their best effort. Spencer will be battling his teammates to score points for the team this fall.”

Character Counts Athlete:

Rachel Miller –

“Rachel is a wonderful young lady. She is a model student, super consistent in training, goal oriented & always willing to lead her teammates. Rachel came out of nowhere to have a solid sophomore cross country season. She is always physically and mentally ready to compete. She is willing to do anything to help our team achieve our maximum potential.”

Andrew Dawson –

“From the moment Andrew moved in last fall, he has been a positive, consistent, character kid for our program. He is a great student, leader & role model for our community. We are blessed that the Dawson family moved from RayPec school district. They have been a asset to our community & I look forward to many more years with this family.”

Under-Recruited:

Mason Hedger –

“Mason is a returning all stater in cross country, but low iron caused him to struggle in his junior year track campaign. He’s had a great summer of training and look forward to watching him race this fall. I’m hoping he can break 16min in the 5k to join a very short list in our program history.”