The Baltic Bulldog cross country teams had some top three and four finishes last season as well as two individual state qualifiers, and head coach Rory Lavalliere is hoping to build on that success this season.
Senior Elizabeth Hockenberry, juniors Sadey Holt, Meredith Larson, and Hailey Tiahrt, and eighth-grader Alexis Klein return from last season for the girls team. “We feel that our girls squad is coming in with a lot of experience and will hope to be high placers at every meet competition. I feel that our girls team is the most competitive that I have had the opportunity to coach. Many of the girls are coming off a very successful track season, and I feel that we will be competing hard at all of the meets. We are focused on Conference and Regions to get a girls team to state,” said Lavalliere.
For the boys team, state qualifier Kyle Gronewold (junior) returns with senior Jack Wilde. This year’s boys team is very young and has some runners who are new to cross country. “I feel that with our boys team, the key is to rebuild and grow. We lost quite a bit of seniors, and we have many young and new faces, only two with varsity experience. The first few days give me hope that we can grow as a team and build confidence moving forward,” added Lavalliere.
