ABOVE: Front row (l-r): Reese Fenske, Annabelle Watson, Delaney Klug, Addison Lintleman, Carys Gudahl, Samantha Domeier, Rylee Maday, Jaydon Putney, Cole Hanson, Devin Hanson. Back row (l-r): Holly Neusch, Jen Kahler, Macy Hanson, Paige DeBoer, Norah Traetow, Cooper Gudahl, Matthew Senneff, Eli Winter, Andrew Haugen, Michael Hamlet, Andrew Moeller, Stew Murfield.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont cross-country team has a fresh roster coming into the season.

With the loss of Gavin Artner and an additional six seniors graduating, however, new faces will need to step up and lead this year.

Despite the graduated leaders, Fairmont head cross-country coach Stew Murfield still believes he has a squad of solid runners that just haven’t been tested yet.

“We’re just going to have to get them improved as they go along,” Murfield said. “I got three seventh-grade girls that could be good, but that won’t be until the end of the year.”

The early season will be focused primarily on development of the new additions. Consistent improvement is the goal in mind. This season will also have to be treated as somewhat of a rebuild in order to return to the state cross-country meet sooner rather than later.

“We’ll have a couple of good runners up front,” Murfield said. “We’ll just have to see how they do. Mostly, we’ll run smaller teams.”

The team is not completely new with the return of senior Macy Hanson, juniors Jaydon Putney and Carys Gudahl, and sophomore Cooper Gudahl, who are all set to be competitive right away.

“We got fourth last year at the state [meet],” Murfield said. “She [Hanson] got third in the two-mile track. She is rated No. 2 so far, beginning of the year now.”

The team will be relying on the veteran runners who have a bit more experience at the varsity level as the younger runners find their footing and adjust to the courses. Murfield stated that it’s hard to make a judgment on a team this new this early.

“Team-wise, it’s hard to say right now until we get into a couple races and see how it’s

going. But, I mean, we don’t have a state-bound team,” Murfield said. “So, you never know until you get going, especially with this few kids. Some kids might step up, and some might not.”

The loss of runners is a major factor in the team’s outlook for the season. Fielding a roster of just 23, Murfield cited several runners chose to move on to other sports or opted out completely. This combined with a smaller class size, the team saw a direct impact to the roster.

The team’s first test is the Fairmont Early Bird Cross-Country Meet, which is set for 9 a.m. this Friday at the Fairmont Practice Field.