Can the Mules conquer the Man Maker?
Poplar Bluff's most difficult meet of the season is just two weeks away at Sioux Passage High School, which Poplar Bluff coach Beth Lewis said was the most difficult in Missouri and a top 10 course in the country.
"It is just tough. It is not a forgiving course. I think the kids saw that on there and it was motivation for them to really push," Lewis said.
Added senior Katelyn Moeller, who ran at Sioux Passage two years ago, "It is almost as bad as people say. The Man Maker is a struggle to get up the second time. Everything in you wants you to stop, but you have to push yourself to keep going up it. Your legs are so sore, it is so hard to pick your legs up ... Everything your coach ever says just starts playing in your mind and you say every encouraging thing you can just to keep yourself going."
For their part, Lewis said the Mules came into the season wanting to work harder than she was anticipating.
"We have been working very hard right out of the get. Typically you ease into it. There is a different mentality and a different personality to this team. They are wanting to get tougher and work harder, so we are just going with it," Lewis said. "Usually we get a feel for the athletes and where we are at and what kind of work they have put in for the summer. They basically came up and told me they want to get better from previous years.
They know what type of workouts they need to make themselves better and they are asking for it. We are making sure we are incorporating it."
Lewis highlighted Moeller as an example of a runner who worked hard during the summer. Moeller said she would run about 4-5 miles every day, and then as the season got closer, increased that to 7-8 miles a day and added some strength training, as well. Her times in the beginning would be around 10 minutes per mile, and she pushed it as low as 6:30 at some points.
"I probably could have gone faster, but I wanted to keep it there to give me a good base to start harder training," said Moeller, who wants to get her 5K time under 20 minutes by the end of the season.
On the boys side, Jaden Deaton may lead the group.
"He is a young powerhouse and works really hard in the offseason, does his AAU Track & Field, getting his miles in," Lewis said.
With about 25 runners on the team, Lewis said this is a group that is running together and could produce some good team scores.
"Cross Country can go either way, you can have some great individuals, you can have a great team or you can have a little bit of both. I have definitely seen a lot more pack running, which is an advantage to scoring team points. We are not so spread out, talent-wise," Lewis said. "We have a good group of second year runners, whether it is sophomores or juniors or seniors. Usually it is your second year runners who are the ones who see the most improvement overall ... We have a lot of them on the team so anything is possible."