Cole Nowacki had individual success last season, qualifying for the Minnesota Class A state high school cross country meet with his 12th-place finish in the Section 8A meet.
Nowacki's times are faster than a year ago. And the enjoyment level has risen for the sophomore.
"It's a lot more fun,'' Nowacki said. "We're not showing up as incomplete on team scores any more. We're working together as a team. It pushes you to get better, training together and encouraging each other.''
Numbers have been a struggle for the East Grand Forks Senior High boys cross country in recent seasons. But, for the first time since 2013, Senior High is running a full lineup of five athletes in regular-season meets.
And the Green Wave are having some success. They finished second in their first four meets before taking an incomplete lineup to Bagley on Tuesday.
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"We've been competitive in every meet,'' Wave coach Kirk Misialek said. "Our goal was to put a full team together, to not be an incomplete score. It (success) has been very surprising.''
There are no seniors, only one junior (Sakariye Ismail) and two sophomores (Nowacki and Nico Campoverde), on the 14-athlete roster.
"We were going to run most of the boys in junior-high meets and maybe move them up for the section meet at the end of the season,'' Misialek said. "We thought it would be good for them, to have some fun and some success at that level.
"They put in the work over the summer. They put in a lot of miles. And we've built on that.''
Nowacki and freshman Tyson Mahar have led the way, both consistently getting top-five places in races.
"Cole's times are ahead of last year's meets at this time,'' Misialek said. "He's quite a bit better. That comes from his hard work. Tyson has really surprised us. He played football before switching to cross country last year. He's running well.''
Ismail and eighth-graders Dawson McDonald and Jonathan Krueger have rounded out the top five in meets.
Wave girls excelling
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The Senior High girls cross country team is building off last season's fifth-place finish in the Section 8A meet.
The Green Wave, who had only one senior last season, won team title in their first five meets, including Tuesday's win in a meet at Bagley in a field that included the state's No. 2-ranked team, Perham.
Marin Garrett, McKenna Langerud and Lydia Floden consistently have been top-five placers in meets, while Quincie Floden and McKenna Garrett consistently have finished in the top 10.
None of the five are seniors.
"It's been about balance,'' Misialek said. "They run well as a pack.
"It's been pretty crazy. We expected to have some success with all the girls we had back. But they've still had to go out and perform, and they have.''
