The Sierra Lutheran High School cross country team has some high goals entering the 2009 season.
After losing only one senior from a squad that absolutely dominated the 2A state championships last year, they simply had to push the bar up a couple notches.
"We look pretty good heading in," coach Dave Marson said. "We're solid in terms of depth. There is one ranking service out there that has us No. 2 in all of Northern Nevada behind Carson. So we want to go after Carson. It's just kind of bragging rights.
"We know them (the Senators) really well. We work out with them a lot. We want to try to pass them up this year."
For a school with an enrollment that hovers just around 75 students annually, competing with a school that boasts more than 2,500 students could seem laughable.
But not in Sierra Lutheran's case.
Last year, the Falcons' team times at state would have been good enough for fourth place in the 4A.
They would have won the 3A state title by more than three minutes.
This year, they've only gotten stronger.
"We lost a great senior (Michael Kubel, who took third at state last year), which is tough, but our overall depth is better," Marson said. "The whole team has been working on a 60-mile-a-week schedule this summer and we have high hopes this year."
The Falcons will be going to a number of prestigious meets this season, including the Stanford Invitational and the Mt. Sac Invitational. They're also hoping to make a return trip to the Foot Locker Nationals qualifier, along with some other regional meets, after the season.
At the center of last year's success and this year's high hopes is senior Wade Meddles, who posted the top time at any level at last year's state championships. That came despite having never run a cross country race before.
"Last year, Wade came in running about 15 miles a week," Marson said. "He is really running a different schedule this year. "Since last year, we've been bringing him along slow. We got him up to 40 miles and then we threw in a lifting program during track season.
"This year it's up to 60 and we're at the point where we're really just kind of preparing him for college, where they will be going 70 to 90 miles a week."
Marson said he's already seen marked improved in Meddles this fall.
"I really, really believe he will win Foot Locker nationals this year and I believe he will run under 15 minutes in the 5K," Marson said. "He could end up being the fastest kid ever out of the state of Nevada.
"He's just looking really solid overall."
As outlandish as some of those goals might seem, they aren't really that far-fetched when held up against the numbers.
Meddles won his division at Stanford last year with a 15:28. Last year's Foot Locker national champion posted a winning time of 15:15.
The focus has been on improving his kick down the stretch, which was why Marson added the weight program.
"He was right there at Foot Locker last year and he got outkicked at the end and finished 11th," Marson said. "That's the first time we thought, hey here's an area where we can improve. We started working on his strength and by track season you could really see it. He was running 63 seconds on his last 400 in the two-mile.
"It's become an area where he's confident that if he's with someone near the end, he can beat them."
Meddles' performance last year has sparked plenty of attention in the recruiting scene. Marson said he's forwarded no less than 50 letters from colleges on to Meddles. Some of the bigger players at this point appear to be Arizona, Texas A&M, Ohio and Kansas.
"He's basically just trying to see what the best fit academically will be for him," Marson said. "He wants to get into sports medicine and he's looking for the best fit. He'll go to a Division I school one way or another."
But the Falcons' success this year is not hinged solely on Meddles.
"Having Wade is a luxury, but you look behind him on the roster and there is a lot of strength there," Marson said. "I could see where we have to potential to be strong for several years to come."
Sophomoe Nathanael Williams took fourth at state as a freshman and has the potential to drop below 16 minutes this year, according to Marson.
"He's really dedicated and a very strong runner," Marson said.
Senior Preston Lyons was 11th at state last year and posted a 2:01 in the 800 last track season. Senior Levi Grabow took seventh at state last year and will be another key component for the Falcons this year.
"Those guys will all be hovering in the low 16s this season," Marson said.
Senior Andrew Deterding and junior Nathan Conover will also be back along with a strong incoming group from last year's junior varsity squad.
"We have a couple really good freshmen coming in, so we're really excited," Marson said.
Sierra Lutheran will also field its first girls' team this year, led by sophomore Becky Grabow, who qualified for state last year, and Phoebe Mark.
"We have five sophomores and two freshmen on the girls' side," Marson said. "We're really young, but our goal is to see if we can get the team to state."
