Northern Tier Sports Report

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NTL CROSS-COUNTRY: WYALUSING READY TO DEFEND THEIR TITLES IN 2022 (2022-08-26)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
So far this season it’s been a year of change for one of the most consistent cross-country programs in the league, as Wyalusing transitions from long time head coach Jim Schools to new coach Ellen Coates.

But it will take more than that to slip up the Rams, as both teams look to defend titles this year - the boys an NTL championship, and the girls a district title.

“I think they look really good,” said Coates. “They’re strong. They are going to have some strong competition in the league, and in the district, but I think they’re stepping up to it. We had some holes to fill from our seniors who left, but the new, younger kids coming up, and I think they’re going to step up to it.”

The girls have the most returnees, bringing back four of their top six from a year ago, including Beebe sisters Kayla and Laina.

“I am super excited coming into my senior year,” said Kayla. “I’m excited to see what I can do.”

They definitely feel the weight of that district title on their shoulders.

“It’s a little nerve wracking because there’s a lot of competition within the NTL and the district,” Kayla remarked. “But it’s also super exciting, to have that title already helps me to have something to shoot for.”

The group is also excited about what their freshmen can do.

“It’s just been neat to see the girls kind of readjust as we have new leaders,” said Coates. “I think they’re hungry, and I’m excited.”

After losing to Troy and NEB in dual meets during the regular season, it looked like the Rams might be on the outside looking in at districts, but they also bring their A-game when they need it most.

“We’ve done it multiple years,” said Kayla. “We’d lose seniors, but we still come back with a strong team.”

The boys have a little bit more holes to fill, especially losing their top two - Zion and Eleazar Laudermilch. Zion was a 2-time state medalist, who led them to an NTL title and a district second place finish a year ago.

“It’s kind of normal, we kind of filled their spots,” said senior Clayton Petlock. “I mean, it sucks to not have them here as a team, but we’ll make due.”

Coates believes the transition came last spring during track season, as they didn’t have them on the team.

“The kids look good,” said Coates. “They’ve really surprised me. They’ve done a lot of hard work over the summer, so I’m really excited to see what they do. I think that we could surprise some people, and maybe we won’t, but I’m excited. Our boys are really looking strong.”

They hope to be more of a pack team this year.

“We’re really tight together,” said Petlock.

Leagues will be tougher because they’ve been moved up to Large School, where they have to face Cowanesque Valley and Athens, but they remain steadfast. Their recent success gives them high expectations.

“It’s a lot of weight on your shoulders,” Petlock said. “It’s awesome when you achieve it, and it’s such a good feeling to hammer the workouts and know we’re going to do it.”

ROSTER

BOYS

Landen Kaufmann

Trennan Tewksbury

Clayton Petlock

Jeremy Clouser

Jake Caplan

Ethan Lewis

Johnnie Heeman

Stephen Fields

Joshua Fields

GIRLS