When Chasity Rodgers made her return as Montgomery County cross country coach on Aug. 11, she was looking forward to having a very early morning practice.

At about 6:30 a.m., her cross country runners were out on the track.

“I like the mornings,” Rodgers said. “I think the mornings are the best times to work out. You get it over and done and it’s cooler. For me, it’s the best time to work out. Some of their heavier workouts are going to be after school, but the first few weeks are going to be blazing hot. It is best to come in the morning and you’ll get to see the sunrise.”

The MCHS cross country team was the first Montgomery County-area squad to hold a practice on Aug. 11, which was the first day all fall sports teams across Missouri can hold practice sessions. The MCHS softball team held its first practice at 8 a.m. The MCHS football and volleyball and Wellsville-Middletown cross country and softball teams held their practices in the afternoon.

This fall, the Montgomery County area has three new coaches. Matt Smith takes over head coaching duties for the Wildcats’ football team, replacing John Klekamp, who headed the program for 15 years. Carli Bleyle replaced Rachel Leu as the MCHS volleyball coach. Skylar Durham is now heading the W-M cross country team, replacing John Slovensky.

Audra Heimer returns for her 11th season as MCHS softball coach, while Alex Thull returns for his second as W-M softball coach.

Rodgers is back for her second stint as MCHS cross country coach. She coached the program for 12 years before stepping down last fall. During her first stint as coach, she had four all-state medalists, including her oldest daughter Malia.

When her youngest daughter Emma joined the cross country team in the 2024 season, Rodgers decided to take a break from coaching.

“I thought it was difficult to coach your own kid,” Rodgers said. “When I coached Malia, she was a good kid, but it was difficult to have your own kid. I wanted to give Emma a start of her own and to be her own person without her mom as the coach.”

Emma Rodgers, who was a state qualifier last year, is concentrating on basketball this fall and is not doing cross country.

The Wildcats added several new meets to their schedule. They will start their season on Aug. 29 at the Fort Zumwalt North Twilight Invitational. The girls will run at 8:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 9 p.m.

“State is on a Friday this year, so I tried to get as many Friday meets as I could, just to get them kind of used to what it would be like to run on that Friday,” Rodgers said.

The MCHS football team kicks off its season on Aug. 29 with a road game against Hermann. Also that day, the W-M softball team starts its season with a road game against Community R-6.

On Aug. 30, the MCHS softball team will host the MCHS Fall Classic and the Wildcats’ volleyball team will compete in the Tolton Catholic Tournament.

The W-M cross country team will start its season on Sept. 8 at Van-Far.