The Montgomery County cross country team will look to turn in another strong season this fall as it returns four runners from last year.

Seniors Katlyn Kolling and Taylor River and juniors Olivia Spurgeon and Jacob Roesner are the returning runners for the Wildcats, who lost four runners from last year’s team to graduation, including two-time all-state medalist Jadrian Thurmon.

MCHS has a total of just eight runners on its team, six of them are girls. Joining Kolling, River and Spurgeon on the girls team are junior Austyn Robinson, senior Baileigh Nichols and freshman Anna Johnson. Joining Roesner on the boys team is junior Noah Lacy.

Chasity Rodgers returns as the head coach this fall after a one-year hiatus. She’s in her second stint as head coach. She headed the team for 12 years before stepping down in 2024. Bruce Powers was the coach last year.

River, an all-EMO performer in her freshman season, hopes to have an injury-free senior year dealing with stress fractures in her shins that she first suffered as a sophomore. Last year, she ran four meets, including the EMO meet, where she placed 21st with a 25:39. River is back for her fourth season with the Wildcats.

Kolling, who joined the team when she was a sophomore, ran in five meets in 2024. She earned a medal at the Wellsville-Middletown Invitational after placing fourth. She ran a season-best 25:57 at the EMO meet.

Spurgeon is a two-time all-EMO performer. Last year, she finished seventh with a personal-best 22:49 at the conference meet after coming in 14th the year before. Spurgeon is in her third year with the team.

Roesner ran in six meets last year. He earned a medal at the W-M Invitational with a team-best 10th place finish. He ran a season-best time of 19:41 at the district meet in Fulton.

Rodgers has high hopes for Roesner, who joined the team when he was a freshman.

“Jacob Roesner has been working very, very hard this summer,” Rodgers said. “He was two seconds off of his PR when he came in and did his mile time trial. He took out with confidence, too. That’s different for him to get out there and be confident in himself. I definitely think his training this summer gave him some confidence.”

Robinson, an all-Eastern Missouri Conference performer in her freshman year, is back on the team this fall after not competing a year ago. Nichols also returns to the Wildcats after not running in 2024.

The Wildcats will begin their season on Friday at the Fort Zumwalt North Twilight Invitational at the St. Louis Youth Soccer Association Complex in St. Charles.

The girls will run at 8:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 9 p.m.

MCHS returns to St. Charles on Sept. 5 for the First Capital Meet. The team will also compete in meets at Linn (Sept. 13), Wellsville-Middletown (Sept. 22), Gans Creek (Sept. 27), Orchard Farm (Oct. 9) and Bowling Green (Oct. 24) and the EMO conference meet on Oct. 18 at Bowling Green.