The Tolono Unity pack will be hard to miss near the front of invitationals this season.
Head Coach: Kara Leaman
Last year's finish: State Champions
Key returners: Erica Woodard (Jr.), Olivia Shike (Jr.), Camryn Reedy (So.), Emily Decker (So.), Reagen Stringer (Jr.), Caelyn Kleparski (Jr.), Audrey Remole (Sr.), Ashlyn Denney (So.), Josie Cler (So.)
Key additions: Mackenzie Pound (Fr.), Lauren Stratton (Fr.), Katie Ruggieri (Fr.)
Summary: When the opportunity arose for the Rockets, they did not hesitate to capitalize, and executed what felt like, at the time, a massive upset over Winnebago to become state champions, repeating a feat twice done in the past decade. The dominance from the Rockets, in hindsight, made sense following their great season up to that point, and the year made for a memorable, culture-defining season.
"Last year's cross country team had a core group of senior leaders that will be hard to replace," says head coach and 3-time state champion Kara Leaman. "Two of them were top 5 for us all season and came through with monumental races at the state meet."
"What I love about our team is that we are so much more than a group of girls that race," says Olivia Shike. "When you join Unity Girls Cross Country, you join a family and a sisterhood, where you will meet lifelong friends."
Shike also framed the mission this year for the Rockets: "I think after last year, our team has our hearts set on the goal of another state championship."
The story of title defense for Unity begins with Erica Woodard. Woodard narrowly missed an all-state spot in cross country running 18:30 for 26th but made a major step forward in track running 11:17 and 5:15 in track. Woodard can be a top-10 competitor this season. The tight pack that joins her is headed by Olivia Shike who herself did finish all-state in 19th. Reagen Stringer is the last returning scorer and makes for three Unity athletes returning under 19 minutes.
Caelyn Kleparski, Audrey Remole, Emily Decker, Josie Cler and Ashlyn Denney all return as relevant contributors to the varsity squad to start the year. Last year proved thatUnity is best when each of the girls take turns filling in crucial roles. "Last year our pack was pretty tight and the top five positions were a constant shuffle," says Leaman. The Rockets also have depth coming up through the middle school pipeline. The runner-up Unity Middle School team was headlined by Mackenzie Pound, Lauren Stratton, and Katie Ruggieri. Pound was the individual champion at the 2A level and can slot fairly quickly into the strongest returning pack in the classification this year.
Title defense is never easy, but this is a group that has been there before and knows how to focus on bringing their best effort when the time is right, says Shike. "The challenge will be working as a team and handling the pressure of each race. Plus, there are a lot of really talented girls on our team making those top seven spots a challenge to get and I think our team will have to work really hard to push past comparing with each other. All in all, we are a competitive group of girls and we will need to save that competition for the course! I am so excited for this season to begin and to watch our team take its shape. It's going to be a great year!"