The UW-Whitewater Men’s cross-country team will go into the new season with a new but optimistic leadership with the senior runners, as this new class of senior leadership will have to take huge responsibility, as they will have to step up to fill the gaps that were left behind from last season’s leaders.
Last season had notable runners and people that the team saw as leaders, runners such as Gunner Schlender and Christian Patzka graduating last season. Guys such as Dan Anderson and Alex Metko will take their place as part of this team’s new leadership. Despite this challenge, they and the rest of this team are feeling optimistic about this new squad and season.
Senior Dan Anderson, who is playing his final year for the Warhawks, is very optimistic about his teammates.
“One of the things I’m really excited for is that my senior class is going to be a lot of the [school’s] top 7,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of been an encapsulating moment, a lot of us have been putting in work all four years, and a lot of people have been in the shadows for a while, and I think they’re really ready to blossom and pop out.”
Anderson is also excited for the younger runners in this cross-country team, as he sees a lot of juniors and sophomores stepping up to help this team as they prepare for a fresh new season.
And other players are also feeling excited for this season, such as senior Alex Metko. Metko is very excited to take on this role, as they feel ready after taking on the lessons learned from previous years.
“I think we’re very excited to take on the leadership role. We’ve really been able to step up. Freshman year, we wouldn’t have been ready for it, but we learned a lot of lessons from those older guys and each other, honestly,” said Metko. “Dan Anderson, Jonah Block, and Connor Murphy, and I are kind of ready to take this team and lead them to where the older guys have been able to lead us in the past.”
Men’s cross-county coach Jeff Miller sees this upcoming season as an exceptional one. He still believes that this team will be a competitive team despite the absence of Patzka and Schlender, and a team with a great chance to compete at the NCAA DIII Nationals.
Miller’s biggest challenge is finding out who exactly will take over from the departed senior class from last season.
“We feel pretty good, that whole group needs to step up,” Miller said. “We feel if we run to our capabilities, we have a team that’s capable of going to the nationals.”
Despite the challenges posed by Patzka and Schlender’s departure, this new face for the UW-Whitewater men’s cross country is prepared to take on the challenges that they’ll face as this new season starts. As many players see their bond with each other as their biggest strength.
“I think the biggest strength is our unity,” Metko said. “I think we really fit together [and] well. When I say we’re a family before a friend group, I really mean it.”
With confidence on their side, this Warhawk squad is prepared for this new season of cross-country.
