Competition is stiff for the Talawanda High School cross country teams this fall and much of it comes during the week of practice getting ready for weekend meets.

Numbers are up for the Talawanda harriers and while the top few running spots are taken, there is heavy competition for the remaining slots. Coach Dale Plank said the girls teams of recent years have had significant numbers, making for a strong competition for the places in the meets on Saturdays, and this year the numbers are also up for the boys team.

“The competition is a nice situation for a coach,” Plank said. “It’s more difficult for the kids. They are used to having a spot sewed up, but all members of the team support each other and are motivated. It’s good to see how they have come on and have progressed.”

One name missing much of this season from the top of the running roster is junior Jessica Tegge, a two-time defending league champion. She is hampered by a foot problem and has not been running much, but Plank said he hopes the problem will be corrected in time to allow her to run in the inaugural Southwest Ohio Conference championship at Harrison on Oct. 13 and the district meet at Welcome Stadium Oct. 20.

In her absence Plank said the younger runners have stepped up and performed well, led by junior Sarah Starrett, who Plank said, “stepped confidently into the number 1 spot.” Running close behind is her younger sister, sophomore Jessica Starrett.

The team’s third and fourth runners are seniors Sophi Dilek and Bristyl Webb, who is out for cross country for the first time. Freshman Grace Huddleston, usually a swimmer and ice skater, came out for the team at Plank’s request and has been getting stronger, including a fourth-place finish among Talawanda runners in last Saturday’s meet hosted by Covington Catholic at DeVou Park. Another runner challenging for a position is foreign exchange student Angelique Burrey.

Junior Matt Snell is the top runner for the boys team, continuing a strong season from last year, when he was conference runner-up for the second year in a row.

“Matt has been our top runner every meet this year,” Plank said. “The next two are seniors Jacob Hogg and Dillon deMedeiros. They have consistently been our top three and all three were in the top 20 at Cov Cath.”

Like the girls’ team, the boys have their top spots largely taken with a strong contingent vying for the remaining spots each week.

“Tripp Webb is in his first cross country season as a senior and each week he drops a significant amount of time. He is becoming critical in team placing,” the coach said.

Also jockeying for those spots are seniors Kyle Schlade, Bobby Bennett, Ian deMedeiros and Thomas Schlueter; sophomores Ethan Coffin, Cyrus Green and Zach Ramsey; and freshmen Turner Rollins and Sam Garver.

In their most recent action last Saturday both teams took first place in Covington, Ky. It was the second straight first-place finish for the boys’ team.

In the girls race, Talawanda placed four runners in the top 25 led by Sarah Starrett at sixth. Setting the pace for the boys was Snell, who battled for the lead over much of the race before settling for second place. Hogg and Dillon deMedeiros also captured individual awards for their 11th and 12th place finishes.

Next up for the Braves is the Bellbrook Invitational on Saturday.