By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
North Platte has enjoyed a string of successful seasons in running sports lately, particularly on the girls' side.
The Panthers took second in girls' state track this past May in Jefferson City. Prior to that, the girls' cross country team put together its second consecutive second place finish at the state meet in Columbia in November 2020.
North Platte finished second in Class 2 girls' cross country last year- the highest finish at state at the Class 2 level for any North Platte sport.
As Brendan Cary enters his 10th season as coach, he can't help but be appreciative of what his student-athletes have achieved in recent seasons.
"That's what's nice about having consistency and culture that's sort of engrained in them," Cary said. "It's really easy to get those kids to know what they're supposed to do, and know the expectations as well as, with the newer ones, get them in and on board pretty quickly."
Cary has a total of 13 runners out for cross country this year, including six girls who were on the state qualifying team last fall.
Junior Jessa Cassity led her team in that state meet with a 19th place finish in a field of 161 runners.
"I would say we're pretty confident in ourselves," said Cassity, who also finished 3rd at state track in the girls' 4x800 meter relay. "I think we're ready for this season. We're going to try and do better this season than we did last season, but we're really excited."
The Panthers do lose Madison O'Neill from last year's team. O'Neill finished 25th at the state cross country meet and went on to win four silver medals at the state track meet in May.
A two-time state cross country qualifier, O'Neill is continuing her track career at the University of Alabama. She may no longer be in Dearborn, but O'Neill showed a strong work ethic that her teammates hope to mimic this coming season.
"She just showed us how to work hard and never give up," said junior Shelby Lingle, who finished 61st at last year's state cross country meet. "Even if we're struggling. She was a great leader."
Cary acknowledges that O'Neill was a big loss, but he has high confidence that those coming back, particularly juniors Cassity, Lingle and Alaina Scroggins, and senior Jenna Cassity, can help set the tone in 2021.
"It's huge that those kids know what's going on," Cary said, "and they're there for the kids who are new to it, or haven't had that experience quite as much. For them to go, 'Hey, you can do this. It's not something to be scared of. It's something to be excited for.'"
Scroggins, who finished 30th at last year's state meet, says having Coach Cary back is just as important.
"He teaches us a lot," she said. "Not only about being a better runner, but being a better person, and it just connects really well and helps us grow as runners and as people."
The Panthers open the season with their home meet on August 31 before coming to Missouri Western on September 4.
There'll be a lot of running in practice between now and that first meet, but Cary says getting ready for the season is just as much mental as it is physical.
"How do we get better every day?" Cary said. "And that includes meets. That includes practices. I think our kids have that growth mindset, and that's what we really push on them is the idea to have a growth mindset. Keep getting better every day, and that's what we will push for them."
Listen to the interview with Coach Cary and Alaina Scroggins, Jessa Cassity and Shelby Lingle here.
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