Everybody’s back for Mount Vernon-Lisbon girls’ cross country

MOUNT VERNON — Sometimes, a complete workout just isn’t enough.

“Someone will usually say, ‘Let’s do one more,’” Evelyn Moeller said.

One more rep. One more mile.

One more opportunity to get a little closer to the top step of the podium at the Lakeside Golf Course clubhouse in November.

Ranked No. 2 in the preseason Iowa Association of Track Coaches Class 3A girls’ cross country ratings, Mount Vernon-Lisbon returns all seven of its varsity runners from last year’s state runner-up team.

Pella, the defending champion, brings back five. The Dutch are ranked No. 1.

“Like I told the team, we can’t control any of that, what other teams are doing, or what they’ve got back,” MV-L Coach Kory Swart said.

“They’re going to do what they’re going to do. We’ve got to get better each day and see where that takes us.”

The first order of business, Swart said, is to get everybody healthy. Sophomore Eastin Whisner (the Mustangs’ No. 2 runner at state) and Edith Dawson (“She had a great summer,” Swart said), first and foremost.

Senior Emrie Johnson, who led the Mustangs with a 20th-place finish at state, is playing catch-up, too.

“The last couple of weeks before practice, I was on a mission trip in Colorado and didn’t get a lot of miles,” she said. “I got a little behind. But I’ll catch up.”

There’s not much room for error within Mount Vernon-Lisbon’s roster.

It’s that deep.

“We have about 12 runners, maybe as many as 15, that have the potential to be varsity,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely competitive. Everybody wants a spot on the varsity. We have to remember, it’s not a race in practice.”

Whisner said, “The bar has been raised significantly. People go the extra mile, and everybody else is following.”

Johnson, Whisner, Kiersten Swart and Moeller finished in the top 40 at state last year. Abbie Moss, Rose Pisarik and Cora Smith completed the Mustangs’ roster in Fort Dodge.

A pair of juniors, Dawson and Claire Jensen could figure prominently in a lineup that figures to be fluid from one week to the next.

“Last year, we didn’t know who our No. 1 would be from meet to meet. It could be somebody different each meet, and it could be that way again this year,” Coach Swart said. “That helps us be at our best.”

Moeller has a significant running pedigree. Her mother, Erin Moeller, developed into an elite runner as an adult.

Her aunt, Ellen (Ries) Davis, was the Gazette Female Athlete of the Year in 2005 at North Linn, and won 13 state track championships (without a defeat), and two cross country crowns.

“My mom would run with me growing up,” Moeller said. “My aunt is my go-to for nutrition questions.”

For a mid-sized school (OK, schools), Mount Vernon-Lisbon runs an extremely healthy cross country program. Both the girls and the boys have 30 runners out this fall.

The boys were eighth at state last year.

Mount Vernon-Lisbon opens its season Tuesday with a home invitational, the first milepost of a 9 1/2-week push.

“We’re trying to get good workouts in now, because they’re hard to come by once the meets get going,” Coach Swart said.

More meets, fewer practices. And fewer opportunities for that phrase that Swart loves to hear:

“One more.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com