A-J girls’, boys’ cross country teams preparing for opener at Murphysboro

The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are gearing up for their season opener, which is set for Wednesday, Aug. 31, at Murphysboro.

A-J cross country head coach Matt Denny said he sees team depth as a key for the girls’ team. 

“We’ll be competitive because we’ve got a lot of depth on the girls’ side,” Denny said.”

Senior runners include Brodie Denny and Kaylee Stover. The team had high expectations for Denny last year, but she became sick toward the end of the season. She comes into the 2022 season in good health.

Juniors are Bree Hazelrigg, Lakelyn Carter and Alexandria Keller. The lone sophomore is Zoe Jones. Freshmen are Maggie Gooden, Raegan Jones and Reese Jones.

“If we stay healthy we’ve got a good chance to be pretty good,” Denny said. ‘’We have some lofty goals.”

Boys Rebuilding

The A-J boys will be in a rebuilding mode this season.

“We lost some good ones last year,” Denny said. ‘’But we should be decent.’’

Seniors on the squad include returning starters Zack Henry and Yovani Carrillo. Senior Matteo Vaca Diez also is running.

Juniors include Lucas Hoehner and Eric Chen. Sophomores are Logan Abernathy, Lucas Vaca Diez, Dalton Cobb and Ryder Ottolini.