By Ken Hansard
The McAuley Catholic High School boys’ cross-country team would appear to be building something special. Part of that must be attributed to the fact that the Warriors’ head coach, Andy Youngworth, like most good coaches, understands that building culture is of vital importance. “While difficult, we try not to emphasize wins or losses or championships to determine the success of our season. Obviously, we would like to achieve those things, but we truly want all of our athletes to reach their personal goals and potential spiritually, academically, and athletically.”
Building culture usually entails building a strong foundation. Coach Youngworth, who is in his fourth season as the Warriors head coach and his 31st overall, points to his community and his staff, “We have a great staff and very supportive parents who have really bought into what we are trying to accomplish. Darbi Stancell returns as the head coach for the Middle School and has 30 plus years of experience, and her work is paying dividends at the high school level. Malcolm Robertson is our middle school assistant, and he brings recent state experience to the program. Ross Mollnow is our High School assistant coach. He does a great job with our core workouts.”
Of course, Coach Youngworth understands that all the parenting and coaching in the world means nothing if the kids aren’t invested. “The kids like each other and do a lot of things together outside of practice. We need everyone on board and working together. We had a great summer of off-season conditioning. The kids are anxious to improve upon last season’s performance. Most kids ran on their own when we didn’t meet, and that is a huge factor as we try to build a distance running culture. We do a lot of activities away from running that help cement the bond within the team. In the end, it helps if they like each other and can create connections that will remain for years to come.”
McAuley returns their entire team of qualifiers from last year’s squad. The Warriors are the defending Ozark 7 champions, and the team placed in the top five at state last year. There is a lot to be excited about, starting with senior Michael Parrigon, a two-time state medalist and the defending Ozark 7 and District Champion, who was additionally named to the SWCCCA All Area first Team. Other returners include seniors Grant Horinek and Cliff Nolan; juniors Trae Veer (two-time state medalist and Ozark 7- 1st team), Alex Bohachick (Ozark 7-2nd Team), Connor Taffner (Ozark 7-2nd Team), and Max Anreder, and sophomore Will Mollnow (state medalist).
And there’s more. Because of the foundation that has been laid, Coach Youngworth is now able to list depth as a key asset, “We return all ten runners from our fifth place team from state, including three All State runners. We have added 11 freshmen to the mix, and I think three or four of these guys could see some varsity action. This depth will help if we have injuries, illnesses, etc. This is the first time in my four years here where we will have competition for the top seven.”
One more thing about culture is that, to be relevant, team goals need to be easily understood and achievable. While Coach Youngworth understands that the destination is important, he also knows the journey to get there is just as important, if not more so, “We have high expectations but try to break everything up into short and long-term goals. To attain these goals, we talk about winning the day and not worrying too much about November. Our goals are simple: Be a competitive team at the meets we attend; Compete for a conference and district championship; Make it to the podium as a team, and most importantly…. Everyone improves as a runner and a person.”
