2024 OnFocus Season Preview: Cadott Cross Country
School:Cadott Coaches: Dan Yeager, Kat Waldera, Pat Rothbauer
Coach’s Information-I am a Cadott alum who ran for Coach Tom Weiss my senior year. We made it to the team state meet for the first time since the 1980’s when John Morgal won an individual state title. That year was a great experience and helped build mental toughness and prepare me for my time in the military. I learned a great deal about respect and effort during my time running for Coach Weiss.
Coach Pat Rothbauer has been the Assistant Coach for many years and will help me as I learn the ropes of being a head coach. He coached our football team to a state title in 2000!
Coach Katherine Waldera is in her first year as an Assistance Coach and is excited to help guide our program to continued success. She teaches 5th grade and has strong rapport with all students in our Elementary building.
Overall Record at School: Last year both our girls’ and boys’ teams placed 5th at the Sectional. Our girls will have all starters returning except for Jaycee Stephens, which is a big loss as she was our 1 or 2 runner each week. Our boys return all starters and we are comprised of mostly sophomores.
This is my first year as a cross country coach at the school and first year overall as a head coach.
Overall outlook and Comments on players who may/should provide team leadership:
Cadott’s Cross Country program finds itself filling a huge void as Coach Tom Weiss retired after serving as the program leader for over two decades! That being said, he continues to use his knowledge to help those he hands the torch to. While Coach Dan Yeager and Coach Kat Waldera (Lyons) are new to the program, they join veteran Coach Pat Rothbauer, which should make the transition manageable.
Coach Yeager ran for Coach Weiss back in 2003 and is excited to give back to the community and program that helped shape his character and values. He states that both the boys’ and girls’ teams are in unique positions and many athletes have been putting in time over summer in hopes of meeting lofty goals. The boys’ program will be sophomore heavy as Jon Phelps will lead the team alongside his tenth grade peers: Garrett Engel, Klayton Handrick, Beau Steinke, Kaden Roen, and Max Demulling. Freshman Jacob Pilgrim possesses a great deal of maturity and shows promise as he looks to make an impact as the sole incoming Freshman. Junior runner Saibyn Will recorded the fastest race times last year and has the ability to greatly impact the overall team score. With so few runners on the boys’ team it will be extremely important to work smart and minimize the risk of injury.
On the girls’ side there is a great deal to be excited about, as well. This group has a lot of experience on its side, represented by five seniors: Mckenna Steinke, Adrianna Goodman, Mia Weggen, Lyla Weggen, and Cortney Weggen. Iszy Sonnentag will be called to lead and is joined by her Junior classmates Josie Roth and Marley Mengel. Sophomore Tessa York and Freshman Saffron Riley-Starck will look to make an immediate impact on the squad this year.
Who are some key losses are from last year’s team?
All starters are returning for the girls except for Jaycee Stephens, this is a big loss as she was a team leader and one of our top performers weekly.
Our boys’ team has all starters returning.
What are your goals for the upcoming season?
The number one goal for the Cadott Cross Country program will always be to build character and ensure respect and hard work. We value effort over outcome and welcome anyone who wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
We want all athletes to maintain a GPA of 3.1 or higher.
In regard to our team goals on the course, the goal for both the boys’ and girls’ teams is to make the state meet. Last year the girls took 5th at the sectional, and the entire team is returning apart from Jaycee Stephens. The boys also placed 5th in last year’s sectional and will have all runners returning.
What are your thoughts on the conference race and how do you see your team fit into the picture?
We plan to be hitting our stride and challenging the top teams. That being said, we know our conference is full of talented teams. Our target is to improve on our 5th place (boys) and 4th place (girls) finishes last year. We want to win on and off the course and know the importance of focusing on one practice at a time.
Do you have any athletes/other aspects of your team you feel would make for a good feature story? Why?Anything else important to know about your team?
It’s important that we welcome anyone who wants to run, not just those who have experience or are gifted. Athletics are an opportunity to build character, leadership, resiliency, and friendships. When respect and effort are valued over outcomes you will have character-building and student buy-in. I am also one of our 14 Youth Wrestling coaches and with this mindset I have watched our program grow from 40 youth wrestlers 4k-5th to 130 in just a few years. When student-athletes know that you value them for their effort and character they will make huge gains, this is what our program is founded on. This year we will create a running club for our elementary boys to match our “Girls on the Run” program that Mrs. April Mathison has directed for the last several years. It’s a great day to be a Hornet!
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
