The Central College men’s cross country team graduated one it’s most decorated runners of all time, but the program is bigger than one man.
Even without Cole Decker, the Dutch have big expectations as they head into 2016.
Coach Joe Dunham says it starts with his captains.
“We’ve got Mark Fairley, who was the second runner (to miss) out of the steeplechase to qualify for the national meet (in track) as a sophomore. And he broke a school record that was set in 1992, and he broke it by a considerable margin. So he’s coming off a great spring. Isaac Steffensmeier is our other captain – those two guys are leading our men’s team.”
Dunham is also counting on Tanner Rathje, Taylor Donner and Kyle Pape to contend for the top 5.
One wild card is junior Jon Specht, who Dunham says was a high school stud, but has been hampered by injuires in his two years at Central. He’s healthy coming into this season, and Dunham says he could provide a big boost to the squad.
Hear more from Dunham when he joins Trevor Castle on the Central College Radio Coaches Corner Monday night at 6pm on 92.1 KRLS.