ROGERS -- Carlton Efurd has coached a lot of good cross country teams at Rogers High over the years.
In his 25 years as the Mounties coach, Efurd has guided the team to 17 state championships, including a string of seven-straight Class 7A titles from 2002-2008. Rogers will enter the 2014 season as the defending Class 7A champions and this group of runners could be the best team Efurd has coached.
Rogers High Schedule
Date^Race^Time
Aug. 23^Rogers Eliminator Run^7 a.m.
Aug. 30^Marcus Invitational, Denton, Texas^8 a.m.
Sept. 6^Elkins^9 a.m.
Sept. 13^Forest Park Invitational, St. Louis^10:30 a.m.
Sept. 20^Missouri Southern, Joplin^10 a.m.
Sept. 27^Rim Rock Classic, Lawrence, Kan.^11 a.m.
Oct. 4^Chile Pepper, Fayetteville^10 a.m.
Oct. 18^Lake Hamilton Invitational^9:30 a.m.
Oct. 28^Mountie Classic/7A-West Conference^3:30 p.m.
Nov. 8^Class 7A State, Hot Springs^TBA
Rogers returns its top six runners from last year's championship team and those top six will be tested weekly by a deep roster. Milesplit.com just recently picked the Mounties as the preseason No. 1 team in the five-state Southeast Region.
"On paper, this is one of our best returning teams," Efurd said. "Our depth is going to be a plus."
Tops on the list of returnees are two-time All-State senior runners Jake Mankin, Ian Smith and Austin Salazar. Smith finished fourth at the state meet last fall while Salazar was in fifth, Mankin 11th.
Senior Christian Liddell earned All-State honors last year as a junior after a third-place finish at the state meet while sophomore Jessie Ramirez was named All-State after finishing in ninth at state.
Senior Taylor Bryant earned All-State honors as a sophomore but the senior was injured most of last season and finished 93rd at the Class 7A meet, which was his first race back after being sidelined for two months with a stress fracture.
Seniors Josh Neago and Braden Sims and junior Jesse Garcia also have the potential to crack the top five.
"Our senior class is so strong this year," Efurd said. "They have worked their tails off this summer and they have come back in great shape. Our top seven are solid right now. We didn't lose anybody from last year's group."
Lady Mounties
The Rogers girls team is also deep and experienced after finishing third at the Class 7A State Meet last fall.
Senior Lauren Harrell and junior Lisa Lauschke each have been named All-State the last two years while senior Braelyn Smith was All-State last year. Seniors Claudia Cichy, Jordan Maass and Sydney Dorch also return.
"We have five returning seniors back, and our top seven are back," Efurd said. "They are real solid too. We were third last year, and they were just eight points out of first place. These girls are pretty hungry right now. They are working hard and one of our goals is to win a state championship."
Freshman Emily Efurd may be elevated to the varsity squad for added depth.
"We are still debating that right now," Coach Efurd said. If she can help us on the varsity level and be in that top five and be solid, we may just run her all year with the varsity level."
Rogers starts the season August 23 at the Frisco Festival Eliminator 5K Run in downtown Rogers.
Sports on 08/17/2014