ROGERS -- A Wisconsin move-in has made a good Rogers High cross country team even better.
Rogers coach Carlton Efurd said before the start of school he was confident that the Lady Mounties would make a push for a Class 7A state championship. A lot of that belief was based on the fact that Rogers returned five seniors and its top seven runners from a team that finish in third place and just eight points out of first place at the Class 7A State Meet last fall.
Player Profile
Olivia Groeber
School: Rogers High
Class: Junior
Notable: Moved to Rogers from Wisconsin in August. … Finished 23rd at the Wisconsin Division 3 State Meet last year. … Has run a 20:01 this year and has consistently been in the Lady Mounties top five runners.
Shortly after school began, Efurd's confidence increased a little more as the Lady Mounties depth and experience increased when Olivia Groeber enrolled at Rogers. Groeber finished in 23rd place at the Wisconsin Division 3 State Cross Country Meet last year and the junior hasn't missed a beat with her new team.
Groeber was the fourth Rogers runner to finish last week at the prestigious Rim Rock Classic as the Lady Mounties won the Varsity Crimson Division. Groeber ran her best race of the year at Missouri Southern (20:01) as the second Rogers runner to finish and she clocked a 20:17 at a meet in St. Louis.
"Olivia is an awesome addition to the team," Efurd said. "Her work ethic is impeccable and she has fit in with the other girls from day one. Attitude is awesome. She is more of a strength runner rather than a speed runner. She doesn't mind getting up and down hills. She is tough competitor that runs an even pace.
"Olivia's goal is to break 20 minutes, and with the way she has been training she will get to under 20 minutes."
Groeber faced solid competition back in Wisconsin and she said the transition to a new school, coach and teammates was an easy one. Groeber will look to break the 20-minute mark Saturday when Rogers competes in the Chile Pepper Classic in Fayetteville.
"Everyone was so friendly when I got here," Groeber said. "I think I will be able to break 20 this year, hopefully even get into the (19)30s. I think the Chile Pepper will be a fast race, so hopefully that time will come."
Groeber ran for a small school in Kenosha, Wisconsin and she often had to train the boys team. Running against female competition has helped her improve, she said.
"It's been nice to have some girls to run with," Groeber said. "It's nice having some one from your team push you."
Efurd expects the Lady Mounties to have a strong showing Saturday.
"We look forward to this meet all year," Efurd said. "The girls have been a big surprise. I thought we were going to be a good team, but they have been more competitive that I expected. Last week at Rim Rock, the girls had an 18-second split from one through five. I don't think I have had any team run under 20 seconds one through five."
The Mounties will also be competing Saturday and Efurd expects the Mounties to be at full strength. Jake Mankin and Jesse Ramirez have both been slowed by hip injuries.
"I think they will both be ready to go at 100 percent," Efurd said. "We are as close to 100 percent as we have been all year."
Christian Liddell has been the Mounties leader this fall and the senior has drawn interest from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.
"Christian is having a great year right now," Efurd said. "He is running with confidence and he is in good shape."
Sports on 10/02/2014