The Knoxville Cross Country Season will finally start on Monday as the Panthers head to Albia to open up the season. Knoxville had to scrap its Early Bird Meet last week due to excessively hot temperatures and both of the Coaches Splavec are looking forward to seeing what their respective teams can do. Boys Coach Michael Splavec says Isaac Rankin, who was a state qualifier as a freshman last season, will be at the top of his list, but after that there is still a battle for varsity spots.

Michael: “If you look across the board in planning workouts and we have 9-10 guys that are waiting and see who can get that varsity spot for us.”

On the girls side, the numbers are a little lower as Mikayla Splavec has Natalie Collins returning for her senior season, plus Janie Maasdam and Janae Baker are back as the top three. Splavec adds there are some newcomers that are vying for that top seven.

Mikayla: “We do have fewer girls on our team, so there are less options. The good thing the first few meets JV and Varsity run together so we will get a good idea of who are top seven are.”

Both adds they will use the first couple of meets as time trials to see who their top runners will be. Knoxville has two meets this week, Monday at Albia and Thursday at Wayne.