Runners Gillian Heim and Cate Horn Embrace the Early Miles
KCSI Sports sat down with Red Oak Tigers cross country seniors Gillian Heim and Cate Horn on an early August morning as the pair prepared for another 7 a.m. practice. While many high school students are still asleep, these two are already logging miles.
Heim credits her marching band schedule for making the early wake-ups manageable. “I guess the only reason I’m up is because I know I have to do it for marching band during the school year, so I might as well just start early.” Horn takes a more matter-of-fact approach: “Running’s good for you, and it’s been a part of my middle school and high school career for so long that I just wake up then anyways.”
Red Oak Cross Country Coaches Optimistic for 2026 Season
Red Oak Tigers cross country coaches Sueann French and Weston Rolenc are back at it early this fall, putting in the early-morning miles with their runners while the weather is still cooler. The pair sat down with KCSI Sports to talk numbers, expectations, key returners, and what fans can look forward to in the 2026 season.
French said the program has solid participation for a Class 2A school. “We have about 10 boys out and five girls, not including middle school. And that’s good. They’re kids that want to be here, they want to run, they want to work as a team and do well, and they’re excited, and that’s exactly what we want… If there is anybody out there that wants to run cross country, we’ll take you.”
Rolenc noted the year-round commitment required for success. “In order to be really successful in the sport, it’s a commitment well outside of the season. If you live in town, I’m sure you’ve seen our top runners run around all the time… I know our boys specifically have been training all season, all year really, for this.”
The boys’ side carries the highest expectations. Red Oak finished seventh as a team in Class 2A a year ago and returns essentially its entire core. French, who also serves on the 2A boys ranking committee, said other coaches around the state expect the Tigers to make noise. Emmanuel Grass and Hayden are already drawing preseason attention.
“Emmanuel Grass has a goal of being a state champion,” French said. “He’s got to have those two Sheridan boys and that Denver boy. But I love that goal… Hayden, he’ll be up on that deck this year. He just missed it last year. And as a sophomore getting 16th, that’s huge. So he’s looking at top 10, if not better. And he’s running like a dog. He had a great track season. He is tough as nails.”
The group also features Osiel and other returning depth. Three runners qualified for state individually last year, and the experience of competing as a team in the state atmosphere is a big confidence builder. “We’ve done it now, and so they know they can do it,” Rolenc said. “When I just hear the boys talking about it, they just talk about how fun of an experience it is… The fact that they had so much fun last year is going to be a good internal motivator for them to do it again.”
The Tigers are now in the Western Iowa Conference (WIC) after previously competing in the Hawkeye 10. Rolenc said the approach stays largely the same. Riverside, the defending Class 1A state champion, will be a frequent and welcome measuring stick. “We love going to meets where Riverside’s at and chasing after them because obviously they are an extremely good team. So I’m looking forward to running against them a lot because I think they really pushed us last year to have the success that we did.”
On the girls’ side, French is building with a younger group of five runners. Three seniors—Leya Walker, Gillian Heim, and Cate Horn—provide leadership, while freshmen Anna Shelley and Malory Jenkins bring strong middle-school track backgrounds and dual-sport experience. “They’re going to learn how to run a 5K because they have no idea. They’ve never done it before. But yeah, I’m excited for those five girls. They’ll have a lot of fun… Maybe we’re working on time. Let’s get those times down and get better, but Malory and Anna, yeah, they’ll help the team a lot.”
Both coaches stressed patience and peaking at the right time. The boys will travel to stronger competition, including meets in Pella, while still seeing familiar regional foes such as Shenandoah and Riverside. Red Oak hosts the Paul Fish Invitational on Monday, September 14. French highlighted the longtime support from Paul Fish, who has helped with trophies and the timing system.
“Come out and support us,” Rolenc said. “If you haven’t come out and watched a cross-country meet, it is a very exhilarating 20 minutes. It’s quick… It’s cool to see Red Oak Tigers in front of the pack.”
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.