The Staples-Motley cross country teams have hit the ground running this year, as the boys rank sixth in the latest Class A rankings and the girls have been first or second since the season started.

For the Staples-Motley boys cross country team, everything starts and ends with senior Hunter Klimek and junior Emmet Anderson. The duo has been on a tear all year long, most recently with Anderson finishing in 2^nd and Klimek finishing in 15^th out of some 600 runners at last weekends Roy Griak Invitational.

However, the success people see now started way back in the offseason.

“I was not that good last year and then over the summer, just training with Emmett and putting in the miles with him,” said senior runner Hunter Klimek.

“It’s hard to get out and just run every day, I mean it’s really mentally tough, but when you have a guy next to you doing the whole thing with you, it’s so much easier,” said junior runner Emmett Anderson.

The leader on the Cardinals girls team isn’t even in high school yet.

“Last year I didn’t know a lot about running, I just did it because it was fun,” said eighth-grade runner Kyanna Burton.

Last year Kyanna Burton was on varsity as a seventh-grader, and now in eighth grade, she’s one of the state’s top runners and has already broken the school’s 5,000-meter record.

“I learned a lot about what you have to do for a workout and all that stuff, I made a huge jump from last year, like a huge jump,” said Burton.

“To have her on the team and actually have her become a leader at that age is just great experience for the other kids her age,” said boys and girls cross country head coach Bruce Fuhrman.

With leaders both young and old, the Cardinals look to continue their successful season.

By — Chaz Mootz