Despite temperatures soaring into the 100s for the first few weeks of the 2023 season, the Oakville boys cross country team is focused on being a competitive squad this year.

“The guys show up every day and give us a great effort,” head coach Arlee Conners said. “Think that with the guys that we have coming back from last year, we’re going to be very competitive this season.”

Junior Jonathan Selph returns for his third season with the Tigers after ending 2022 as Oakville’s top runner on the cross country squad.

“Ending up being our fastest guy last year as a sophomore,” Conners said. “He’s a very vocal guy who’s a great leader, puts out a great effort and I think that a lot of our younger guys use him as a gauge to see how they’re doing.”

Junior Kolton Kreisz also had a breakout sophomore season and is focused on being a part of the Tigers’ one-two punch come time for districts.

“Kolton was our second fastest runner last season,” Conners said. “I believe that he’s going to be a good one for us in our lineup this year as a junior.”

Kyle Le and Jason Gold are two seniors that are not only expected to be leaders on this year’s team, but also key contributors to the Tigers’ success in 2023.

“Kyle’s been running cross country for four years now and he’s another guy we’re looking forward to having a good season for us,” Conners said. “Jason was a solid contributor for us last year and he should be back for even bigger and better things this season.”

Sophomore Carter Oetting returns for his second season on the varsity squad after impressing the Tigers’ head coach as a freshman.

“Carter is a guy that worked his way up after every meet as he got faster and faster,” Conners said. “So we’re looking for him to do some big things for us this year as well.”