The high school boys and girls cross country season begins Sept. 9 at schools across the state.

West Valley Preps and the Surprise Independent asked local high school coaches about their teams. Here are their responses.

Dysart Demons

Boys and Girls Coach: Ivory Carson (5th year boys, 15th year girls)
Section: Division II Northwest
Who are your top returning runners?
• Boys: Senior Daniel Hanson, Dysart No. 1 runner last season and number two all time at Dysart High School. Senior Ali Waheed who was No. 6 runner last year. Senior Cesar Fonseca who was our No. 7 runner last year.
• Girls: Junior Cailyn Ainsworth who has been our No. 2 runner behind Gabrielle Gomez. Senior Isabel Quintero-Soria who is the team captain and has letter and participated in state every season.
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year?
• Boys: For the boys, freshman Nigel Anderson has been running cross country since the seventh grade and has grown to be over 6 feet tall.
• Girls: Eva Lopez has also run cross country since the seventh grade. She has proven that she can run with the veteran girls.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season?
• Boys: The team is primarily seniors and experienced. Six of the top seven are seniors.
• Girls: Team’s top two runners have a wealth of running experience.
What are the primary individual and team goals?
• Boys: Individual qualification for AIA state meet. The last five months have caused some of the athletes not to participate.
• Girls: Individual qualification for AIA state meet. The last five months have caused two varsity runners as freshmen not to participate. Currently, we do not have enough girls to compete as a team.

Shadow Ridge Stallions

Boys Coach: Arrick Nietert (fourth year)
Girls Coach: Haley Ruebsamen (third year)
Section: Division I Southwest
Who are your top returning runners? Boys: Kaden Passey, Elijah Levin, Haden Pittson, Erik Winter, Matthew Riehm and Jaxson Kobel
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? Boys: Andrew Retzlaff, Kaleb Goltiao, Diego Alvila, Jackson Bland, Ryland Shoulders, Jacob Bacome, Curtis Aguirre, Landon Holm, Sebastian St. Germain and Brayden Levander .

What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Grit. We have a solid team of hard working boys. They are dedicated and in it for the challenge the sport brings. They put in 13 weeks of training on their own to reach goals of 400 to 600 miles even when we were shut down. Consistency and drive keep them going. They are on a mission.
What are the primary individual and team goals? Our goals are to qualify for state in the top 33% of the new sectional draw. We are driven to breach the top 10 in the state meet and the placing depends on the boys’ hunger. The individual goals are sacred to each boy on the team from academics to family to team. The only thing that has changed in the past five months has been the hunger to squeeze every ounce of opportunity that sport has to offer as it is so easily taken away. This pandemic has dramatically dropped our numbers, but it has also improved our focus and desire. This questionnaire cannot begin to touch upon what the boys have done over the summer in preparation from the top down. I could not be more inspired or proud to watch them toe that start line.

Valley Vista Monsoon

Boys Coach: Chris York (fifth year)
Girls Coach: Karin York (ninth year)
Section: Division I Southwest
Who are your top returning runners?
• Boys: Senior Brandon Morrison and sophomore Kade Ruff. Kade Ruff just did a mile trial at 4:56.
• Girls: Sophomore Madi Yazzi, sophomore Maiyah Mendoza and junior Ariana Jaramillo.
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year? We are a young team this year with Brandon Morrison being our only senior. Kade Ruff is going to be very exciting to watch this year as he develops and continues to get stronger and faster. Madi Yazzi has a year under her legs and is stronger. Her speed will continue to increase as the year goes on.
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Best attribute is that we are young and coachable. Everyone is willing to learn and improve.
What are the primary individual and team goals? As with everything this year, we are learning to adapt, improvise and overcome. That will be our motto going forward.

Willow Canyon Wildcats

Boys Coach: Shane Tamez (eighth year)
Girls Coach: Esmeralda Ortega (sixth year)
Section: Division II Northwest
Who are your top returning runners?
• Boys: Chaz Miller, Tyler Hernandez, Adrian Torres, Adam Covarrubio and Bryce Camba
• Girls: Ameilia Thoele, Isabella Pineda, Jaylin Jacobs and Allyssa Robichaud
Who are some of the newcomers that may have an impact this year?
• Boys: Austin Loose
• Girls: Alyssa Pena
What is your team’s best attribute entering this season? Being consistent, dependable and dedicated.
What are the primary individual and team goals? Continue with improving individual times at all levels. The team goal is to add more athletes to the state competition.