Lauren McDonald tops the list of runners returning for Salida next year. Photo by Alan Versaw.
You might think that a team losing its top three runners to graduation might be headed for a rebuilding year next fall. To be sure, Kaiti Davis, Dominica Alloy, and Bethany Higgins will be missed. And, Salida may be rebuilding when the season starts next fall, but expect that project to move along very quickly.
That rebuilding figures to happen around three returnees with some solid state experience--Sammi Sharrar, Allison Lofton, and Lauren McDonald, and a promising incoming class of freshmen. McDonald was Salida's third or fourth runner this fall. Sharrar and Lofton typically ran fith and sixth for the Spartans. So, the nucleus of experience is there. Sharrar will be a junior next fall, the other two sophomores.
What isn't as immediately apparent, however, is that Salida has one of the best middle school programs in the state. And, the transition from middle school...