by Coach Tim Farrell
The 2024 version of the East Ridge High School Boys Cross Country Team has an opportunity to be a record-breaking team, and ultimately, the best the school has seen yet. East Ridge High School Boys cross country has yet to qualify at the state meet as a team. This team has the best chance to do it, and here is why. The Knights return all but one Varsity runner from last year’s 4A region 1, regional-bound team. The Knights return the fastest runner in East Ridge History, Axel Sallault, along with fellow distance running phenom, Caleb Walker. Pair those two blazing-fast runners with ever-improving Gustavo Vargas and Tyce Ertel, and the sky is the limit for these Knights in 2024. In addition, the Knights will be receiving some Freshmen reinforcements from the successful middle school programs in Lake County. All of this makes the 2024 East Ridge Knights quite possibly the deepest team in school history
The Knights in 2024 will be led by their record-breaking Sophomore, Axel Sallault. As a Freshman, Sallault broke the school record at the District meet, held at Hagerty High School with a time of 16:12. His impressive Freshman year carried into the Track season where he qualified for the state finals and ran a record-breaking race in the 3200-meter race, a blisteringly fast 9:23, finishing 8th. Junior Caleb Walker, who had an enormous Summer, is looking to run alongside Sallault throughout the season. Walker, who is the 11th fastest runner in East Ridge History with his Districts run in a time of 17:17, is looking to improve on his personal best time immediately in the season.
To have a record-breaking season, the Knights will be leaning heavily into their depth this season, which should put up some of the most impressive times in history and lead the Knights to some impressive races this season. Gustavo Vargas and Tyce Ertel have been steadily improving over the year and have had impressive off-season workouts. Junior Gustavo Vargas sits just outside the top 25 all-time at East Ridge High School and has a goal to be a top 10 runner in school history by the end of the 2024 season. Sophomore Tyce Ertel suffered an injury in the middle of the 2023 season which derailed what was looking to be a promising Freshman season. He is back and better than ever. Juniors Dylan McCleary and James Laack were also varsity runners for the Knights who consistently ran in the 18:00’s. Both McCleary and Laack have also steadily improved over their running careers and look to get into the 17:00’s.
Sophomores Ethan Laack and Christopher Stuemke were also varsity runners that are looking to provide depth for the varsity team and improve as both runners have gotten taller and stronger. Providing even more depth for the Knights and also continuing to develop are Juniors Scott Bori, Chase Ensor and Evan Deannuntis. These three runners are looking to crack into the varsity lineup this year and have been working hard to achieve that goal. Returning Sophomores include ever improving Eli Parks and John Hall. Parks and Hall were Freshmen in 2023 that improved with every race as the season wore on. They are also looking to be able to run at the District race with the Varsity team.
One of the most exciting aspects of the upcoming season are the many newcomers to the Knights Cross Country team. The Knights have six Freshmen that will be suiting up this season. All of the Freshmen have significant experience in distance running and worked very hard all Summer for the upcoming season. Isaac Bori, Aubin Sallault, Gavan Flaugher, Sidney Stewart, Aiden Floudiotis, and Maddox Nickolaou are all looking to add even more depth and talent to an already talented running squad. In addition to the Freshmen, several upper classmen have joined the ranks. These newcomers include Juniors Daniel Baggett, Andrew Conway, and lone Senior Jayden Ramjohn. All three worked extremely hard during the Summer and are also looking to help the team.
