Here is an overview of the Magicians and Majettes.

Magicians

Last season, the Magi captured an eighth-place finish at last year’s state meet at the Souris Valley Golf Course in Minot. The new-look Magicians graduated a host of contributing veterans.

After earning top 25 finishes during last year’s state meet, William Walker-Rozo and Kaiden Meyer departed. Because last season’s senior class left its impact, Minot head coach Lance Gehring sees potential in this year’s group.

Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Members of the Minot High School girls cross country team run at Oak Park in Minot during a practice held earlier this week. The Majettes will participate in the Heen/Ihmels Invite on Saturday in Williston.

“There’s going to be more young guys who matter for us,” said Gehring, who is entering his third year as head coach. “With this program, we always want those seniors to leave that same tone as they leave. We’ve always stressed, ‘When it’s your turn, it’s your turn to step up.’ Hopefully, the guys before them have shown them how we’ve done things.”

Four freshmen (Sam Hale, Boston Klingbeil, Ethan Henderson and Caleb Roth) are listed on Minot’s varsity roster. Once again, the elder Magi are tasked with leading their younger teammates.

According to Gehring, senior Jacob Hight ran in the 450-mile range during the summer. Hight began his cross country career as a seventh-grader.

“I’ve gone through a lot these past six years,” he said. “I’ve got a good coach and team to work with.”

Junior Grant Schaeffer showed consistency for the Magi last season. Schaeffer locked up the No. 38 spot at state after posting a time of 17:06.

“It’s really fun growing up in Minot, seeing everybody and wanting to be like them,” he said. “Now that we’re the leaders, it’s fun to do that for us.”

Their track season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Magi remain focused on showing their worth as a late-season team.

“When October rolls around and championship season rolls around with the region and state meets, we generally perform well above what’s expected of us,” Gehring said. “They always have that. That’s how I preach our practices. ‘Hey, our eyes are on October.’ They don’t stress how they race too much in September. They don’t let bad races get to them, but they know Minot is going to be that school. When October comes, we’re ready.”

Majettes

A historic 2019 season for the Majettes concluded on a fitting note. Just a few moments after the state meet concluded, head coach Carla Wahlund won Girls Coach of the Year in North Dakota.

This year’s iteration of the Majettes features a blend of experienced runners and young talent.

“The upperclassmen that we’ve had in previous years have always set the standard to work hard, do your best and keep working hard,” Wahlund said. “Times will drop. Coming in with this type of group, they have that mindset already ingrained. We’ve got to just work hard as a team. That’s why I’m impressed right away. I like to see that the tradition keeps going. In the end, it will pay off.”

Brooke Keller, Justice Nerad, Alexa Geyer, Trystan Brey, Ashley Nelson, Sarah Adams and Ariel Hale comprise the senior group. In contrast, two seventh-graders and four eighth-graders are also listed on Minot’s roster.

“At first, I was like, ‘I wonder how this is going to go,'” Wahlund said. “You’ve got young ones. They’re sometimes reserved and don’t want to step up and be that leader. But, I’ve seen them mesh together. They’re making comments of, ‘Come on, let’s work harder. Let’s do this. You’ve got this.’ Right at the beginning, a lot of encouragement. A lot of positive feedback, which is good. You get that team unity built. That will help us as we keep training harder.”

A usual contributor on the track and the pitch, junior MaLiah Burke was unable to participate in track and field nor soccer because of the pandemic.

“It just feels really good to be in a high school sport again,” Burke said. “We didn’t really know if we were going to have a season or not. It just feels good having an actual season.”

When the team practiced at Oak Park earlier this week, the upperclassmen guided the underclassmen during drills. As the Majettes embark on another campaign, that leadership will be critical.

“Everyone here really knows the drill,” Keller said. “It seems like we’re really getting things done.”

Both squads will participate in the Heen/Ihmels Invite at 10 a.m. on Saturday in Williston.

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.