Small but mighty

Turkey Valley’s cross country teams won’t show up in the team standings this year, but it’s a good bet that the Trojans will make some noise when it comes to the individual standings at meets.
Coach Sarah Bakula’s team has just eight runners — four boys and four girls — but half of them are returning as all-conference runners. The Trojans won’t have enough runners to field a full team because cross country teams need five athletes on the course to score team points, but they definitely have talent.
Start with the girls team that welcomes back two runners, sophomore Jalyssa Blazek and junior Jaycie Bryne, who finished their season at the mecca of Iowa high school cross country — Fort Dodge, which annually hosts the state cross country meet.
For more on this story see the August 27 Tribune.