Every race day for the high school cross-country squads this season will add up to 56 miles of running over trails and paths, wet or dry, as their coach anticipates as many as 18 student athletes turning out for each meet’s 5K course.

Practice runs are scheduled to start Wednesday, July 30, with a home meet tentatively set for Aug. 23 in Wrangell.

Not only is it a big group this year, but the team also includes a lot of experienced runners.

The Wolves boys team won the state championship in Division III in 2022 and 2023 before slipping to third place last year.

The girls also went to state last year, where they placed eighth.

Though the Southeast season starts with a meet in Juneau on Aug. 16, the Wolves typically skip the first meet of the year, coach Mason Villarma said. Besides, the Juneau run is not even a full 5K, he added.

“We’re going to focus on getting good,” with practice runs in Wrangell instead of traveling to Juneau.

Wrangell also may skip meets in Hoonah and Metlakatla — it’s just too costly to travel, Villarma said, noting that it can cost less to fly to Seattle or Anchorage for competition.

The state championship meet is set for Oct. 4 in Palmer.

The coach said the Wolves are “self-propelled and self-motivated.”

Assisting again this year will be Laura Davies. “She’s got great rapport with the kids,” Villarma said.

On the boys team, returning seniors Boomchain Loucks, Ian Nelson, Jackson Powers and Ben Houser will be joined by juniors Jackson Carney and Everett Meissner. Sophomores this year include Lucas Stearns and Lenox Gurule, with freshmen Jimmy Jabusch and Jacoby Hunt.

Loucks finished in first place at Southeast last year, but took ill and did not finish the race at the state championship.

He attended three Pacific Northwest running camps this summer. “He’s treating it (this year) very serious,” his coach said, with some colleges showing interest in Loucks for their teams.

On the girls team, “Jenna Meissner (a freshman) will be a standout performer for the team this year,” Villarma said. “The women are going to be the strongest in years, if ever.”

Running with Meissner will be a lot of experience: Bella Ritchie (junior), Alana Harrison (junior), Kailyn McCutcheon (sophomore), Kalee Herman (senior), Kourtney Barnes (sophomore), Clara Carney (freshman) and Ellie Voltz (sophomore).

Villarma — who was a standout runner in high school in Washington state and at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington — signed on as Wrangell’s assistant coach in 2022, working as coach for 2023 and again in 2024.

“Back-to-back years with these kids is pretty great.”

Though he had years of experience running in the Pacific Northwest, the Southeast terrain was a change, he said. “It comes down to adjusting to the Southeast environment.”

For example, lacking prepped trails, the Wolves practice at the golf course or on old logging roads near Pats Lake.

“It took me a while to understand the nature of Southeast,” the coach said. The courses are more rugged than Washington state, which has miles of maintained trails.