The Moundridge High School cross country team took a new approach to training this off-season.
Rather than focusing on the amount of time spent running, they focused on the number of miles completed during the week.
“I really changed my training plan this summer, and, so far, it looks really good,” head coach Shelby Beaudoin said. “These kids are really showing up, being consistent, communicating, and, you know, doing everything that I’m asking of them.”
Entering her fourth year of coaching at MHS and her 10th year overall, Beaudoin said the adjustment to how she prepares her team is already paying off.
“We have actually been injury free all summer, which is awesome,” she said. “The mileage has worked really well. We’ve been working on a steady increase each week and working on finding everyone’s mileage caps.”
Beaudoin said she plans to have 15 runners on the team this year, and 12 of them have attended the summer workouts, which also included lifting weights in the Greer Gymnasium weight room.
“You can definitely see the impact it has had on the team,” she said.
One individual who has seen growth is senior Dan Kuder, who is expected to be a top runner for the Wildcats as he works to break his personal record.
“He is pretty close, probably 13 to 15 seconds off,” Beaudoin said.
Similarly, senior Andrew Porter has been performing well during in the runup to the start of the season.
“He has been having the best senior summer of his life as far as having fun,” Beaudoin said. “He’ll be ready to lock in.”
Beaudoin said the rest of the team looks prepared, too.
“We’re slowly building,” she said. “Everyone’s ready to go.”
That’ll be important as the runners aim to achieve their goals.
The main objective is return to the Kansas State High School Activities Association State Cross Country Meet for the third year in a row and place in the top three as a team.
“My second year coaching, we made it for the first time ever, and it was awesome,” Beaudoin said. “Last year we got second at Regionals, so we made it again.”
Only the boys will be able to earn a State Meet berth as a team, though.
There are only four girls on the MHS team when five are needed to make a state-eligible girls team.
“We have a very strong boys team,” Beaudoin said. “I’m really expecting big things from my seniors.”
Knowing that her runners can do well makes driving back and forth from Andover each day worth it for Beaudoin, who is taking time off from her career as a respiratory therapist.
“I have the capacity to do it,” she said. “I’m going all in.”
It also helps that Beaudoin loves running.
“Cross country is literally my sanity piece,” she said. “I feel like I need it, and everyone else feels like I need it too.”
Though cross country is more about the individual racer, Beaudoin said her harriers work together in races to help keep each other motivated and moving.
“We cluster together,” she said. “They know if they’re next to each other the closest that we can be, that’s probably going to be the best bet we have at winning a meet.”
It also helps that the team members gets along with each other.
“We don’t have any drama,” Beaudoin said. “They definitely have that team dynamic where they know it takes all of them to get to where they need to be, so they all work really hard.
Still, preparation is key, especially when facing tough competition like the defending State Champion team from Hutchinson Trinity Catholic High School.
“We always have a race plan,” Beaudoin said. “So, we know what we’re looking at and who we have to stick with.”
The season officially started Aug. 17.
Beaudoin’s assistant coaches are Jason Smoker and Avery Rice.
2026 MHS Cross Country Schedule
9/3 – at Smoky Valley, 4 p.m.
9/12 – at Wamego, 9 a.m.
9/17 – at Bennington, 4 p.m.
9/24 – at Marion, 4 p.m.
10/1 – at Berean Academy, 4 p.m.
10/8 – at Goessel, 4 p.m.
10/15 – League, 4 p.m.
10/24 – Regionals, 9 a.m.
10/31 – State, 9 a.m.
