FRUITPORT – Usually when a team finishes in last place, it takes a few years to recover and move up in the standings again.
But the Fruitport girls cross country team, which ended up at the bottom of the O-K Blue conference in 2022, could be the exception.
The Trojans had talent last season, but two key runners were out with injuries, limiting what the team could accomplish.
Both of those runners are back this year, along with a number of talented teammates, which means Fruitport expects to be considerably stronger this fall.
“We will do much better this year,” said Coach Randy Johnson. “We should have three girls in the top 10 (in the conference), we have a great freshman coming out, and we have our top runner’s sister, who has a tremendous amount of talent but wants to be a sprinter, who will also help us out this year.”
[1]Senior Tatum Dykstra will be the top runner. She was injured last season but is healthy again and has a lot of potential to stand out this year.
The coach says Dykstra “hopes to run in the 19s,” (19-minute range), which is significant, because 19 runners at last year’s state finals finished within that range.
Johnson also has high hopes for senior Lauren Lee and junior Valerie Pollock. Lee was also injured last season, but like Dykstra is ready to go this fall.
“Lauren and Val have run in the 21’s this summer and are looking to race each other and run in the low 20’s and hopefully the 19s,” the coach said.
Senior Tressa Dykstra, Tatum Dykstra’s sister, is a runner who is more inclined toward shorter sprint events in track and field. But she has come out for cross country and should be a big asset, Johnson said.
[2]“She is very talented in the 800-meter run,” he said. “We are hoping she will expand her talents to run in the 21’s this season.”
The team also has other strong runners, including two newcomers who could make big contributions.
One is sophomore Kaylynn Pavlige, who Johnson says “is joining us this season and is also very talented. We are hoping she finds her running legs to help the team become even stronger.”
The other top newcomer, Treasure Fleese, is a “hard-working freshman who loves to run with the fastest girls on the team. We are looking for a lot of improvement from her.”
Overall Johnson is enthusiastic about the roster.
[3]“The girls team has been working hard this summer to build a competitive team,” he said. “We have the talent and the depth this season to do that, and I am looking forward to see how far they will go.”
The Trojans will kick off their season at Saturday’s Muskegon Catholic Central Invitational, and Johnson says “the girls are looking to win that.”
He isn’t making any strong predictions about the tough O-K Blue, however, which has several very good teams and a lot of good runners.
“Our team goal this year is to move up one place in the conference standings,” Johnson said. “The girls have the talent to do so but will have to work hard and stay healthy.” 
[4]
[5]