FRUITPORT – Last season the Fruitport boys cross country team finished fourth in the tough O-K Blue conference and third at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association meet.

While those were reasonable finishes against tough competition, they weren’t good enough for the traditionally strong Fruitport squad, and the Trojans are planning for bigger things this fall.

As veteran coach Randy Johnson put it, “Our team goal is to shoot for a city championship and top two in our conference.

“We’ve got mostly seniors this year. They are ready and motivated, and they’ve been training well.”

It appears the Trojans have the talented and experienced runners they will need to take a serious shot at their goals.

The list starts with junior Vincent Pollock, who was Fruitport’s lead runner last season and will fill that role again this fall.

“He is hoping to run in the 16’s (16 minutes) this season and be one of the top runners in the city,” Johnson said.

Senior Levi Glynn will also be an important part of the mix. Johnson calls him “a hidden talent who will hopefully have a breakthrough season. He is very capable of running in the 16s. We are hoping he will push (Pollack) and they will become a strong, dynamic duo for the team.”

Finishing within the 16-minute range is elite for high school runners. Last season, 11 of the top 20 runners in the Division 2 state finals finished in the 16’s.

Another potential weapon for the Trojans is senior Ethan Horan, who is reportedly working through some stomach issues. Johnson said he hopes Horan will become “the amazing runner we know he can be.”

Senior Alex Wilber, senior Levi Bol, junior Landon Butler and sophomore Landon Johnson will lend important depth to the team, which matters a lot, because team points are determined by how every runner finishes.

Johnson calls Wilbur “the hardest worker on the team,” Bol “a very talented runner,” Bulter “a talented runner who is using the season to get himself in shape for the basketball season,” and says Landon Johnson “has been improving in leaps and bounds.”

The first goal for Fruitport will be moving up the conference standings, which will not be easy, because the O-K Blue was loaded with talent last year and appears to be that way again.

“Our conference was crazy strong last year,” Johnson said. “Allendale and Hamilton made it to the state meet, Spring Lake was tough and Holland Christian was tough. Those teams have a lot of talent coming back, too. It’s not going to be a walk in the park. It’s going to be extremely tough in our conference again.”

The Trojans have not qualified for the state finals since 2016, and Coach Johnson thinks the talent could be there to end that slump this season.

“It’s been a while,” he said. “These kids are motivated. They want to do it, but we know we will have to be the fourth team (qualifying in regionals) and have four guys in the top 20 to qualify, because our region is very strong again.”

While some might assume the Trojans are frustrated by having to face such tough competition, that is not the case.

Johnson said he and his runners love facing quality opponents, because it pushes them to get better.

“That’s why, when we first started out, we enjoyed having (traditional state power) Fremont in our conference,” he said. “They were the staples. They were the guys who showed everyone, if you want to be good, this is what you have to do. It’s good to have that type of talent on our schedule.”

The tough competition will begin on Saturday when the Trojans open the season at the Muskegon Catholic Invitational.

“The boys will be trying to win, but you have Jenison and Sparta in there,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be extremely competitive with those two schools.”