Sports

Eagan High School Athletes to Watch: Boys Cross Country Running Team

Check back each morning on Eagan Patch as we go sport-by-sport, profiling the top athletes on each team.

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As the fall sports season gets underway, these athletes are primed to lead their teams to victory. Check back each morning on Eagan Patch as we go sport-by-sport, profiling the top athletes on each team. 


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Name: Nate Johnson
Grade: Senior
Sport: Boys Cross Country Running
Strengths: After the departure last year of school-record holder Sidney Speir, Eagan High School Boys Cross Country Running Coach Rob Graham is looking to a new set of runners to fill his shoes. And one of those athletes is senior Nate Johnson. Johnson, who hails from a running family, logged 500 miles of running over the summer and is a quiet but dedicated performer on the team. Graham hopes that Johnson can break the 17-minute mark in his runs, and would love to see the runner clock times in the 16:40s and 16:30s.

"I'm expecting some pretty eye-popping things out of them," said Graham, referring to both Johnson and Josh Podpeskar, who also made Patch's list of top athletes. "We have two guys coming in at awfully good shape, and they have the experience."

Find out what's happening in Eaganwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Name: Josh Podpeskar
Grade: Junior
Sport: Boys Cross Country Running
Strengths: Podpeskar, a dedicated cross country skier who recently join the cross country running team, "exploded on the scene" last winter with his strong athletic performances on the state-qualifying ski team, Cross Country Running Coach Rob Graham said.

Graham hopes Podpeskar's success as a skier will translate over to running and expects Podpeskar will break the 17-minute mark in his races this year. Like Johnson, Podpeskar ran 500 miles this summer. But Podpeskar, who has a penchant for speed during long cross country races, still needs to learn how to pace himself, Graham said.

"The key for him is going to be getting him to sit back a little bit ... and then unleash the beast," Graham said.

 

Check out our athlete spotlights for these other Eagan High School sports teams:


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