ROSCOE – The momentum has been growing for a while and hit a peak last week when the North Central boys’ cross country team placed runner-up at the Region 4A meet, the best finish in the five-year history of the cooperative program.

The Thunder have been building numbers and confidence and are heading into today’s state meet in Sioux Falls on a high note.

“Our numbers are way up this year and I think one of the reasons is because we did start earlier,” said junior Avery Wells. “We got together and we did a few runs this summer. I think that really helped us out. I think as individuals we also put in a lot of effort by ourselves in between track and cross country.”

Another factor has been the influence of new coach Jenny Roth. As a freshman at Edmunds Central in 1999, Roth, then known as Jenny Aman, won the Class B individual state cross country championship.

Roth, who has two daughters on the girls’ team, was hesitant to take the position.

“I never thought I would help coach running. I had no idea. I was actually really nervous, because I just look at the kids and I think I don’t want to let them down,” Roth said. “I want to say the right thing. I want to help them. I want to put them through a good workout. I don’t want anyone to get injuries. I want running to be positive for them.”

Roth has definitely not let anyone down. In fact, her positive impact has been felt throughout the program.

“The coaching regime this year has a been a lot more planned out,” Wells said. “There’s purpose to every mile we run this year.”

Practices have turned more into a competition than just training.

“She puts up in groups to where there’s competition among each other,” said sophomore Gabe Johnson. “You have someone to help push you.”

Perhaps Roth’s biggest influence has come in the mental component of the sport.

Roth recalled that she wasn’t the favorite to win the state title the year that she did, but overcame the odds to top the field.

“I talk to my runners about that a lot now too, just that kind of being to able to run without that fear or doubt, can I do this, am I good enough? That really weighs you down,” Roth said. “I think you do run your best when you go out there with an attitude of I have nothing to lose. I love running, I love racing, I put the work in, let’s just go see what I can do.”

That positive mindset has made a definite impact on the next generation of runners, who now find themselves embracing the grind that it takes to get better.

“I think at practice once you push past that wall, once you go when you don’t think you can anymore, I think that’s when you really reap the most benefits,” Wells said, “for the next practice and then ultimately into the next meet, and to the end of the season, I think.”

Not only that, but Roth said it’s much easier to run when you can do it free of stress and added pressure and expectations.

“I don’t know if I knew it at the time, but looking back as an adult I can definitely see that, the pressure of oh no, I have to do this all the time. I have to keep getting better,” Roth said of her high school days. “It did kind of overwhelm me, I would say. We talk a lot about that. As a coach, I’m really aware of that for my runners, because I went through that.”

Roth has learned the benefits of being mentally prepared as well as physically ready to go, noting that some people say that distance running is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical.

“If you’re a runner and every time you toe the line and you feel like I’m not fast enough, I’m never going to be good enough, you will run with that kind of essence around you,” Roth said. “And it’s very hard to get better as a runner if you always think you’re slow.”

The runners have bought into that philosophy and have continued to get better throughout the course of the season. Roth said it’s the athletes who deserve the credit.

“That’s most of it as a coach, if you have good kids,” she said. “Anybody can coach good kids.”

This coaching job a bit different than most as the runners come from three different schools to join forces into one unit. North Central is comprised of Bowdle, Edmunds Central and Eureka.

That in itself adds a different dynamic to practices.

“I have a million different routes that I found before the season started,” Roth said, “and all three communities are really awesome about just wherever my runners are, letting us be there, whether we’re running on a golf course or a gravel road.”

Having athletes come together from a variety of schools has given the Thunder a unique bond that most other programs don’t get to experience.

“I think a big aspect in our success with all three of these schools is building bonds together as a team,” Wells said. “Those are built during practice on and off the course. I think that is vital as well.”

Put it all together, and for the first time since the cooperative program started, the Thunder are a threat to win team titles at every meet they compete in.

That adds another incentive for the runners.

“Knowing that you could possibly be one or two top team, it makes is so you definitely try harder because it impacts more,” Johnson said.

Many of the Thunder runners aren’t familiar with the state meet, but Roth said she just wants them to compete to their best of their abilities and enjoy the moment.

“We talk a lot about enjoying the process and let the outcome be what it will be,” Roth said.

It’s safe to say that the Thunder have enjoyed the journey through the season.

“That’s another part of our success as well,” Wells said. “I’ve been able to enjoy this year more than any other year, and it’s not just being with other people, it’s running with them as well.”