Most college cross country coaches would be more than a little concerned after losing three of their top five runners from the previous season - the trio having competed at the national level in the postseason.
Kansas Wesleyan coach Garrett Young is an exception.
Julian Avila was KWU's top finisher in the NAIA National Championship meet a year ago in Columbia, Missouri while Austin Hess was the team's third runner and Giovanni Rios fifth.
While those departures are significant, Young is confident the Coyotes will remain in contention in 2025.
"I think we've got some guys who are back and have taken some big steps," said Young who enters his fourth season. "I think the pressure is there for more guys understanding that 'I need to step up and perform at a certain quality or a certain level.'"
Young's optimism is based on a large number of returning runners and some newcomers.
"We bring back pretty much everyone else out of that top 10 back and then we brought in some talented freshmen," he said. "The thing about freshmen is they still have to learn what college running is and about, but they've looked good early on, so we'll see what we've got."
Damion Jackson headlines the list of returners. He earned cross country All-America honors as a freshman two years ago and was an All-American in the 3,000 meter indoors last year. Seniors Jake Cruz, team captain Austin Schaefer, Nick Martinez and graduate student Ty Davidson also return as do juniors Wyatt Johnson, Brenden Ellis, Tytus Reed and Triston Cottone.
Johnson is a three-time All-American and has been to cross country nationals as an alternate. Sophomore Evan Pearce has improved since last season according to Young.
"He was one that we were really excited about out of high school, and I think he's done the work this summer to deserve some mention and be in contention to be a guy that we expect to be running pretty well for us," he said.
Young likes what he seen from two newcomers in particular, Ethan Ochona and Braulio Torres.
"Ethan is a transfer from Cloud County Community College that we're pretty excited about," he said. "Torres is a freshman from El Paso, Texas who had really strong credentials and PRs (personal records) out of high school. But the whole freshman class is pretty talented - it's just seeing who can step up to that 8 (kilometer) distance."
Jackson placed second in the KCAC Championship last season while Ellis was 13th and Cruz 18th as the Coyotes finished second in the team standings behind Saint Mary.
Young expects a similar scenario to unfold this fall.
"It's pretty much a Spire and Coyote battle," he said.
Teamwork is the key to success for KWU.
"We need more guys to be able to consistently step up on any given weekend," Young said. "I think for this group it's going to be finding a team identity. This has to be a group effort. We need guys running together and placing well together."