A pair of sophomore boys are taking the lead of the Adel-Desoto-Minburn Tigers cross country program. Second-year high school students Nate Mueller and Ethan Jurgens have been the Tigers’ top two male finishers in every race this fall, and both continue to be ranked in the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Class 3A individual poll. The organization’s latest rankings released Tuesday afternoon saw Mueller move up eight spots to the fourth-ranked runner while Jurgens jumped 10 places to 14th overall. Jurgens shared with Raccoon Valley Radio during last week’s Leon Fox Cross Country Invitational in Perry how much he appreciates having a teammate like Mueller. “I couldn’t have asked for a better running partner,” Jurgens said, “Everyday we run together, and it’s the greatest experience. It’s good because I can compete with him and try to get better along the way.”

Mueller and Jurgens were among the first three individual runners to cross the finish line at last Thursday’s Leon Fox Invitational in Perry, helping the Tiger boys squad finish fifth overall in the team standings. Mueller won meet medalist honors with a time of 16:30. Jurgens claimed third place with a race time of 17:03. The ADM boys and girls cross country teams resume their season tomorrow in the annual Atlantic Co-Ed Cross Country Meet. First races begin around 4:30 p.m. from Atlantic High School.