When Alan Birdsell decided to move over to Maize South to jump start its cross country program in 2009, he wondered what he was getting himself into.

He had a total of 13 runners and decided that they would only compete in one varsity race that season.

Now, in its seventh season, Maize South is an emerging power in the area. The boys and girls teams have both qualified for state the past two seasons, and the girls collected a third-place Class 5A trophy last season.

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