DUSTIN DANNER Sports Reporter Excelsior Springs cross country coach Brian Smarker expects some summertime training to pay off this fall for his Tigers. “Effort goes a long way in this sport, and the offseason work (we put in) will help our runners improve as the season goes forward,” Smarker said. Smarker will coach 16 runners this fall – 11 girls and five boys. Members of the boys squad include sophomore Liam Hedding, who received the team’s Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Runner awards in 2022. Rounding out the boys team are Braedyn Sejkora, Silas O’Dell, William Tade and Alec Armstrong. Sejkora returns for his senior year. O’Dell, a junior, was the team’s No. 3 runner last fall and seeks to be one of the top two this season. Tade, a sophomore, will jockey with O’Dell for the second spot. Armstrong is a first-year high schooler. On the girls side, ...