When building a cross country team, its nice to start with two of the best runners in the state.

Oak Harbor High School returns two stellar athletes, seniors John Rodeheffer and Jonalynn Horn.

Rodeheffer is the defending league and district champion and a three-time state participant. Last fall he placed 11th in the 3A state finals.

He was a first-team, all-Wesco choice the past two seasons after earning second-team honors as a freshman.

Horn finished eighth in the 3A girls state race, the second-best effort ever for an Oak Harbor girl. Debra Vaughn was second in 1994.

Horn was named to the all-Wesco first team in 2013.

The pair will lead Oak Harbor as it tries to add to its most successful sequence in school history.

The Wildcat boys qualified as a team for state three of the past four years and won district titles in 2011 and ‘12.

The girls qualified for state the past five years, a school-best string.

The boys return five lettermen: Rodeheffer, Logan Clark, Sebastian Ceaser, Miguel Guzman and Caleb Peek.

Clark, Ceaser and Guzman joined Rodeheffer among the top 50 runners at last year’s district meet.

Coach Eric Peterson sees this returning group as the team’s strength.

Key newcomers, he said, are Wyatt Pauley and Tyler Grehan.

“We have some really hard working guys that know how to race and what is expected,” he said.

On the girls side, Horn will be joined by returning letter winners Laura Rodeheffer, Carolyn Wicker and Marisa Sligh.

The trio all competed for the Wildcats in the state meet last year, helping Oak Harbor finish 11th.

The top newcomers, Peterson said, are Meredith Bain, Emma Lerch and Olivia Flack. The three are among a large group of new runners, which is the team’s strength, according to Peterson.

The girls team, Peterson said, seems “excited and eager to improve, which will make for a great season as they develop.”

Overall, Peterson expects the Wildcats to “have a great season.”

“Our kids always work hard and have fun at practice, which makes coaching a lot of fun,” he added. “With the positive attitudes and work ethic, we plan to finish in the top half of Wesco this season.”

The Wildcats start the season at the Sehome Invitational at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept., 13, at Bellingham’s Civic Stadium. The only home meet is 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at Windjammer Park.