RICHMOND — Iola, Marmaton Valley and Crest cross country runners posted top-20 finishes at a rainy Central Heights Invitational Wednesday.
Even after a strong finish at the Rim Rock Classic over the weekend, Iola senior Keegan Hill cleared the course in 17 minutes, 52 seconds, good enough for seventh place.
Iola freshman Mariah Mathis and Crest sisters Lynnex and Jorden Allen also posted top-ten finishes Wednesday, which was rescheduled in an attempt to avoid Thursday’s bad weather. (It didn’t work.)
“I was testing a new strategy, but I feel good about how I ran today,” said Hill. “One of the strategies I used is starting off slower than I normally do. I know other runners are going to take off fast, but I know I’ll have more left at the end than they will.”
Hill was not the only medalist in the boys race, as Marmaton Valley sophomore Brayden Endicott and Crest sophomore Dagon Denny finished 14th and 16th respectively. Endicott cleared the course in 18:36, with Denny coming in only 10 seconds later at 18:46.
With the Pioneer League meet just two weeks away, area runners are watching their times and taking care to finish the season as strong as possible.
“Rim Rock (the state meet site) was kind of like a time trial,” Hill said. “It showed me what I need to work on for state from here on out until league and regionals. As long as I get out of my head, experiment more, and find what works for me, I feel like I have a pretty good chance at getting a state medal.”
IN THE girls competition, Crest’s Lynnex Allen was the highest area finisher Wednesday, taking third place. She cleared the course in 21:11. Iola’s Mariah Mathis was only seconds behind, finishing the race in a dead sprint against Allen’s sister, Jorden Allen. Mathis edged her out, taking fifth in 21:23. A mere second later, Jorden Allen finished sixth in 21:24.
“I felt confident in this one,” Lynnex said. “I knew who I was running against from either seeing them or looking them up and I still felt pretty good about this race. It pushed me (running with Jorden), and I know it pushed her too.”
Crest supporters have plenty of reason to be bulllish about their girls cross country team’s future, too. In middle school action, eighth-grade Lady Lancer Piper Schmidt took second in the 2-mile run in 13:54. Her seventh-grade counterpart Isla Billings took first in 14:10.
Complete results:
Boys varsity 5K: seventh, Keegan Hill, Iola, 17:52.4; 14th, Brayden Endicott, Marmaton Valley, 18:36.3; 16th, Dagon Denny, Crest, 18:46.6; 28th, Kris McVey, Marmaton Valley, 19:27.2; 31st, Ruger Boren, Iola, 19:47.0; 32nd, Jaren Curl, Marmaton Valley, 19:55.6; 33rd, Adam Klubek, Iola, 19:58.8; 38th, Caden Coltrane, Iola, 20:35.6; 46th, Thomas Allee, Marmaton Valley, 21:13.4; 47th, Bradley Cooper, Iola, 21:16.3; 49th, Joshua Wanker, Iola, 21:23.7; 50th, Lukas Taylor, Crest, 21:32.4; 51st, Brendon Newman, Marmaton Valley, 21:40.8; 58th, Raiden Stowell, Iola, 23:47.9; 59th, Kasen Brand, Crest, 25:35.8
Girls varsity 5K: third, Lynnex Allen, Crest, 21:11.3; fifth, Mariah Mathis, Iola, 21:23.8; sixth, Jorden Allen, Crest, 21:24.4; 28th, Emma Louk, Marmaton Valley, 25:10.5
Boys junior varsity 5K: Ninth, Case Drake, Marmaton Valley, 22:05.2; tenth, Daniel Allee, Marmaton Valley, 22:38.2; 11th, Deegan Megenity, Humboldt, 23:00.8; 15th, Kaiden Vega, Iola, 23:24.1; 17th, Carter Collins, Humboldt, 23:55.1; 20th, Colin Ard, Marmaton Valley, 24:12.7; 23rd, Miron Champion, Iola, 25:06.0; 25th, Nathan Woedman, Iola, 25:42.1; 27th, Konner Morrison, Iola, 25:48.1; 32nd, Joey Olson, Iola, 28:59.1; 33rd, Lee Wanker, Iola, 29:14.6; 35th, Logan Sneed, Marmaton Valley, 31:50.1
Girls junior varsity 5K: third, Selby Blakenship, Iola, 27:17.8; fifth, Tayleigh Forman, Marmaton Valley, 27:43.3; 17th, Reagan Marple, Humboldt, 33:02.7; 19th, Kinley Hart, Humboldt, 33:49.5
Boys eighth grade 2-mile: ninth, Cieson Kidwell, Iola, 13:26.8; 12th, Isaac Francis, Crest, 14:18.2; 15th, Jyler Granere, Iola, 14:30.9; 19th, Maxton Coltrane, Iola, 15:07.7; 24th, Douglas Doug Dix, Marmaton Valley, 15:34.1; 32nd, Joshua Emeka, Iola, 20:11.0.
