CHEROKEE — The Crest High girls varsity cross country team came in first place at the Three Rivers League meet at Southeast-Cherokee Thursday. Marmaton Valley and Yates Center’s cross country teams also took home top individual placements.
Crest’s Josie Walter and Peyton Schmidt finished in the top two places in the varsity girls 5,000-meter run while teammate Aubrey Allen came in fourth place. 
“Having four in the top 10 is a big deal. It shows our depth as a team,” said Crest head coach Kaitlyn Cummings. “Watching their success helps everybody see what’s possible.”
For the varsity boys, Crest’s Gunner Ellington placed fourth in the 5,000-meter run.
Marmaton Valley’s Emma Louk came in first place in the junior high mixed girls two-mile run while Thomas Allee placed fourth in the junior high mixed boys two-mile run.
Southeast Cherokee placed first in both the varsity boys and girls 5,000-meter races.
Crest
Walter and Schmidt led the way for Crest with times of 19:20 and 20:32, respectively. Allen’s fourth-place time was 22:20 and Kaylee Allen finished eighth with a time of 23:37.
Ellington’s fourth-place time was 18:24. Elijah Taylor came in 10th place with a time of 19:31 while Ryan West came in 25th with a finish of 23:01.
“For many of these boys it’s their first year running cross country. and we’ve seen their success all season but seeing their progression up until now, the goal is to qualify for state,” Cummings said. “They’re peaking at the right time in the season.”
In the junior high mixed girls two-mile run, Lynnex Allen finished fifth place in 13:59. Jorden Allen came in 11th place at 15:52.
In the junior high mixed boys two-mile run, Jimmy Ayers came in seventh with a time of 13:25.
Wyatt Francis came in 20th place with a time of 15:35 while Lukas Taylor came in 21st with a finish of 15:39.
Marmaton Valley 
Sophia Heim finished in ninth place in the varsity girls 5,000-meter run with a time of 23:56.
Brendon Newman finished in 23rd place in the varsity boys 5,000-meter run in 22:22.
Emma Louk placed first in the junior high mixed girls two-mile run with a time of 13:31.
Thomas Allee came in fourth place in the junior high mixed two-mile run with a time of 13:14 while Jaren Curl placed sixth with a finish of 13:20. Colin Ard came in 10th place with a time of 14:27 while Case Drake took a 17th place finish with a mark of 15:11.
