GREENBUSH — The 2020 cross country season has been one of adjustments already for Iola High.
The Mustangs and Fillies had to adjust their race schedules in their Sept. 3 opener because host Anderson County limited the number of visiting schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Week 2’s competition in Fort Scott was washed away due to rain.
And this week’s races, originally scheduled for the Big Hill course in Parsons, had to be relocated to Greenbush because of a construction project in Parsons.
With all of those distractions out of the way, both the Mustangs and Fillies runners put in solid race times. “We ran well,” head coach Marv Smith said.
Leading the way was Iola’s Jack Adams, who took second in the boys varsity race in finishing the 5K course in 16 minutes, 17 seconds.
He was among a cluster of runners, all of whom broke the 17-minute mark, led by Girard’s Cormick Logue, who finished in a blistering 15:29. Logue finished second at last year’s state meet.
Adams ran stride-for-stride with Alex Meister of Labette County, pulling ahead in the last half-mile to nab silver.
Smith noted he was unable to add much commentary during the race because of the nature of the course, which took the runners out of view behind groves of trees for extended periods.
Adams was followed by fellow IHS medalists Riley Jay, who finished seventh at 17:34, and Jesse Taylor, who took 14th at 17:53.
Kaster Trabuc and Nathan Louk ran as a team for much of the race, finishing just out of the medals, in 16th and 17th, respectively. (The top 15 finishers medaled at Thursday’s meet.)
On the girls side, Iola’s Josie Plumlee and Elanie Sturgeon both took home medals. Plumlee was sixth at 21:55; Sturgeon was seventh at 22:39. Averie Sharon missed out on a medal by one place, taking 16th at 23:36.
Smith noted the girls race started with a blistering pace.
But like the fabled tortoise and the hare, both Plumlee and Sturgeon steadily moved up the ranks in the last half of the race. Sharon, who continues to recover from an ankle injury, missed out on a medal by 7 seconds.
As far as team scores, the Mustangs tied for second with Anderson County, with each team scoring 49 points. Girard won the boys team title with 39 points.
The Fillies were fourth as a team with 80 points. Anderson County cruised to the girls team title.
