Dozens of area athletes of all ages proved their dexterity for a good cause while raising funds for the upcoming cross country seasons as part of the Mustang 5K Saturday morning at Riverside Park.
Despite sweltering heat, runners amassed along the starting line at 8 a.m. as part of the fundraiser for the Iola High School and Iola Middle School cross country teams.
Coach Britt Daugharthy said she was pleased by the large turnout.
“This is probably double from last year,” Daugharthy said.
“Double the turnout is so exciting,” she said. “I’m really happy with that.”
Although competing against some of Iola’s best runners, parent Matt Kerr finished first among Saturday’s male competitors.
While certainly having to ice his knees following the race, Kerr said he just wanted to show some of his younger opponents the old man still has it.
“I just wanted to show them an old guy can still do it,” Kerr said. “It was the course. I’m not used to running on grass a whole lot, so I got a little wet, but it was fun.”
Former IHS cross country runner Rachel Bycroft, who is currently studying at Pitt State, took second overall and first place in the female category. Along with wanting to benefit the program as a former athlete, she also wanted to compete Saturday in order to support her younger sister, who enters her freshman year this fall, and it also gave her something to do while preparing to run a marathon.
“It’s good to pour back into something that poured into me,” Bycroft said. “It was kind of weird. It felt like I was back in high school, but my sister is on the team. It felt like I was coming full circle.”
For Daugharthy seeing runners past, present and even a few future youth runners coming out to support the program was a heartwarming experience and shows how the program can impact generations of athletes.
“It was so cool,” Daugharthy said. “ Iola cross country runs deep and to see it in person is really beautiful.
