HUMBOLDT — Humboldt’s cross country team placed high on both the boys and girls sides when they welcomed local schools Crest, Marmaton Valley and Yates Center Tuesday for the annual Humboldt cross country Invitational.
The Lady Cubs finished third as a team while Humboldt’s boys finished fourth.
“Not only do you want to place high, but you also want all of your runners to be successful and run well,” Humboldt head coach Eric Carlson said. “I had a couple of kids surprise me with how well they ran, and it’s always great whenever you can place high as a team.”
In the varsity boys 5K run, Humboldt’s Humboldt’s Kreed Jones led the way, taking 12th place with a time of 19:15. Colden Cook took 20th place with a time of 20:20. Cub Brigg Shannon came in 28th place with a time of 20:56.
Maxtyn Mueller placed 32nd with a time of 21:12 for Humboldt, while Thatcher Mueller took 38th place with a time of 22:08. Humboldt’s Landon Bauer came in 42nd place with a time of 22:46 while Jack Works took 47th place with a time of 23:20.
Cubs Nathan Swogar took 51st with a time of 24:31 and Layne Ellison took 58th with a time of 30:01.
On the varsity girls side, Humboldt’s McKenna Jones came in seventh place with a time of 23:48 and Anna Heisler took eighth with a time of 23:54.
Coach Carlson was pleased the two runners pushed each other throughout the race. “They can close that distance between the two of them and they can finish right behind each other then you’ve got a better chance at placing higher as a team because your runners are so close together,” Carlson said. “McKenna’s been a good runner since she was in middle school and Anna’s been trying to reel her in and stay up there with her.”
Humboldt’s Tori Melendez took 16th place with a time of 25:09 and Mallory Sinclair took 17th with a time of 25:31. Danica Modlin finished in 20th place with a time of 27:12 and Jo Ellison took 23rd place with a time of 29:41.
CREST’S Gunner Ellington notched a top-ten finish, coming in ninth place with a time of 18:52, while Elijah Taylor followed in 29th place with a time of 20:57 in the varsity boys 5K run. Crest’s Ryan West came in 39th place with a time of 22:20.
Crest’s Aubrey Allen took fifth place with a time of 22:50 in the varsity girls 5K run. Crest’s Kaylee Allen came in 19th place with a time of 26:22.
“It was a good experience. It’s a smaller meet, but there’s really good competition within the local areas,” Crest head coach Kaitlyn Cummings said. “The boys are working at earning their personal best and getting better each meet.”
“Having multiple kids hit their personal bests made for a great day of running,” said Cummings. “Nearly everyone hit their personal best times.”
YATES CENTER’S Asher Arnold placed 40th with a time of 22:32 for the boys, while Wildcat Jalynn Birk took a 14th place medal with a time of 24:49 in the girls race. 
MARMATON Valley’s Sophia Heim placed second in the JV girls’ 5,000-meter run with a time of 25:26.
In the JV boys 5,000-meter run, Marmaton Valley’s Brendon Newman came in seventh place with a time of 22:35 while Humboldt’s Cooper Gillepsie placed 17th with a time of 27:29.
