RICHMOND — Iola High’s varsity boys cross country team took home a second-place finish at the Central Heights Invitational even without one of its top runners.
Kendall Jay, who has been the Mustangs’ No. 2 runner this season, sat out of Thursday’s race with a muscle injury, forcing coach Marv Smith to bump Nathan Sprague up into the top-five scoring runners.
Despite Jay’s absence, Iola ran strong and finished just five points behind West Franklin, which had 54 points.
Smith said the Mustangs’ team score would have most likely been in the mid-20s if Jay was healthy. But because the league and regional meets are quickly approaching, Smith didn’t want to risk a more serious injury.
Braden Plumlee, Colby Works, Cole Regehr and Isaiah Fawson all finished in the top 10 for Iola while Sprague, who is usually the Mustangs’ No. 6 runner, finished in 43rd place.
Jonathan Rodewald, who usually runs the JV race, was bumped up to varsity and finished in 52nd.
In the varsity girls race, Megan Klubek once again finished in eighth place. Olivia Taylor wasn’t too far behind in 15th place.
Smith said a poorly marked starting line forced his runners to get off to a slow start, but the Mustangs and Fillies were eventually able to break out from the back of the pack to finish an overall strong race.
Iola Middle School’s cross country team also ran Thursday with positive results.
The seventh-grade boys finished in first place as a team in the mile-long race with Jack Adams and Nathan Louk leading the way, respectively.
The eighth-grade girls also finished in first in their race, which was two miles. Elysia Kunkler was Iola’s top runner.
IHS XC boys finish 2nd
