RICHMOND — The Iola, Crest and Marmaton Valley cross country teams competed at Central Heights in Richmond Thursday.
Josie Walter of Crest finished fourth in the girls varsity race while teammate Peyton Schmidt followed her in fifth place. Iola’s Cole Moyer and Crest’s Gunner Ellington took 14th and 15th place in the varsity boys race, respectively.
Even with the fourth place finish, Walter still wasn’t ecstatic about her finish.
“It wasn’t my best race and I got discouraged once I got passed, but it wasn’t my worst race either,” she said. “Being patient with my training has been key. This year, I came out and thought I’d be drastically better than last year but I realize I just have to trust my training.”
Iola’s boys varsity team took a sixth place finish with 122 points. The varsity runners competed in a 5000-meter run.
Iola
Moyer led the Mustangs in the varsity boys race, a 14th place finish in 18:30. Keegan Hill finished in 26th place with a time of 19:34 while Brennen Coffield took a 31st place finish with a time of 20:08.
“I’ve never done this course before but I felt good and was able to beat my time by 40 seconds,” said Hill. “Coach Daugharthy has pushed me in every race to do my best and my team cheers me on throughout the race which helps me race better than I think I can.”
Kaiden Vega finished 43rd with a time of 22:18 and Caden Coltrane finished in 47th place with a mark of 22:39. Joshua Wanker came in 48th place with a time of 22:39.
For the girls, Lynsie Fehr came in 30th place with a time of 26:11 and Mahailie Genoble placed 36th with a time of 27:58.
Crest
The Lady Lancers have carved out a spot as some of the top runners in the Three Rivers League and state.
That began with Walter taking a fourth place finish in 20:39 while Peyton Schmidt earned fifth place with a time of 21:13. Aubrey Allen rounded out the lead trio for Crest with a 16th place finish in 23:15. Kaylee Allen came in 27th place with a finish of 25:28.
“As I’ve been running these meets, I’ve realized I just have to trust my training and be consistent so that I keep getting better and better,” said Walter. “It’s not just going to be immediate. I’ve just been working on being patient and not starting out too fast. Just staying positive throughout a race is really important.”
Crest’s boys were led by Ellington’s 15th place finish in 18:30. Elijah Taylor came in 32nd place with a finish of 20:19 while Ryan West rounded out the Lancers with a 49th place finish in 22:42.
