GARNETT — The Iola, Humboldt and Crest cross country teams began their season at the 19th annual Jerry Howarter Invitational in Garnett Thursday evening.
Humboldt took home second as a team in both the junior varsity boys and girls races.
The local teams had a number of top finishers. Iola’s Lynsie Fehr took second in the girls JV 3200-meter run and Kaiden Vega and Joshua Wanker placing sixth and ninth, respectively, in the boys JV 3200.
Humboldt’s Kreed Jones took sixth place in the JV boys 5K.
“Kaiden and Josh had fantastic races, Kaiden’s a first-year cross country guy and the longest distance he’s ran was a 400-meter,” said Iola junior Cole Moyer. “Josh comes in from running in middle school and I think he’ll take a leap this year. He’s grown and finished great today.”
Moyer took home the best Iola finish in the varsity boys 5K, placing 21st.
“As much as people want to say running is skill, it’s really just work and mentality,” Moyer said. “We can be out running every day but we’re still not going to win every race. Obviously there’s room to improve which is good. There’s a lot of guys I think I should be with and I have been with them before. That’s a mental hurdle for me, knowing I should be with those guys.”
Jerry Howarter Invitational
JV Boys 3200-meter run — 6. Kaiden Vega, Iola, 14:26.65; 9. Joshua Wanker, Iola, 15:16.01; 14. Cooper Gillespie, Humboldt, 18:28.23; 16. Karsen Lampe, Humboldt, 20:14.93. JV boys team scores — 2. Humboldt, 43 points.
JV boys 5000-meter run — 6. Kreed Jones, Humboldt, 21:03.76; 9. Colden Cook, Humboldt, 22:08.49; 17. Brigg Shannon, Humboldt, 23:01.43; 25. Thatcher Mueller, Humboldt, 23:52.50; 33. Jack Works, Humboldt, 25:27.91; 39. Landon Bauer, Humboldt, 26;40.19; 41. Nathan Swogar, Humboldt, 27:19.59; 51. Maxtyn Mueller, Humboldt, 29:36.44.
Boys varsity 5000-meter run — 21. Cole Moyer, Iola, 19:33.85; 23. Gunner Ellington, Crest, 19:41.91; 43. Elijah Taylor, Crest, 21:01.70; 45. Keegan Hill, Iola, 21:04.04; 48. Brennen Coffield, Iola, 21:26.05; 73. Ryan West, Crest, 26:16.14.
JV Girls 3200-meter run — 2. Lynsie Fehr, Iola, 15:47.90. 
JV girls 5000-meter run — 13. McKenna Jones, Humboldt, 26:08.16; 18. Mahaile Genoble, Iola, 26:55.38; 21. Victoria Melendez, Humboldt, 27:18.26; 22. Anna Heisler, Humboldt, 27:21.16; 31. Mallory Sinclair, Humboldt, 29.26.77; 37. Sophia Barlow, Humboldt, 30:46.90; 47. Danica Modlin, Humboldt, 32:51.46. JV girls team scores — 2. Humboldt, 64 points.
Varsity girls 5000-meter run — 9. Josie Walter, Crest, 21:20.13; 11. Peyton Schmidt, Crest, 22:14.53; 34. Aubrey Allen, Crest, 25:36.80; 51. Kaylee Allen, Crest, 28:35.70.
Iola travels to Fort Scott while Humboldt and Crest will both be at Girard Thursday.
