LOUISBURG — The Iola High School varsity cross country team ran like the wind at the Louisburg 5K meet on Thursday, taking third place as a team while two Mustang runners took home medals.
Jesse Taylor crossed the finish line first for Iola coming in sixth place overall with a time of 18:09. The time would be good for a medal. Iola’s Kaster Trabuc also medalled, finishing in 10th place with a mark of 18:42.
“Jesse has just been super focused and ready to push himself. He’s taken care of his body so when it’s time to add extra mileage or have these big finishes he’s ready to go and he’s mentally in it. He’s having fun, that’s the best part,” said Iola head coach Brittany Daugharthy. “It’s just so cool to see him have these moments.”
Mustang Cole Moyer took home 20th place with a time of 19:38. Travis Wanker finished just shy of a personal-record time with a 20:01, good for 22nd place overall. Brennan Coffield came in with a personal-record time of 20:57, in 33rd place.
Alejandro Escalante rounded out Iola’s team with a 23:07 time to take 37th overall.
“All of these guys are super close to season PRs or even their career PRs and they’re just pushing themselves that much. It’s so exciting to see how they turn that around,” said Daugharthy. “They amaze me every week with how they’re ready to take on challenges.”
Iola will see some of the same schools at their regional meet in Chanute on Oct. 22. The other runners competing hailed from both 4A and 5A schools with a high level of competition and good times.
Iola will race at Osawatomie next Thursday at 4 p.m. in a Pioneer league meet.
