LAWRENCE — Running at the University of Kansas Rim Rock Farm Classic is always a challenge. Part of the challenge is not to get swallowed up by the sheer volume of runners in the races.
Iola High’s Mustangs finished 19th out of 44 teams in the Blue Division race. There were 12 races contested.
There were 251 runners starting in the varsity boys’ race Iola was in on Saturday on Rim Rock Farm northwest of Lawrence. There were 280 in the junior varsity boys race.
Christ Prep of Kansas City, Kan., won the Blue Division boys’ title and Frontier Academy of Greeley, Colo., was second.
IHS head coach Marvin Smith said six of the top 10 teams were private schools. Labette County High of Altamont finished seventh.
“We expected to place higher but Jeremy Spears was not able to complete the race. He is still bothered by knee problems and dropped out about halfway through the race,” Smith said.
Tyler Powelson was Iola’s No. 1 runner on Saturday. With 25 medals on the line, Powelson placed 25th in 17 minutes, 32 seconds in the 5K race.
Trent Latta finished in 33rd at 17:41. Michael Wilson took 145th in 19:29 followed by Blaine Klubek in 162nd at 19:45 and Zach St. Clair in 213th in 20:51.
“Tyler and Trent had very good races and a significant improvement over previous times,” Smith said.
“The start of the race is a nice downhill run and that helps get started without using so much energy. Both passed a lot of runners in the final half mile.”
Smith said Wilson and Klubek equaled their previous best times but St. Clair “may have been a little overwhelmed with the bigness of the race and the tough hills.”
Bryan Mueller and Levi Baker ran in the junior varsity division. Mueller was 194th in 21:20 and Baker finished 217th in 21:42.
Iola did not have any girls running in the meet. Low numbers and injuries prompted Smith to hold out the Fillies for another meet. He said he hopes runners will be healed for Thursday’s meet.
Iola competes at Central Heights on Thursday. Runners are limited to seven cross country meets in a season. Powelson, Latta and Wilson won’t compete on Thursday.
