Young runners take high marks

Crest, Yates Center and Marmaton Valley's younger runners finished near the top of their respective divisions Thursday at a meet in Pleasanton. The runners have a league meet next week to wind up the regular season.

October 8, 2021 - 3:07 PM

Crest Middle School runners, from left, Kaelin Nilges and Aubrey Allen run alongside Marmaton Valley Junior High’s Jarred Jamison in the eighth-grade race at the Pleasanton Invitational Thursday. Photo by Halie Luken

PLEASANTON — Runners from Crest, Marmaton Valley and Yates Center excelled, particularly in the younger divisions at Thursday’s Pleasanton Invitational Cross Country Meet.

The schools combined to have one varsity runner, Crest freshman Breakin Jones, who took 19th in the varsity boys run, finishing in 20 minutes, 19.54 seconds.

The schools were wildly successful in the junior varsity races. Yates Center’s Jarrett Birk took second at 22:54.76, followed just behind by Zach Allee of Marmaton Valley in 22:58.95 in third.

Yates Center’s A.J. Belcher took second in the girls JV race, followed by Marmaton Valley’s Pauline Thery in fifth and Yates Center’s Courtney Spoon in seventh.

Middle-schoolers also shined.

Kole Walter of Crest took second in the boys seventh-grade race, while Marmaton Valley’s Tucker Sutton and Thomas Allee were eighth and 10th, respectively.

Clayton Culver of Yates Center was eighth and Jarred Jamison of Marmaton Valley ninth in the boys eighth-grade run.

Josie Walter took second among eighth-grade girls, followed by teammates Kaelin Nilges and Aubrey Allen in sixth and seventh, respectively. Marmaton Valley’s Sophia Heim placed ninth.

Jaylinn Birk of Yates Center took fifth in the girls seventh-place run.

High school races were 5 kilometers in length. The middle school runs covered two miles.

Boys Varsity

19. Breakin Jones, Crest, 20:19.54.