3 county runners medal; 2 teams place

By NICHOLAS KIMBALL,
DELBERT PETERS, and ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Marion and Hillsboro both placed as teams, and three county runners medaled Saturday in state cross-country meets.

Marion

For the first time since 1998 Marion cross-country brought home some hardware from the state meet, finishing third as a team in Wamego and holding off Central Heights by two points.

“In my opinion, the boys division in Class 2A was the deepest class in the state with six to seven teams having a chance to be in the top three,” coach Jason Hett said. “This is a great accomplishment for our team, and one that does not happen without the work they put in to break the wall.”

Gavin Wasmuth was the lone medalist on the team, coming in at 13th place. Luke Wessel was 30 seconds behind him with a 23rd place finish. Less than 20 seconds later, Eli Klenda took 31st. Christopher Berry was 41st, Tristen Dye 50th, Harrison Beery 87th, and Owen White 98th.

From Wasmuth’s 13th place finish to White’s 98th place was a difference of less than five minutes.

“All the sayings about hard work, commitment, dedication, and character held true for this team,” Hett said. “They came to practice each day, ready to compete, never complained, worked their tails off, and it paid off.

“I am so proud of this group and our school and community should be as well. They were great representatives of Marion High School and Marion all season everywhere we went.”

Hillsboro

Hillsboro girls finishes 8th overall as a team in the 2A meet at Wamego.

Quinlyn Funk medaled with a 9th place. Moriah Jost finished 46th, Nora Hein 54th place, and Ainsley Duell 58th place.

Trudy Hein, Claudia SooHoo, and Grace Hein came in together at 96th, 97th, and 98th.

Centre

Out of 92 girls racing at the 1A meet in Wamego, Kaitlynn Bina placed 10th.

“The weather conditions were just right,” coach Terri Bina said. “Kaitlynn ran the perfect race. Her goal was to place in the top 10 at state the first year she ran.

“Wamego is the most challenging course in the state. It is nothing but hills and very tight switchbacks. Kaitlynn used her training on steep hills to power up them and pass runners on the uphill run.

“The look of determination on her face said it all. We knew that she would accomplish her goal. We are so proud of her. This is quite an accomplishment for an athlete who just started running this year.”

Goessel

Goessel’s representatives finished in the middle of the pack in the 1A boys meet Saturday, Of 94 runners who completed the 5,000-meter race, Joey Lapp and Karl Raddatz finished 50th and 60th.

Both boys ended their Goessel careers. Lapp is a senior, and Raddatz an exchange student.