Sports writer
Harvey County East Lake was the location Thursday for the Heart of America League cross-country meet. Five runners from Peabody-Burns medaled and the boy’s team placed third overall.
The squad now prepares for regional competition Saturday, hosted by Jayhawk-Linn High School in Mound City.
The Warrior girls will run at 3 p.m. and the boys will follow at 3:30 p.m.
Lauren Pickens placed third in the girl’s division with a time of 17 minutes, 10 seconds. She was named to the Heart of America All-League Team for her third-place medal.
Aaron Topham led the boy’s team with a second-place finish at a time of 16:20. Sheldon Wiebe was the second Warrior runner on the boy’s team to cross the finish line. He finished ninth overall, 17:15. Topham and Wiebe were both named to the Heart of America All-League Team.
Two Warrior runners were named to the league’s honorable mention. Josh Klarmann made the list with an 11th-place finish time of 17:24. Jacob Simmonds also made honorable mention with a 14th-place finish, completing the course in 17:36.
Five other PBHS runners competed in the boy’s division at the meet. Curtis Frederick came in 24th in 18:27; Matt Hiebert, 34th, 19:12; Steffon Pospiech, 40th, 19:43; Seth Topham, 43rd, 20:05; and Zach Preheim, 51st, 20:36.
Three Lady Warriors also competed in the girl’s division. Beatrice Caldarella was 31st with a time of 19:36; Amanda Pickens, 46th, 22:21; and Kelsie Noble, 47th, 22:21.