By William / http://www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
STERLING – Ten Inman cross country runners took to the course on Thursday at the Sterling Invitational and earned one high school medal while getting a new school record, plus four medaled in the junior high races.
The lone varsity Teuton runner was Lauren Aden, and she earned a medal in the girls 5K race by finishing 12th out of 70 runners with a run of 21:50.90 which also set a new Teuton school record.
“Last spring when Lauren (Aden) ran track, I knew she had the ability to run and be competitive in distance races,” pointed out Teuton head coach Jay Parsons during his post-meet reflections. “I am so glad she chose to run cross-country this fall. Besides running cross-country, she also plays volleyball, which means she doesn’t get to run with the others during practice, yet despite that, Lauren has run very well. She started the season running just under 24-minutes and today, five meets into the season she ran under 22 minutes and broke a school record while earning a medal as well.”
The only other Inman high schooler to run was Riley Stallings and he competed in the boys junior varsity race, finishing 13th with a run of 20:23.00.
Coach Parsons noted, “While Riley (Stallings) didn’t finish in the medals, he too has run extremely consistent in the last several races.”
Where the Teutons hit some solid results was in the lower-class races as three Teuton boys ran in the 8th-grade two-mile race where Tyler Martisko earned the top stop for Inman and a medal by placing third out of 39 runners with a time of 12:59.60. Also running for the 8th-grade Teutons were Creighton Friesen who placed 16th with a run of 14:32.10 and Riley Roots who placed 32nd by running 15:46.60.
For the 8th-grade Lady Teutons, Chesney Black and Addison Wedel both finished with medals by placing eighth with a run of 16:01.50 for Black and ninth with a time of 16:05.10 respectively. Also running for the 8th grade Lady Teutons was Kinsley Bigler who placed 20th with a run of 19:20.10.
The top finish for the day of any Inman runner came in the 7th grade 1-mile run where Lily Heflin ran a 6:39.70 which was good for second in the girls race while Kaleb Moen represented the 7th-grade Teuton boys and ran in 19th place with a time of 7:13.10.
Coach Parsons concluded his reflections on the meet by saying, “All the runners have made tremendous improvement since the first of the season and especially in the races of the last few weeks. The goal now is to carry those efforts (times) into the league meet next week.”
Next up for the Teuton harriers will be the Heart of America Meet on Thursday, October 14 at Westar Prairie Ridge Park in Hutchinson and hosted by Hutchinson Trinity Catholic.
{www.mcpherson-county-ks.com is looking for Inman Teuton Activity Posting SPONSORS to help cover costs – $40/month to help keep your school’s activity postings continue…..inquiry by email to William at crossdovewriter@gmail.com}