By Staff
STRONG CITY – On Saturday, the four members of the Inman cross country team ran at Class 2A state regionals in Strong City and while they did not have enough for a team qualification, Tyler Martisko did qualify for the state meet as just a freshman.
Martisko will extend his 2022 season after running a time of 18:03.00 on Saturday which was good for a tenth-place finish.
“Tyler (Martisko) has managed to extend his cross-country season one more week,” explained Teuton head coach Jay Parsons. “He automatically qualified for the state meet by finishing tenth. Tyler is happy and glad to get the opportunity.”
Coach Parsons also noted when talking with Martisko after the meet, the young man simply explained, ‘the plan worked’ while also knowing that it was ‘time to get back to work.’
The only other runner for the Teuton boys was Riley Roots, also just a freshman, and he ran 20:14.20 to place thirty-seventh at regionals.
As for the Lady Teutons, neither freshman Addison Wedel or junior Lacie Baxter qualified to run next week at state, but both finished in the top-thirty as Wedel ran a 25:28.40 to place twenty-seventh, and Baxter ran 26:14.10 to finish twenty-ninth.
Speaking of his Lady Teuton runners, coach Parson added, “Addison (Wedel) for the second week in a row broke 26 minutes and Lacie for her second time this season broke 27 minutes.”
The boys Class 2A state cross country race for Martisko will begin at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday at the Wamego Country Club in Wamego, Kansas.
Parsons concluded his post-regional reflections by saying, “I appreciate the work that Riley (Roots), Addison (Wedel), and Lacie (Baxter) have put in this season. They each definitely improved as the season progressed and also became more consistent with times relative to the courses they were running.”
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)