By Staff
LAWRENCE – On Saturday, October 29 the Smoky Valley cross country program had both the boys and girls teams running at the Class 3A State Championships in Lawrence at Rim Rock Farms where the Viking boys finished 8th and the Lady Vikings picked up a 5th place finish.
For the Viking boys, they scored 193 points which placed them eighth, well behind state champion Wichita Trinity Academy with 35. Southeast of Saline was second, while Hiawatha, West Franklin, and Girard rounded out the top five teams.
Individually, Tytus Reed closed out his Smoky Valley career with a seventeenth-place finish at state, running 16:52.78. Wyatt Johnson ran forty-second and Brayden Eyer finished fifty-third. Further back was Samuel Peterson and Kaden Bishop who placed seventy-fourth and eighty-third, respectively.
The Lady Vikings place fifth at the state meet as a team with 151 points. Southeast of Saline continued their dominance by winning the state team title followed by Cheney, Wichita Trinity Academy, and Riley County.
Keira Mullen had a solid run for Smoky Valley, finishing twenty-seventh with a run of 21:16.29 while Hope Willems and Taylor Helton finished in the top 50 at thirty-eighth and forty-ninth. Sophia Fruits and Adrien Lochard ran side-by-side and finished sixty-first and sixty-second respectively.
VIKING BOYS:
Team Standings: 1. Wichita Trinity Academy 35; 2. Southeast of Saline 58; 3. Hiawatha 155; 4. West Franklin 157; 5. Girard 166; 6. Marysville 175; 7. Wichita Collegiate 180; 8. VIKINGS 193; 9. Holcomb 207; 10. Scott Community 224.
Viking Boys Individual Results: 17. Tytus Reed – 16:52.78; 42. Wyatt Johnson – 17:47.28; 53. Brayden Eyer – 18:20.66; 74. Samuel Peterson – 19:04.60; 83. Kaden Bishop – 19:32.79; 91. Sebastian Pavlovich – 20:11.76; 102. Elijah Spooner – 21:54.48.
LADY VIKINGS:
Team Standings: 1. Southeast of Saline 64; 2. Cheney 108; 3. Wichita Trinity Academy 110; 4. Riley County 148; 5. LADY VIKINGS 151; 6. Southwestern Heights 155; 7. Osage City 164; 8. Norton 180; 9. Holcomb 180; 10. Minneapolis 217.
Lady Viking Individual Results: 27. Keira Mullen – 21:16.29; 38. Hope Willems – 21:36.64; 49. Taylor Helton – 21:55.03; 61. Sophia Fruits 22:35.13; 62. Adrien Lochard – 22:36.09; 77. Gracia Peterson – 23:54.69; 86. Mila Sims – 25:17.85.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)