While the Manhattan High cross country team has felt their beginning successes, they have also felt their losses, placing seventh at the Missouri Southern Stampede between both boys and girls Varsity.

Unlike the first two meets where all divisions secured first-place finishes, the weekend proved a challenge as the Joplin terrain caused more competition due to the wide range of schools in attendance.

According to senior Ella Rosenkranz, the size of the meet allowed for a faster course.

“I think the meet went well,” Rosenkranz said. “Everyone fought hard and a lot of people got personal records, either for the season or for all time.”

Rosenkranz raced with a time of 19:46.81, taking 26th place, and was Manhattan’s second runner to cross the finish line. Before her, freshman Amelia Knopp — Manhattan’s first runner — ran a time of 19:28.17, taking 17th place, which ultimately contributed to an overall team score of seventh place. 

Similar to the girls team, boys Varsity finished in seventh place, lead by junior Daniel Harkin, who took first place with a time of 15:11.42, setting the new school record. He was followed by senior Luke Wichmann and sophomore Ben Mosier, who both raced within nine seconds of each other. 

“I thought it went really well,” Mosier said. “The weather was a lot nicer this meet and everyone ran a lot faster.”

Despite placing seventh, the team is still grateful for their score. According to Rosenkranz, they had real improvement from last year when the girls team placed 11th.

“There’s always improvement to be made,” Rosenkranz said. “The team’s on track so far and everyone performed the best they could.”

Their improvement will also help build team morale and encouragement as the season progresses, which will happen through practice and time according to Mosier.

“I think it will give everyone a lot of confidence moving forward,” Mosier said. “[It will] inspire everyone to keep training so that both teams can hopefully win state.”

The team is glad they had the opportunity to compete alongside more teams and talent, and they hope that this will further reflect on their goals for the rest of the season.

“I look forward to working with our team towards another league championship and another qualification for state,” Rosenkranz said.