The Manhattan High School cross country teams raced at the Baldwin City Golf Course last Saturday, where both the Varsity girls and Varsity boys team placed first.
On the Varsity girls side, this is another strong first place win. MHS girls swept the top third spots, with junior Gabby Converse placing first with a time of 18:27, freshman Zara Koehn placing second with a time of 18:28 and freshman Isla Spreer placing third with a time of 18:30.
“Everyone always works hard, and you see that every single day,” Converse said. “I mean, everyone just gives it their all, and it’s really reflected at the meets too.”
The Varsity boys ran towards their first time finishing in first place this season, with their top scorers being senior Patrick Huser in fourth place at a time of 16:50, junior Benjamin Huser in fifth place with a time of 16:59 and senior Will Richards at sixth place, running a 17:01.
“[Placing first] made me feel proud and hopeful for State,” Patrick Huser said.
On Sept. 27, both teams raced at Rim Rock Farm, following the junior varsity races there the day before. Varsity girls placed first and varsity boys placed 10th. Junior Varsity girls placed third and boys Junior Varsity placed fourth.
“All those hills, it’s a difficult course but it’s a lot of fun,” Converse said.
The top runner for the Varsity girls at Rim Rock was Converse in seventh place with a time of 19:05, while the top runner was senior Wilson Wesch for the Varsity boys, placing 24th place with a time of 16:37. Freshman Allison Knopp placed highest from the girls Junior Varsity team at seventh place and senior Andrew Meng placed highest from the boys Junior Varsity team, at 10th place with a time of 17:59.
“[We’re] really building momentum. I mean, we have our eyes set on state,” Converse said.“It’s building the confidence for the team, and we’re getting excited.”
The cross country team is in the middle of their season with four more races until the final showdown at Lawrence.
“They’re rolling, and we just [have] to keep doing the work,” coach Susan Melgares said. “Don’t get complacent, keep putting in the daily work and then let the results take care of themselves.”
The next race is the Haskell Invitational in Lawrence this Saturday.
