On a beautiful Saturday morning the Manhattan Cross Country team took to the course at the Haskell Invitation, but this meet looked a little different at the starting line. The Manhattan team competed without most of the top runners as the team was trying to rest their legs to prepare for the postseason.

Even though many of the varsity runners were not competing, they did come to cheer on their teammates. The boys varsity had two runners, junior Will Erickson and sophomore Carson Gros; the girls team had only one competitor, Ella Rosencrantz. Erickson finished in eighth place and Gros finished in 16th, while Rosencrantz finished 16th as well.

“It was different having only me and Will [Erickson] out there, but it felt good to have everyone cheering us on,” Gros said. “The weather was beautiful and it made the run a bit easier; it wasn’t so cold it was hard to breathe but it also wasn’t so hot that we were dehydrated, it was just perfect.”

Coach Susan Melgares was pleased that the usual Varsity runners came to attend and cheer on their fellow runners.

“I think it was a confidence boost to have our usual seven/eight runners be out in front of the MHS team,” Melgares said.

The team is headed to Topeka West next weekend to compete in the Centennial League meet.