With over 700 runners lining up to run, there are not many people who can place, let alone in the top five. Manhattan had two runners who set themselves apart from the pack and finished in that top tier.

Leading the girls Varsity team, Clara Mayfield got fourth place with a time of 19:02.01. Leading the boys Varsity meet, Cooper Schroeder placed third with a time of 15:38.56. Only .09 seconds away from beating his brother Jackson Schroeder’s school record he got last year.

“Going into the race I just wanted to run fast, and then when I finished and saw my time I was super happy with it,” Schroeder said. “And I know I was super close to getting the record and beating my brother but the season isn’t over yet, and I can still try to get it.”

As a team captain running in an all Varsity meet, it can be a little intimidating  and put lots of pressure on the runners.

“There was a lot more challenges in this meet than any other one so far,” Mayfield said. “It was so hot outside and there was a lot faster runners from other states competing with me. There was also 359 runners so it was really hard to fight for a position.”    

In order for MHS to receive such good scores they had to stay together as a team and push through the struggles.

“I thought we did good as a team, a lot of people are improving their times and we’re moving up as a pack,” Mayfield adds. “We are going to continue to work on packing up towards the front because it will make us harder to beat,”.

Overall, MHS cross country placed very high and achieved good scores this week at a varsity meet and are striving to get even better as the season continues.