Area runners medal at state cross-country meets

By NICHOLAS KIMBALL and DELBERT PETERS

Staff writers

Marion’s Luke Wessel medaled at the state meet Saturday, coming in 16th place and running a personal best on the course.

Eli Klenda placed 30th, running a strong race start to finish.

“This past June, we set the goal to get back to the state meet and to be represented at the best meet in the state is something to be proud of,” coach Jason Hett said. “It was our first cold meet of the season, but Luke and Eli came ready to run at a very high level.”

The Class 2A boys field is always a loaded field, with the many top runners across the state.

“This was an exciting season that saw lots of growth and work that we will continue to build on for the future,” Hett said. “This has been a solid group and the future is bright for Marion Warriors cross-country.”

Hillsboro

The Lady Trojans placed ninth place as a team out of 12 at the 2A girls state meet Saturday.

Quinlyn Funk medaled with 11th place and a time of 20:41.5.Riley Richert placed 22nd with a time of 21:20.5.

Jaidyn Frantz placed 77th, Nora Hein placed 81st, and Mariah Laplante placed 83rd.

Finishing up as a team, Trudy Hein placed 90th, and Grace Hein, placed 94th.

Centre

Centre’s lone runner, Kaitlynn Bina, medaled with an 11th place finish in the girls 1A state meet Saturday.

As a junior, it was the second state meet she had run in. She is looking to three-peat next year in her senior year.

This year she finished with a time of 20:43.3.

Goessel

Running long grades up and down the Wamego Country Club suited the Goessel runners just fine.

The 40-degree temperatures allowed nearly every runner to post a season best time.

Eli Gaeddert improved his time by 24 seconds, picking up the seventh place individual medal.

Leading the team in a time of 17:21.55, he watched as his teammates completed the 3.1-mile course, hoping to place high as a team.

Javin Schmidt crossed the finish line in 31st place, Levi Olson in 59th place, and Aidan Impson in 67th place out of a total of 92 runners.

Of 12 teams competing for team places, Goessel came in sixth.

Delaney Gibson was the only Goessel girl in the state competition.

She broke the 23 minute mark for the first time this season with a 50th place finish out of 86 competitors.

Her season best time was 22:46.00, capturing the fastest time for a sophomore at Goessel High School.