By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

The Marion cross-country season officially finished Saturday, with Heidi Grimmett placing 31 in the 2A state meet in Wamego.

Despite finishing in the pack, her time suffered, coming in at 22:26. The increase in time was due primarily to Wamego Country Club’s hilly course, coach Grant Thierolf said.

“The first mile and-a-half, she was right where she needed to be,” he said. “Then it’s just a matter of staying strong through the hills.”

Many others with the pack suffered a similar fate. The runners from 20 back to 35 finished with times between 22 and 23 minutes.

Now that Heidi has seen what the state meet has to offer, that will be the goal at the beginning of training.

“Next year we have to prepare for the end thing, which is this,” coach Grant Thierolf said. “Instead of just running miles, we have to put more miles in on hills.”

For her goals, Heidi wants to break her personal best every meet and stay under 21 minutes.

To take the next step as a team, first the group has to have enough runners.

“Number one, we try to get more kids out,” he said. “It would be a lot easier training and a lot easier racing if competing in races with a full team.”

The boy’s team has a shorter track. With two returning varsity runners and two eighth graders moving up next year, they will need one more runner.

On the other hand, the girl’s team will only have two runners. Heidi and sister Bethany Grimmett made significant improvements throughout the season, but they will need three more teammates to score as a full team.