Bowers, Cope lead the way for Marion
Sports reporter
Luke Bowers and Danielle Cope continue to run well for Marion High School.
Bowers finished 12th out of a pool of 76 varsity runners with a time of 18:47 Thursday at Council Grove.
Cope's two-mile time of 14:12 was good enough for 20th place in the 81-girl varsity race. Both have taken home medals at every meet this season.
"A top-12 finish is great on a course like that," said MHS coach Rex Ostmeyer. "Top 20 is solid too."
The race featured many 4A schools, not unlike other meets this year for Marion. But the course was a challenging one. It was very narrow, rough at some points, and twice the boys had to almost turn completely around to stay on the track.
"It was a tough course," Ostmeyer said.
Along with Bowers and Cope, other MHS runners also fared well.
Alissa Vogel finished 29th in the girls' race, missing out on a medal. But Ostmeyer noticed something encouraging. Vogel's time was 30 seconds better this year at Council Grove than last year. It's yet another sign of improvement as the team heads toward regionals in three weeks.
Daniel Goentzel just missed a medal with a time of 19:47 and a 22nd-place finish.
The junior varsity race featured medals for the top 10 finishers, unlike most races that usually award the top 15.
Justin Heidebrecht and Keith Jones just missed medals, finishing 11th and 13th respectively.
The girls team had two runners who would have normally taken home medals. Elisa Gayle finished 14th, and Emily Svoboda 15th.
The Warriors will travel Thursday to Chapman for the final regular season meet.
The race is an all-varsity one that breaks down the runners into classes. It's similar to the Hesston meet, where MHS fared well.
"We should do well," Ostmeyer said. "We can compete with just about anybody there."
Boys' race results
Luke Bowers V 18:47 (12)
Daniel Goentzel V 19:47 (22)
Ben Leppke V 20:56 (47)
Jordan Timm V 22:35 (63)
Matt Kirkpatrick V 22:39 (64)
Justin Heidebrecht JV 21:04 (11)
Keith Jones JV 21:23 (13)
Logan Richmond N/A Injured
Girls' race results
Danielle Cope V 14:12 (20)
Alissa Vogel V 14:25 (29)
Laura Holt V 15:08 (40)
Sabine Teichert V 15:14 (42)
Katie Hett V 15:20 (48)
Sasha Mikheyeva V 15:57 (59)
Chelsea Arnhold V 16:18 (63)
Briana Vogel V 16:35 (68)
Elisa Gayle JV 17:01 (14)
Emily Svoboda JV 17:15 (15)
Anika Wegner N/A Injured
