MHS boys cross country team places second
A second-place finish by the Marion High School boys' cross country team highlighted another good performance by boys' and girls' squads at the Peabody Invitational Thursday.
Running on a warm, breezy afternoon on a course carved out of the Topham farm, Daniel Goentzel ran a personal best time of 17:46 to finish second to Peabody-Burns' Andrew Topham.
Personal best times by Warriors Ryan Jones (11th), Louis Holt (14th), and Luke Bowers (18th) spurred Marion to its second-place finish in the seven-team field. Peabody-Burns was the overall winner.
"We were very excited with how well the boys' team ran," said Marion head coach Bethany Carlson.
The MHS girls varsity team featured several strong individual performances en route to a fourth-place team finish.
Danielle Cope again led the Lady Warrior charge, setting a personal best time of 15:48 for the four kilometer distance to finish second, just 19 seconds behind winner Jennifer Butler of Bennington. Camille Christensen (10th) and Tacy Taylor (11th) also ran personal best times.
Marion fielded two runners in the boys' junior varsity division. Marshall Ragland finished 36th, and Cody Tuck came in 44th.
The Peabody event included divisions for middle school runners. Brandon Meirhoff finished third on the boys' side, while Jessie Taylor and Samantha Eickleberry placed fourth and sixth respectively for the girls.
The Warriors will host the Marion Invitational meet this Thursday beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Marion County Lake.
