Kauffman, Huskies fare well at Bloser Invitational
Juniata, Belleville Christian harriers in action
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From Staff reports
NEWVILLE - High school runners from Mifflin County, Juniata and Belleville Christian School competed at different events this past weekend.
Mifflin County's Wyatt Kauffman finished as the runner-up at the Ben Bloser Invitational at Big Springs High School in Newville on Saturday. That fueled the Huskies to a ninth-place finish in the team standings in a field of 59 teams. Meanwhile, the JV Huskies placed fourth at the Altoona Invitational.
“Things are finally starting to click for these boys, and I couldn’t be more proud of their efforts today. We made a later decision to split the team so some could see the states course, but I can confidently say we took care of business at both invites," said Mifflin County coach Alex Monroe. "It makes me really happy as a coach to watch them put their heads down and compete with some of the best. They are really starting to believe they belong with some of these bigger schools. Confidence takes time to build, and I can see it starting to show through just in time for our racing to ramp up. The Big Spring’s course has always been good to Wyatt, and today was no different. He looked great early on and moved from fifth to second in the final 800m of the race. Hoyt was right with him and is looking more and more like himself with every race.
"We had a little bit of a gap after my 1-2 punch, but Aidan, Koy, Craig, Cam, and Levi all had solid days on a difficult course." Monroe added.
On the JV side, the Huskies had good days all-around.
"I am so impressed with David Snyder who ran 17:27 on an equally challenging course. He has solidified himself as a threat in the longer distances," Monroe said. "Behind him the majority saw either lifetime bests or season bests. We are right where we want to be with 6 weeks to go."
Mifflin County's girls team split up on Saturday as the varsity went to Ben Bloser and the JVs headed to Altoona.
At Ben Bloser, the girls placed 15th out of 52 AAA teams.
“Things are really coming together for the girls. We wanted the girls to experience the states course and they showed up ready to compete. Elissa Bell ran a phenomenal race, running a time of 20:13, placing her 50th," said Mifflin County coach Kristin Kauffman. "Next to finish all within the next minute were Espie, Daliyah, and Libby. Jovie, Abby, and Maddy all pushed throughout the second mile to hold their place too. To have all seven girls finish under 23:26 is incredible for Mifflin County."
This was a large meet, with 355 girls competing in the race.
"I’m very proud of how the girls ran. On the JV side, things at Altoona aligned as well. Kenzie Cramer led the girls, running a personal best of 25:00, with Hannah Johnston right behind her at 25:05," said Kauffman. "Eden, Casey, Carys, and Aubrey all took minutes off of their best time too, so it was a great day all around. Things are lining up nicely with six weeks to go.”
JUNIATA INDIANS
Juniata's high school and middle school cross country teams competed at Ben Bloser Invitational at Big Springs High School in Newville on Saturday.
The first race of the day for the Indians was the boys middle school 3200 cross country race. The field was large with 354 runners that consisted of A, AA and AAA schools. Eighth-grader Evan Yackey took the lead early on with two other runners joining him before the 1,600 mark. Yackey stayed with them until late in the race and was able to get some separation to be in first place with 100 meters to go. He was overtaken by the other two runners in the last 40 meters to get third place overall with a time of 10:56.6. Yackey was the first athlete from an AA school to finish the race.
Eighth-grader Landon Miller placed 68th in 12:18.1. Eighth-grader Mason Hardin ran a 18:50.7 to take 343rd.
“I was super impressed how Evan took charge of the race and hung tough the entire race to run his best race yet," Juniata coach Jeff Miller said. "When you push yourself like Evan does, it’s hard to have a kick in the end. He gave 110% and that’s all he can ask of himself. I can see him as a frontrunner in the future with his ability to push himself. To get 3rd out of 354 runners is impressive and he still has room for improvement this season based on the training we’ve done so far this season."
The next race on the day was the girls A/AA 5k. Freshman Hannah Wirt led the Indians with a 41st place in AA competition, running a personal best time of 21:49.9. Junior Hannah Zeiders was next placing 71st in 22:51. Freshman Juliet Heidenreich placed 101st with a 23:44, a new personal best. Freshman Charlotte Barner ran another personal best time of 25:22.9 to take 130th place. Sophomore Darcy Griffiths rounded out the scoring for the Indians placing 150th with a personal best time of 26:40.5.
Junior Marissa Henry came in shortly after placing 153rd with a personal best time of 26:53.9. Sophomore Ella Zimmerman placed 154th with a time of 26:57.8. Juniata placed 18th out of 26 teams in the AA competition.
“I thought the girls team ran great today," Miller added. "Nearly all of them ran personal best times and should be proud of themselves. I told them at the starting line that the weather was nearly perfect for racing and to take advantage of it because you never know what we will get the rest of the season."
The Juniata boys cross country team competed on the course shortly after the girls finished. Junior Josiah Barner led the Indians with a 45th place finish in AA competition running a time of 17:49.3. Junior David Mayall-Marker was next placing 72nd with a time of 18:29. Senior Coy Kerstetter placed 118th with a 19:21.6. Senior Joel Hardin placed 128th with a 19:39.8. Freshman Elliott Miller rounded out the scoring for the Indians placing 172nd with a 21:05.5.
Junior John Randolph placed 175th with a time of 21:16.6. Juniata placed 24th out of 33 teams in AA competition.
“The boys team had an OK type of day," Miller said. Many didn’t run what they were hoping for. The large field of over 300 runners made it difficult to run their own race. We will have to work on getting out for big invites like this.
Juniata had one runner compete in the girls JV race in junior Carolyn Heidenreich, who placed second overall, but was first in AA competition running a time of 21:25.8.
“I thought Carolyn handled having to run in the JV race very well. She’s always on the varsity team, but was supposed to have a soccer game the same day as Ben Bloser and had to compete by herself in the JV race. She didn’t let that affect her and still ran a solid race. This race will be helpful for her in the future if she makes it to states since this will be the state championship course for years to come.” Miller said.
BELLEVILLE CHRISTIAN THUNDER
ALTOONA - The Thunder varsity Boys Cross Country team was represented at the Altoona Invitational on Saturday. The boys continue to make noise in District 6 Class A where they are currently ranked second. They were led by Grant Yoder and Colin Hartzler, both medaled in the combined classes race. All four boys present today ran personal bests.
In the Middle School race Landon Yoder continues to impress with another medal-winning performance.