MS Cross Country Competes at CMC
By Amy Peters
Because of meet entry restrictions, the Lake County Middle School cross country team had to divide the team and compete in 2 different meets last week. Part of the team raced in Eagle-Vail on Thursday, September 3, and the other half participated in the Lake County Invitational on Friday, September 4.
The meet on September 3 was hosted by Homestake Peak Middle School and the Panthers faced off against much of their Peaks League competition under hot and sunny conditions. 8th grader Jaren Peters led the boys team with a 3rd place finish and a time of 13 minutes 3 seconds. 7th grader Jake Cairns finished 13th in 14:16. Jude Peters, a 6th grader, was 21st in 15:14, and Wes Sandoval, a 7th grader, ran 16:13 to place 26th.
On the girls’ side, 6th grader Chloe King ran a strong 2nd half of the race to take 4th place in 15:09. Indigo Olsen, an 8th grader, took 19th place with her time of 17:19. 6th grade newcomer, Layla Horning, ran 17:57 for 21st place. Aimee Lenhard (7th grade) finished in 18:40 and 26th. 8th grader Amara Olsen and 6th grader Daphne Duran pushed each other to 34th and 35th respectively and times of 20:05 and 20:11.
All of the LCMS girls that competed in the Lake County Invitational have been running for a year or 2, but each of the boys that raced are brand new to the sport.
Ella Bullock was Lake County’s first female finisher. The 8th grader completed the course in 16:43 and took 5th place. Her twin sister Susie dropped 2 ½ minutes off her time from last year, placing 13th in 18:46. Tal Sheleg, another 8th grader, improved on her 2019 time by 50 seconds, running 21:13 and taking 16th place. 7th grader Faith Pongrekun was 25th with her time of 25:45.
Matthew Quinn, a 6th grader, took 14th place in his first cross country race. Quinn’s time was 16:45. Fellow 6th grader, Ben Woodcock finished 21st in 20:17. Leo Bloodgood, a 7th grader, ran 22:18 and ended up 26th. Itai Sheleg (6th grade) and Merritt Baker (7th grade) turned in times of 24:31 and 24:53 respectively and placed 29th and 30th.