Staff writer
The Marion High School boys’ cross country team secured 2nd place Thursday in Marion Invitational by having four runners place in the top 20.
“They did really well. I was hoping to place in the top three,” Marion head coach Rebecca Hofer said. “They ran a solid race as a group.”
The race for the top three spots was a carbon-copy of last year’s Marion meet, with the Warrors’ Jordan Hett placing third, behind repeat champion Cordell Goering and Edgar Gutierrez of Trinity Catholic of Hutchinson. Hett clocked a time of 17 minutes, 40 seconds.
Patrick McCarty shook off injuries that slowed him early in the season to finish seventh, with a time of 18:48. Jacob Cope ran 19:22 to place 15th, followed by Timothy Knolla in 17th with a 19:44 showing. Clark Kroupa came in 36th at 21:11, Quinton Hett took 40th with a 21:35 mark, and Jared Hague ran 22:49 to place 54th.
Freshman McKenzee Remmers was the top Marion competitor in the girls’ race, rounding the course in 17:25.
“I think she could’ve done even better — she actually had to walk three times,” Hofer said. “When that gets fixed she’ll improve her time that much more.”
Kaelyn Thierolf placed 29th with a time of 17:49. Erin Meierhoff finished 44th with a time of 19:38.
“Several of the runners’ times were slower compared to last week, however our home course is quite a bit more hilly that the open field in Peabody,” Hofer said.
The varied courses make it difficult for Hofer to get a firm read on how the team is progressing at this point in the season, but she said overall she feels good with where they are.
“It’s so hard to tell. This is my second year as head coach, so it’s hard to tell if we’re where we should be,” Hofer said. “I don’t think we’re in a bad position in any way. I think there’s a lot of good competition out there we haven’t faced yet.”
The next meet for Marion is Thursday in Halstead.