Holt, Christensen both finish in the top-30
Staff writer
A trio of Marion High School Warriors found success Saturday at the 1-4A state cross country meet at Wamego Country Club.
Junior Ryan Jones came away with a medal after finishing 16th out of 102 in the boys’ 5k race.
His time of 17 minutes, 54.92 seconds was 54 seconds behind champion Jason Martin of Herington.
“Going in I just wanted to get in the top-20,” Jones said. “There was a lot of good competition. That’s a hard course.”
Jones’ teammates agreed.
Louis Holt, who was 25th with a time of 18:14.28, said he was walking the course early Saturday and was reminded of how hilly it was.
“My legs were burning,” he said after the race.
Camille Christensen, the lone Warrior girl at the race, still was battling a quadriceps injury, not to mention a wet course at 9 a.m., when she took 28th out of 100 in the 4k.
“It was hurting pretty bad. The hills added some stress,” she said. “It would have been nice to medal, but just making it was a nice accomplishment.”
It was the second time the senior qualified for state; the first was during her sophomore year.
Christensen said she was hoping for a medal after missing out by less than a second in 2006. Her time of 17:12.99 Saturday was 17 seconds off medal pace.
“I knew the course pretty well this time, maybe it was just nerves,” she said.
All three can take something positive away from the meet. A new rule designates an runner who finishes in the top-30 is considered a member of the all-state team.
Jones has other hardware to remember the race where he finished 12 spots better than when he ran this past year.
Holt now knows a medal is possible in 2009 after finishing Saturday 13 places higher than in 2007.
“I felt a lot better than last year,” Holt said. “I knew what to expect.”
Although Christensen did not medal, just qualifying for state was an accomplishment after missing out in 2007.
Jones and Holt have one more year to improve on their times, but for now, Jones is appreciating his finish and the break that comes with the end of the season.
“It was a great feeling,” he said. “Realizing that was my last race of the season – that was nice too,” he said with a laugh.