Columbus girls take third at Clear Creek-Amana Invitational

The Columbus girls? cross-country team finished a close third at Monday?s Clear Creek-Amana Invitational, which was held on the University of Iowa?s Ashton Cross-Country Course in Iowa City.

The Wildcats scored 57 points, finishing just behind Clear Creek-Amana and Vinton-Shellsburg, both of which tallied 50. The host Clippers won the team title on a tiebreaker because it had a faster sixth runner than the Vikettes.

Six Wildcats earned medals at the meet. Sophomore Taylor Hills took seventh place in 17:07, and senior Caitlin Chaney crossed the finish line nine seconds later in ninth place. Sophomore Claire Hamilton came in 11

^th

in 17:41, and freshman Grace Chapman was 13

^th

in 17:54. Freshman Ashley Canny finished 17

^th

in 18:07, and junior Yvette Aguilar was 21

^st

in 18:55.

Junior Rebecca Neri also came in 31

^st

in 20:06.

?This was our best night,? Columbus head coach Steve Riley said. ?The girls had four runners under 18 minutes, and I don?t know if that has ever been done at our school. We had a one minute time difference between our No. 1 and No. 5 runners, which is outstanding.?

The Columbus boys placed fourth out of six teams with 107 points. Junior Efrain Barajas placed 11

^th

in 17:57 to lead the Wildcats, and junior Eli Sents crossed the finish line two seconds later in 12

^th

place.

?I am very proud of Efrain and Eli, both of whom broke 18 minutes on a legitimate 5-kilometer course,? Riley said.

Freshman Josh Keller came in 25

^th

in 19:39, and senior Mitchell Roush was 19

^th

in 20:10. Junior Dalton Howell?s 30

^th

-place finish in 20:19 rounded out the scoring.

Columbus had three girls finish in the top 10 of the junior varsity race. Sophomore Kassandra Lara took fifth place in 21:12, and junior Jessica Morales came in sixth in 21:34. Freshman Gaby Villagrana was eighth in 21:59.

Freshman Adrian Santos came in 23

^rd

in the junior varsity boys? race, crossing the finish line in 23:48. Freshman Curtis Fuller finished three seconds later in 24

^th

place, and sophomore Andy Smith was 32

^nd

in 28:25.

Columbus will host the Mike Jay Invitational next Monday at 4:30 p.m. at the Cedarcrest Country Club.