Columbus girls win 1st cross-country meet since 2011

SIGOURNEY — The Columbus girls cross-country team won the Sigourney Invitational on Tuesday night at the Sigourney Golf Course. It was the Wildcat girls first team championship in 10 years since winning the Mediapolis Invitational in 2011.

Freshman Ariana Vergara led the Wildcats with a third-place finish. Averi Sipes finished 11th, Kimmy Gonzalez 13th, Frannie Sosa 14th and Alexa Alcala 16th.

“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Columbus head coach Steve Riley said. “This was a matter of our hard work paying off. Since practice has started, they just show up and do the work and don’t complain. Hopefully, this is the start of much more success.”

The Class 1A 19th-rated Columbus boys finished second to North Mahaska, 45-47. Senior Freddy Vergara was the top Wildcat with a second-place time of 18 minutes, 59 seconds on the hilly course. He was just 3 seconds behind English Valleys 13th-ranked (Class 1A) runner, senior Bryson Grove.

The Wildcat boys were competing without three varsity runners because of illness.

“I thought our boys ran with a lot of guts and heart, facing a lot of adversity,” Riley said. “And Freddy, who was celebrating his birthday, ran the cross-country race of his life.”

Other Wildcats who earned medals for top 10 finishes were senior Mason Hills-Carrier, seventh, and sophomore Tim Hills-Carrier, ninth.

Results were not available late Tuesday.