Fast times for Washington runners

It was a perfect night for low times at the Washington Golf and Country Club on Tuesday night.

The Washington cross-country team held its annual invitational at the golf course, and cool temperatures translated to low times for all the competitors at the meet.

Highland senior Keiffer Sexton ran a 15:38 at the meet to claim the top individual spot overall on the boys? side, and he said he is looking to keep improving as the season is only three weeks from state qualifying.

?Today, I realized that some of my top competitors weren?t here, so I had to go back on old habits,? Sexton said. ?I?m working hard on developing a new strategy for the rest of the season. I want to be fast enough to be 4A competitive.?

For Washington, a number of personal bests were set, as Washington junior Owen Horak ran a 17:46, followed by sophomore Brennan Horak?s 17:49, for 14th and 15th place respectively at the meet.

They were closely followed by sophomore Jacob Van Osdol?s 18:08, which put him in 17th place.

?It was a great night for them, and cool weather had a lot to do with it for everybody,? Washington head coach Steve Roth said. ?It affects you mentally when the weather cools off and you get a little boost. Even walking the course, they were tired early in the season with the heat and humidity, but there was no junk in the air last night. I don?t know if the times will stay that low, but we only have three meets left.?

Washington?s Ben Loy earned a medal at the meet by placing 23rd overall with an 18:46 (the top 25 received medals), while Ben Schiefer rounded out the scoring with a 19:43 for 34th place.

Andres Gutierrez (47th, 20:37) and Kiowa Keith (48th, 20:37) rounded out the varsity seven runners.

?Confidence is important,? Roth said. ?Their confidence level is very high, but our competition level is going to get higher. We had four guys medal last night, and that?s pretty cool. They work really hard and it?s nice to see them get some satisfaction. It was an outstanding meet for us.?

On the girls? side, senior Emme Keith and sophomore Brooke Stout ran strong meets, with Keith placing eighth with a 20:20, and Stout claiming a ninth-place finish with a 20:22.

Molly Sparks finished in 12th place at the meet with a 21:33, while Meredith Raber had a 15th-place finish after a 22:15 race and Mariah Howard rounded out the scoring with a 21st-place finish (22:43).

Maggie Voss claimed a medal with her 23rd-place finish, running a 23:03, while Peyton Cuddeback rounded out the varsity runners with a 24:08 in 32nd.

?Molly and Meredith really pushed each other,? Roth said. ?There?s a lot of good things going on on the girls? side. Brooke and Emme worked together really well, and we?ve been working on going out faster, and their mile time needs to be a little faster. There were six girls who medaled for the first time last night, and they are really pleased

about that.?

The Washington boys claimed fourth place as a team at the meet, while the girls took third, finishing behind Fort Madison and Fairfield.

Washington will be back at home in two weeks, when they host the conference meet at the same site. Roth noted that the Washington Golf and Country Club is a great site for them and he is appreciative of everything they do for the meet.