Tyson Lawson
Student Sports Media
The final cross country meet of the season took place on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the National Junior College meet, in El Dorado. It was a very brisk morning with the temperature around the high 40s. A lot of people came out from all around the nation to represent their schools.
For the women, they had a total of 491 points, placing them in 17th. Thirty-seven women’s teams competed. The top runner for the women was Janie Salinas, placing 101st with a time of 20:22.68. Following her was Jade Searles 20:27.01 (106th), Jeanna Baker 21:11.08 (160th), Jessica Finney 21:13.90 (165th), Roshea Burrell 21:19.37 (170th) and finishing off for the women was Alex Fulton with a time of 21:41.84, placing 197th.
It was a good race for the women, considering how cold it was for running.
For the men, they finished with a total of 249 points, placing them in sixth overall. Leading the men was Emmanuel Biwott, placing 19th with a time of 25:44.31. Following was Boniface Kiptoo 25:56.86 (26th), Eliud Koech 25:58.90 (27th), Joel Santiago 27:42.26 (112th), Derrick Reid 27:59.96 (134th), and finishing it off for the men was Jacob Hesse with a time of 28:31.63 placing 180th.This topped off a good season for both men and women’s cross country teams.
Coach Ryan Turner was asked how he felt about how his runners competed.
“I’m very proud of our men and women and how hard they competed,” Turner said. “Our women were ranked 17th and finished 17th in the nation. Our men were ranked seventh and finished sixth.”
“Six of our seven men and five of our top six women who competed are freshmen, so the future is bright for both of our teams,” Turner said.
“We have a great group of kids who support each other and have a genuine love for each other. Cross country is the front porch of our program. It sets the tone for what we want to accomplish on the track. I think we’ve started off well, now it’s on to indoor track and those kids know we expect the same result.”
