Staff writer
Goessel ran well at Saturday’s cross-country regional meet in Mound City; so well, in fact, that both boys’ and girls’ teams qualified for the 1A state meet in Wamego.
Devon LeRoy led the way for the Bluebirds, placing fifth with a time of 19 minutes, 3 seconds. Freddy Scheffe finished eighth at 19:55.
Senior Zach Wiens had a career day, breaking the 20-minute barrier for the first time. He placed ninth. Hours after the race, the timer of his watch still displayed his time, 19:57.
“I was so hoping I could finish strong,” Wiens said.
Team scores included each school’s top four runners, and freshman Nathan Impson nailed down the championship by running 23:38 to place 30th.
Recovered from an injury, Leighton Wagner ran for the first time in a month, posting a time of 24:14. He also will compete at state.
The Bluebird boys scored 39 points, outdueling three teams tied at 42.
Julia Nightengale set the pace for the Bluebirds’ second place team finish in the girls’ race, running 23:31 and placing eighth. Jen Meysing, racing after twisting an ankle several weeks ago, claimed 10th place medal with a time of 24:15. Lauren Rymill circled the course in 24:45 and Saskia Clostermeyer came in with a season best 25:55 to round out the scoring for the Bluebirds.
Maddy Meier ran her fastest time of the season at 28:03, and Edel Miller and Sarah Wagner finished strong for the Bluebird team.
Goessel finished 8 points behind St Paul and 13 points ahead of Wetmore.
“I was very pleased how the girls separated themselves from third place,” said coach Brian Lightner.
The boys will run at 10:45 a.m. and the girls at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wamego Country Club.