Sports writer
Goessel High School cross-country teams competed at Clearwater for the first meet of the season.
First-year Coach Derrick Birdsell had his runners compete at varsity level to gain experience. The girls ran the 4-kilometer and Kristen Hoffman paced the Bluebirds with a time of 18 minutes, 48 seconds. Brittny Czarnowsky came in with a time of 19:54, Lindsey Wedel was not far behind at 20:38, Shanna Klassen finished in 21:27, Johanna Rumler ended the race with 22:08, and Patricia Seffens crossed the finish line in 24:11.
Three Goessel boys finished the 5-kilometer race, breaking the 20-minute barrier.
Jared Reimer led the Bluebirds with a 10th-place finish at 18:25. Derek Kruger finished one second ahead of Laird Goertzen, 19:41 and 19:42, respectively. Lukas Kemkes came in at 20:48, Chad Wedel ended the first race of this season at 22:23, and Simon Wittenschlaeger earned a time of 22:32. Grant Flaming and Stephen Goertzen crossed the finish line together at 23:49.
The opening race gave newcomers to the sport a feel of running in competition. The more experienced runners use this first race to tune-up for the rest of the season. Goessel will be at Hesston Thursday.