PANORA — Class 2A No. 3 Panorama cruised to victory in their own invitational Thursday, with the Panther boys placing 17th in a 20-team field that featured several strong Class 1A teams.
Panorama’s 53 points won the girls race, with Earlham second at 90 and AC/GC third at 99. Tri-Center’s Peyton Pogge, ranked third, won the girls side in 19 minutes, 43 seconds, with 2A No. 6 Ella Waddle breaking her own Panorama school record for the course by placing second in 20:07. AC/GC’s Kate Crawford — rated second in 1A — was third overall in 20:25.
“The weather conditions (mid 80’s temperatures, winds gusting to 15 miles per hour) were not ideal for the boys race, but did improve in time for the girls race,” Panorama head coach Greg Thompson said, “and I think that affected our performances. We also started a hard training phase last week and it showed as our runners looked tired, which I expected, especially with it being Homecoming week.”
Payton Beckman was sixth for the hosts in 22:23, with Gwen Steffen 11th at 23:37 and Olivia Steffen 14th at 23:48. The trio joined Waddle in earning individual medals.
Brooklyn Behrends also scored for the varsity, finishing a strong 20th in 24:16. Leah Fett was a second behind, at 24:17, to just miss having her placing scored, with Jaelynn Waddle completing the varsity septet by crossing 44th in 26 minutes even.
The boys race was dominated by 1A No. 1 Madrid (31), with 1A No. 2 Nodaway Valley second (86) and 1A No. 14 AC/GC third (149). Panorama was 17th with 377 points.
Top-ranked Sean McDermott of Madrid won in 16:59, with eighth-rated Joshua Baudler of Nodaway Valley second in 17:23, two ticks ahead of AC/GC’s fifth-ranked Noah Nelsen (17:25).
Levi Richey led the Panther boys by finishing 39th in 19:58. Kevin Cogil was 62nd in 21:03 and Noah Kirtley 72nd in 21:29, with Kade Kemble crossing 100th in 22:54 and Declan McCarthy 104th in 23:17. Also running for the varsity were Avery Norman (118th, 24:49) and Jordan Wehmeyer (122nd, 25:33).
“I feel confident that our runners will be at their best in mid to late October, as that is how our training is set up,” Thompson said. “If our kids have faith in the training and commit themselves to proper training methods — by which I mean proper sleep, nutrition, stretching, icing, and more — they will be ready to perform very well late in the season.”
Panorama returns to action Thursday when they compete in the PCM Invitational.
