GUTHRIE CENTER — Both the Panorama and Woodward-Granger cross country teams were able to stretch their legs in competition for the first time this season with a visit to the Charger Invitational.
AC/GC won the boys side with 50 points, with DMC second at 69 and Panorama third at 86. Mt. Ayr (112) was fourth, with W-G (121), AHSTW (154), Martensdale-St. Marys (171), Aududon (183) and Southwest Valley (244) completing the field.
AC/GC also won the girls side, scoring an impressive 29 points, with Panorama second at 44. East Union (102) was well back in third place, with AHSTW (104), Mt. Ayr (126), SW Valley (160), W-G (163) and Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton (188) also in action.
Panorama head coach Greg Thompson said he was “quite pleased with the performances; most of the returning runners from last season are faster even though we ran fewer summers miles this year than last year. These kids showed how BRAVE (Bold Running and Victory Exists) they are.”
AC/GC’s powerhouse duo of Kate Crawford and Emma Swanson swept the top two girls spots with times of 20 minutes, 28 seconds and 20:48, respectively, but Panorama’s Ella Waddle (21:09) and Devyn Kemble (21:19) were close behind, placing third and fourth overall.
Gwen Steffen (23:56) was 10th, Lydia Lindstrom (24:19) and Olivia Steffen (24:37) 15th for the Panthers. Brooklyn Behrends (24:56) and Chloe Webster (25:07) also ran for the varsity.
Bryn Steffen (25:13), Lydia Knapp (25:15), Jaelyn Waddle (25:41), Emily Smith (26:05), Abby Cobb (26:09), Taylor Rishel (26:17), Molly Simmons (26:27), Maddie Knapp (27:46) and Maisie Knapp (30:18) were also in action for the Panthers.
“Both Ella and Devyn were under the team course record of 21:53 Brianna Hoffman set last year,” Thompson noted. “As a team we had a total of 12 course records and of the 29 athletes that ran, all but one were faster than last week’s time trial by over 90 seconds.”
The Woodward-Granger girls were led by Josie Noland, who crossed 22nd in 25:33. Posey Robinson (32nd, 26:02), Natalie Helbling (34th, 26:18), Chloe Davis (37th, 26:31) and Kaitlyn Peters (38th, 26:51) also scored for the Hawk varsity.
Others running for the W-G girls included Mollie Frost (31:47), AnnaMae Hanson (34:47), Emily Linger (35:13) and Hannah Linger (39:58).
Danny Nordquist (6th, 18:51) and Josh Carstens (7th, 18:55) were the lead pair for the Panorama boys, with Sam Webster (20th, 20:29), Kaleb Randol (26th, 21:10) and Levi Richey (27th, 21:22) posting varsity scores as well. Emry Colby (21:43) and Erik Olsen (22:29) were also on the varsity bill.
Other Panthers navigating the course were Colten Stogdill (22:54), Noah Kirtley (23:26), Lucas Wasson (24:48), Paul Hansen (24:58), Drew Hafner (27:08) and Logan Christe (28:57).
Trevor Faultonson (16th, 20:16), Alex Bice (21st, 20:30) and Caleb Jones (24th, 20:56) were the three lead finishers for the W-G boys, with Chandler Cavanaugh (28th, 21:23) and Kaya Bowlsby (32nd, 21:38) scoring as well. Cody Garland (22:08) and Hunter Pierce (39th, 22:27) completed the varsity septet.
Keith Braunschweig (23:25), Nick Busch (24:08), Sam Peterson (24:14), Kurt Crouse (24:25), Kainen Fuson (24:56), Cole Theisen (27:45), and Logan Roll (27:48) also ran the course for the Hawks.
Both the Panthers and Hawks return to action Thursday, with Panorama visiting West Central Valley and W-G making the short trip to Madrid.
