MENLO — The sixth-ranked Panorama girls were second and the Panther boys seventh at the West Central Valley cross country meet Thursday.
Nodaway Valley edged Panorama, 33-35, for the girls crown, with Greene County third at 92 in the nine-team event. Fourth-ranked 1A Nodaway Valley’s 33 points won the boys team title, with Kuemper Catholic second at 63 and Saydel third at 87. Panorama was seventh, with 207 points, in an 11-team boys field.
“This was a new course and the weather was brutal,” Panorama head coach Greg Thompson said, noting a heat index in the 90’s and little shade along the route.
Ella Waddle won the girls race in 20 minutes, 18.17 seconds, with teammates Gwen and Olivia Steffen placing 3-5 in 22:17.86 and 23:08.27. Also scoring were Payton Beckman (12th, 25:25.76) and Lydia Lindstrom (14th (26:06.46). Abby Cobb (18th, 27:06.19) and Molly Simmons (22nd, 27:41.38) also ran for the varsity.
“Ella, Gwen and Olivia had a good race, but the others struggled a bit, most likely due to the weather,” Thompson said. “Leah Fett rolled an ankle and couldn’t finish the race and Chloe Webster didn’t finish either.”
Emry Colby crossed 33rd, in 21:41.57, to lead the Panther boys. Brayton Hoffman (22:29.42) and Landon Goodenberger (22:33.11) crossed 41-42, with Declan and Conor McCarthy placing 45-46 in 22:50.49 and 22:51.46. Also in action were Avery Norman (49th, 23:27.3) and Alec Mills (61st, 25:13.08).
“I thought the boys ran very well as a pack, being separated by just 71 seconds,” Thompson said. “The boys gained a great deal of success last week at Gilbert and that experience led to a much improved race for the boys.”
“Both teams still need to work on being prepared for the the weather,” he added. “They were told what they need to do to stay hydrated, but most did not follow that advice. I hope they choose to learn from this experience as the season continues.”
Panorama will run at the Greene County Invite Thursday and then host the Panther Invitational at Lake Panorama Par 3 Sept. 19.
