SAYDEL, IOWA — Perry sent both their boys and girls high school and middle school harriers to the Saydel Invitational Thursday, where the Bluejays and Jayettes ran in a crowded field.
There were 123 boys and 96 girls entered in their respective 5K varsity races, with a mob of 205 boys and 124 girls running in the two-mile middle school races.
North Polk won the varsity boys event with 34 points, with Des Moines Christian second at 43 while Perry finished sixth of 11 at 164. North Polk and Van Meter were 1-2 in the girls varsity race with 30 and 51 points, respectively, while Perry placed fourth of eight at 134.
DMC’s Aaron Fynaardt was the boys titleist in 16 minutes, 2 seconds, with North Polk’s Zach Sporaa second at 16:24 and DMC’s Carson Houg third in 16:26.
Fithawi Andemichael continues to run well for Perry, placing 12th overall in 17:59. Gannon Meis (25th, 19:27), Yonas Andemichael (28th, 19:38), Johnathan Chavez (45th, 20:40) and Owen Myers (54th, 21:34) also scored for the varsity. Aidan Carlson (63rd, 22:11) and Mason Hoffman (67th, 22:57) had varsity times as well but did not have their scores counted.
Bryce Anliker (23:56), Kyle Hernandez (24:37), Kevin Barrientos (26:18), Jackson Loyd (28:31) and Issac Ballard (29:15) also ran for the Bluejays.
North Polk junior Liza Schaffer pulled a rare feat by besting the Kelly sisters of Van Meter for the girls honors. Schaffer crossed in 19:52, with Clare Kelly finishing in 20:20 and Mary Kelly in 20:40.
Jaylene Karolus was 10th for Perry in 21:57, with Taryn Nehring stopping 23rd in 23:26. Also scoring for the Jayettes were Julie Maylum (30th, 25:16), Mylah Meis (32nd, 25:21) and Mercedes Ponce (39th, 26:26). Amy Diaz (47th, 30:01) and Denise Rivera (48th, 30:14) also had varsity results, with Laurine Calamy (32:09) and Aliya Ikhsanova (32:20) completing the circuit for Perry as well.
ADM (51) and Johnston (58) were 1-2 in the middle school boys race, with Perry 12th of 14 at 333.
Caleb Ten Pas of DMC was the victor after posting a time of 10:53.
Five Jays ran the event, with Thad Stuart (13:09) and Gavin Leslie (55th, 14:29) leading the way. They were followed by Kyeo Augustine (83rd, 17:07), Diego Diaz-Cardenas (84th, 18:07) and Angel Rodriguez-Molina (86th, 19:01).
ADM (32) and North Polk (48) claimed the top two team spots in the girls middle school event, with Perry 10th of 11 at 241 points.
Haley James of ADM crossed first, finishing in 13:08.
Perry’s Lily Myers was 8th in 14:16. Teammates Rosa Pineda (19:15), Amelie Canales (19:21), Fiorella Oliver (20:10) and Aleah Karolus (20:50) all scored, finishing 54-56-59-64, respectively. Iliana Ledesma (68th, 21:50) and Sofie Saenz (69th, 21:52) ran for the Perry girls as well.
South Hamilton will host Monday’s HOIC high school and middle school meet with 4:30 p.m. set as the start time. The state middle school meet is Oct. 16 in Ankeny, with a start time as yet undetermined.
