WINTERSET — The Winterset Invitational is not unusual in being an event in which team scores are not kept. What does make it unusual is the format used at the meet.
Both boys and girls begin with a grade 7-8 race that covers two miles. Girls 9-10 and boys 9-10 races follow, with the girls grade 11-12 and boys grade 11-12 runs finishing the meet. Runners are compared both in the race they ran, and, individually, only against those in their own grade.
Senior Dawit Adum was the top Bluejay finisher, crossing in 19 minutes, 38 seconds in his first-ever cross country competition. Morgan Holmstrom (20:13), Fernando Catalan (23:17) and Brody Kimrey (27:03) were the other seniors running for the Jays, with Gerardo Gonzalez (23:32), Kiza Ndume (24:00), Elmer Garcia (24:01) and Zach Mills (33:26) the Perry juniors in action.
Emilio Gonzalez (23:34), Jacob Prombo (23:42) and Aaron Lockwood (25:53) represented the Bluejay sophomores and Mario Cruz (22:30), Benjamin Stika (29:00) and Roger Jacobson (30:43) the Jay frosh squad.
The Perry girls do not have any seniors, with McKinley Thompson (29:28) and Alejandra Rivera (32:28) on the course for the junior class, with Grace Stewart (24:00) and Darian McCord (31:09) running for the sophomore class and Jacky Castaneda (31:22), Kat Munoz (35:08) and Alondra Avila (36:19) making the circuit for the freshman class.
This is the first season all high school girls races are 5k (3.1 miles), the same distance as the boys. All middle school races, as aforementioned, are two miles in length.
Six harriers — Luis Guzman (13:23), Chase Archer (13:39), Emanuel Cardenas (13:51), Tony Burgus (16:11), Colin Malmberg (17:16) and Calvin Sass (17:21) — ran for the grade 8 Bluejays, with Kyle Lockwood (15:57) and Andrew Galindo (16:18) competing for the grade 7 Jays.
Molly Lutmer (14:11) and Hannah Peterson (15:53) led the Jayette grade 8 runners. Sophia Prombo (20:01), Maria Izquierdo (20:54), Bailey Piper (23:11), Bree Martin (24:05) and Taylor Eppert (25:13) also ran the circuit. No seventh graders ran for the Jayettes.
Perry resumes competition Thursday at the Greene County Invitational and will then run at the Ballard Invite Monday.
