SAYDEL, IA — All levels of Perry cross country was in action Thursday as the Bluejay and Jayette harriers competed in the Saydel Invitational.
Powerhouse Des Moines Christian cruised to the boys title with 17 points, with Perry fourth of eight at 113.
Aaron Fynhaardt, DMC senior, was the top finisher, crossing in 15 minutes, 28 seconds. The Lions had the 1-2-3-5 and 6 finishers.
The Perry girls also finished fourth of eight in the varsity race with 143 points. Van Meter won, with 29 points, with Maddy Childs of Grandview Christian the top medalist in 19:16.
The Bluejays were led, as they have been all season, by Yonas Andemichael and Thad Stewart, who crossed seventh in 17:33 and 16th in 18:55, respectively. Gannon Meis (26th, 19:40), Owen Myers (30th, 20:19), and Jonathan Chavez (34th, 20:31) also scored for the varsity, with Bryce Anliker (39th, 21:07) and AIden Carlson (40th, 21:10) running as well.
Unlimited entries allowed Perry to stuff 10 other runners into the varsity meet. Competing for the Jays were Kyeo Augustine (22:25), Chad Gray (22:34), Mason Hoffman (22:41), Julian Guzman (22:43), Carlos Ruiz-Aragon (23:18 — a drop of nearly three minutes from his prior personal best), Minasay Tewelde (24:13), Osvaldo Cornelio-Vasquez (24:44), Isaac Ballard (25:52), Kyle Hernandez (26:08), and Angel Rodriguez (29:20).
Johnston won the middle school boys two-mile race with 22 points, with Perry ninth of 10 teams at 213.
Thomas Clark-Obbink (13th, 12:56) was first for Perry, with George Krohn (36th, 14:00), Ivan Willett (43rd, 14:25), Gavin Leslie (55th, 15:18), and Edwyrd Stell (66th, 16:22) also scoring. Rounding out the Perry entrants were Diego Diaz-Cardenas (67th, 16:37) and Sebastian Oliver (70th, 22:29).
First to finish for the Jayette varsity was Taryn Nehring, who placed 19th in 22:33. Mylah Meis was 26th in 24:07 and Natalie Castillo 31st in 24:26, with Amy Diaz 33rd in 24:34 and Julie Maylum 34th in 25:02. Mercedes Ponce (45th, 27:37) made the circuit as well for the Perry girls.
ADM’s 28 points won the girls middle school race, with Perry sixth of seventh at 146.
Lily Myers sped to sixth overall in 13:51 for the Jayettes, with Harper Peterson crossing 18th in 15:23. Payton Pierchbacher (38th, 17:12), Aleah Karolus (40th, 18:15), and Fiorella Oliver (44th, 19:01) helped create the team score as well, with Haley Nelson (45th, 20:58), Jadelyn Hoffman (46th, 21:00), Cali Hernandez (22:08) and Selene Ayala (23:24) also competing.
