The Marion cross-country team earned four medals at Herington Thursday in a meet hosted by Centre.
Coach Dmitry Bucklin said the course was longer than a typical 5-kilometer race—3.65 miles instead of the standard 3.1—and that was reflected in the Warriors’ times.
“The course at Herington was much hillier and was also longer than the Hesston meet,” he said. “This made the course a challenge. However, even with the hills and longer distance, we came home with some hardware.
“The runners all ran hard, and I am pleased with how the meet went.”
Emily Hague earned a medal, paving the way for Marion by placing fourth among 24 finishers in the varsity girls’ race with a time of 26 minutes, 55.6 seconds. Meggan Frese was 22nd (32:39.2).
Meanwhile, Colin Williams led the boys with a sixth-place finish among 45 runners with a time of 21:43.7 to earn a medal. Ethan Darnall was 29th (25:00.4), Devin Regnier 32nd (25:36.1) and Tyler Arocha 38th (26:58.6).
Bethany Grimmett placed second in the junior varsity girls’ race (32:41.3), while Luisa Junqueira was eighth (34:43.6). Both earned medals.
“It is great to see our runners using their training during races,” Bucklin said. “I encourage each runner to use the hills—up and down—to their advantage, and they did.
“I often say, ‘Be proud of how you finish.’ This does not mean that you have to get the best time or the best place, but when you are done you know that you did your best and you kicked it in. Every runner finished to the best of their ability.”
Coming—Marion was scheduled to host a meet Tuesday. The Warriors will compete at Halstead Sept. 29.
