Perkins County Cross Country Harriers State Bound!
By Emmalee Parsley Stevens
Grant Tribune Sentinel
Perkins County Cross Country team put in lots of hard work this year training for this exact meet. Their hard work proved to pay off because both, girls and boys, teams headed to Kearney to compete at the state meet. “The cross country season is slowly coming to a close. While some runners ended their season after the SPVA meet, five girls and five boys were able to run at the D-6 District meet here in Grant at Pheasant Run Golf Course. Many of these runners were able to improve their district time compared to last week’s. This is what I like to see, learning as we go and improving where we can. It is a good sign as we enter the week of the state meet,” praised head coach Tristan Stephensen.
Boys
Collectively as a team, the Plainsmen boys earned the runner up title falling just short to the first place North Platte St. Patrick’s team. Individually the boys did well! Elijah Goodell won the race with a time of sixteen minutes and twenty-three seconds. Also placing was Ethan Swesey. He placed fifth at a time of seventeen minutes and fifty five seconds. Other members on the qualifying team are Logan Barry, Cooper Kroeker and Leighton Fryzek.
Girls
The girls team also ran hard last week. The team placed third as a whole, behind Hemingford in second place and Gordon-Rushville in first place. This is the first time in over ten years that the Lady Plainsmen Cross Country has qualified for state. Madison Potts placed third individually, running a time of twenty-one minutes and forty-five seconds. Savannah Miller was the other medalist on the girls team, finishing in eight place. She ran a time of twenty-two minutes and six seconds. Other Lady Plainsmen competing on the qualifying team are Haylea McGreer, Brenna Colglaizer and Hannah Bishop.
Next Action
The state cross country meet will be held at Kearney Country Club in Kearney, Nebraska on Friday, October 24. The meet will begin at 11 am MT. Stephenson looks ahead to the state meet and highlights that anything can happen. “One thing is for sure - there can be predictions and rankings, but runners have to perform on the day of the race. State results do not care about personal records or what someone is “supposed” to get. This can be scary but it is also comforting because anything can happen! Both our girls and our boys have the potential to do some great work at state,” he says.