Perkins County XC medaled three at SPVA

The South Platte Valley Association cross country race was held in Grant at the Pheasant Run Golf Course Thursday, Oct. 7.

This year, the race path looked a little different compared to previous years, with both the start and finish lines moved closer to the clubhouse rather than on hole three.

“We had a lot of positive comments from home and away fans on the new course design,” said coach Seth Burge. “We owe a big thank you to the 20-plus volunteers that help make this one of the smoothest run meets in the area.”

Three runners from Perkins County brought home medals from the race: Colton Pouk, Mason McGreer and Meredith Gloy. Pouk earned second place in the boys race with McGreer just two spots behind him in fourth. Gloy took seventh in the girls race.

Not only were there three individual medalists at SPVA, but the boys also took third place as a team with 55 points. 

North Platte St. Pat’s were awarded first with 15 points, and Hershey was second, also with 55.

In the event of a tied score, the tie breaker comes down to the place of the fourth runner, Burge said. Hershey’s fourth place runner finished 16th, ahead of Perkins County’s in 33rd, so Hershey took second place in the end.

There were 50 runners in the boys race overall, and 34 runners in the girls race.

Burge said it was a great day for everyone.

For the boys, freshmen Brock Tines and Parker Tille took 19th and 33rd place respectively, which Burge noted was greatly needed for the team score and helped the boys tie for third. 

Brient Wood also ran a great race according to Burge, close to his season personal best.

“These top five boys will make up our district boys team,” Burge said. 

“I am proud of the Mireles brothers, Johan and Jordan, for all their effort this season. Both took a chance on cross country this year, spent the summer putting in miles, improved greatly over the season and have been a real asset to our boys team.”

On the girls side, Burge noted Gloy ran under 24 minutes for the second time this season, and not far behind her and just out of medal range was Ava Reese who earned a personal record.

Hallie Fisher was only five seconds from her personal best, which Burge said is great for this hilly of a course. 

Maggie Fisher ended the race with a solid 25th place finish.

Burge added that Selah Richter-Martinez is a member of the girls team, but due to injury was not able to run this year, but he said they have been fortunate to have her encouraging attitude on the sidelines all season.

SPVA Results

Boys: Colton Pouk, 2nd, 18:07.89; Mason McGreer, 4th, 18:44.80; Brock Tines, 19th, 21:18.48; Parker Tille, 33rd, 23:10.90; Brient Wood, 36th, 23:22.36; Johan Mireles, 43rd, 24:52.84; Jordan Mireles, 48th, 27:15.85.

Girls: Meredith Gloy, 7th, 23:42.52; Ava Reese, 13th, 24:41.16; Hallie Fisher, 27:01.53; Maggie Fisher, 25th, 28:16.98.

Districts up next

Next on the schedule for cross country is the district meet Thursday, Oct. 14 at Court House & Jail Rock Golf Course in Bridgeport. Races are set to begin at 3 p.m.

The top three teams and top 15 runners at districts will move on to the state cross country meet Oct. 22 in Kearney.

“I don’t like to make predictions, but looking at race times for runners in our district, the boys team is looking to be very competitive,” Burge said.

He added that Perkins County’s boys will be on the lookout for Garden County and Sutherland runners during the race, as they will likely be their biggest competition.

“These boys know that for every runner they place ahead of, they raise the score of the opposing team,” he said.

 “Lowest score wins and that’s what we are looking for this year.”

Gloy, Burge noted, is also looking like a strong district competitor for the girls. She placed 20th at the D-6 district race last year, and has improved her time quite a bit this year.

Bridgeport, Burge noted, is mostly flat but has at least one large hill. The team, however, is no stranger to hills at this point in the season, so while they acknowledge it, they do not fear it.

“It looks like it will be chilly, much like last year. Honestly, it will all depend on the wind. I hope that the wind will be gone by Thursday. We like cooler weather to run in, but a brisk wind can suck the warmth right out of a runner once they are down to only their uniform,” Burge said. 

“We will be prepared for whatever the day brings.