RICHMOND — Iola High’s varsity boys took first place overall and the varsity girls ran for third place at Central Heights Thursday afternoon.
The Mustang cross country squad was led by Kohl Endicott, who has made a habit of leading the pack.
He placed third, finishing in 17 minutes, 54 seconds. Braden Plumlee finished close behind in sixth at 18:39. Isaiah Fawson finished 18th in 19:45, Blaine Klubek took 22nd in 20:08, Travis Hermstein placed 26th in 20:13 and Jonathan Tidd finished 55th in 22:52.
“Kohl and Braden had very fast starts and were running 1-2 after the first 800 meters,” coach Marv Smith said.
However, Spring Hill had an All-State and regional champion from last season take over after the first mile, where he stayed.
“The fast start took a toll on Kohl and it probably cost him second place,” Smith said. “This was the first time that I had seen him in pain in the final 800 meters.”
Fawson, Klubek and Hermstein ran as a group from start to finish.
The varsity girls were led by Olivia Taylor, who placed sixth in 18:04. Megan Klubek came in 10th, finishing in 18:31. Abigail Taylor finished 13th with a time of 18:42. Jo Lohman came in 27th in 20:30, Addie Prather finished 41st in 24:02 and Klair Vogel followed in 43rd in 26:18.
“We were able to place three girls in front of Osawatomie’s number one runner,” Smith said. “Even though Jo had a little bit of an off day, she was able to beat their number three girl. Addie and Klair would have fared better in the JV race, but we had to have them to get a team score.”
For the middle school runners, all three of the seventh-grade girls medaled. Elysia Kunkler placed first in the mile race in 6:21. Kelsey Morrison followed in second, finishing in 6:31. Rachel Bycroft took sixth with a time of 6:58.
For the seventh-grade boys, Elijah Fawson came in second with a 6 minute mile. Brady Wiggins took eighth in 6:35, River Hess finished 15th in 6:56 and Jeremy Ridge placed 21st in 7:30.
Natalie DeGrado, the lone eighth-grade girl, finished the two-mile race in ninth with a time of 17:24. For the eighth-grade boys, David Petty finished ninth in 15:06. Jacob Burcham finished 15th in 16:39.
The cross country team next runs Tuesday at Independence.
Iola’s boys cross country places first, girls place third
