XC Women Place 1st and Men Place 4th at Fort Hays

Kaitlin Hartman

The Paw Print

Women’s cross-country team took Fort Hays Kansas by storm in the Tiger Open last weekend. The girls scored a total of 33 points, exactly fifty points ahead of second place western state. Jenna Thurman, sophomore, won the girls race at Sand Plum Creek, with a remarkable time of 17:14 minutes. Following Thurman was junior Rachel Kresl in third place finishing the five-kilometer course in 17:32. Chante Roberts was the third scoring grizzly in 8th place. With Mimi Jimenez and Rae Lopez in 11th and 12th  places. 

Thurman was very pleased; “it was one of those races where I didn’t think I just ran. The only thing I heard was coach telling me to push it and get a bigger lead.” “We love the course, it is hilly but super-fast” Thurman said, the team overall had very successful races at this meet. 

The course winds through fields and wiggles through a ravine with steep uphills and downhills. The team also enjoyed going down in altitude from Alamosa to Kansas. Thurman, along with many other girls set personal records, “I was so happy with my time; I got a PR by forty five seconds!” Kresl was equally thrilled about her race that was also a personal best, “the race was the first time in days where I could just clear my head and just run until it hurt.” Kresl is excited about how the team competed, “we have teammates stepping up even though we are competitive with each other,” Kresl said, “If we continue to fight like we are currently, our results might surprise us.”

Kresl also says the team is shooting for victory in conference and nationals, “and for myself I am dreaming big!”

The men’s team finished fourth overall in the eight-kilometer race with a total of 151 points scored. The first finisher from Adams was Sydney Gidabuday, an unattached freshman. He ran a solid time of 23:54 minutes and an overall 7th place finish.

The first scorer for the team was Dominic Cabada in 24th place with a time of 24:26. Sophomores Jackson Sayler 33rd place, and Oliver Aitchison 40th place had great races. For Aitchison this happened to be his first cross-country race for the team. He described his race as “pain city” despite his impressive performance. Colorado School of Mines took home first place with 33 points.

Kevin Batt, Tabor Stevens, and Matt Daniels did not compete at Fort Hays so they can rest their legs before conference. Championship season for both teams begins at the Rocky Mountain Conference meet November 9th. The meet will take place at Western State in Gunnison Colorado.