Atlantic Cross Country Has Solid Day in Harlan

Trojan improvement propelled team to top-ten finishes.

AND+THEYRE+OFF-+The+girls+varsity+team+takes+off+to+begin+their+race.++The+girls+finished+second+on+Saturday+in+Harlan.+

Heather McKay

AND THEY’RE OFF- The girls varsity team takes off to begin their race. The girls finished second on Saturday in Harlan.

The Trojan cross country teams had yet another strong weekend in Harlan. The girls’ team finished strong in 2nd place and the boys ended with a 7th place finish.

Head coach Dan Vargason said the girls ran very well on Saturday. “They competed at a very high level and I thought it was our best meet of the season. The boys also competed well, but we came up a little short from where I expected. There were some good times for us but we still have some work to do.”

I thought it was our best meet of the season.

— Coach Vargason

As a team, Vargason feels they had a good meet. “I think the way we competed as a whole improved and we did a good job running our race and focusing on ourselves.”

Individually, freshman Taylor McCreedy had the best finish for the girls. She placed 4th with a time of 20:52.71. Vargason said Karsyn Rush and Pluma Pross also ran well. “Karsyn’s time came down and Pluma caught quite a few people in the last 400 meters.” Another runner who has shown much improvement throughout the season is Madison Botos. She finished with a time of 22:15.46.

Jalen Petersen had the best time for the boys with a time of 17:59.02 and earning a 3rd place finish. Vargason said Petersen beat out many good runners to finish where he did. Another member of the team who has shown improvement throughout the season is Nathan Brockman. “He has been improving pretty consistently and moving up for us,” Vargason said. Brockman finished with a time of 20:08.24.

The team’s next meet is this Thursday at Shenandoah.