VALE – The start of the cross-country season is typically warm and tough on the participants. The answer to beating the heat for some local teams was taking to the streets of Vale on a 2-mile run before a dip in the Vale pool in the Vale Splash-N-Dash on Thursday, August 26.
The host Vikings were joined by Baker, Nyssa and Adrian in the opening event of the season.
The Baker Bulldogs grabbed both team titles and also had the top finishers individually.
In the boys’ race, Baker had three of the top five finishers led by junior Thaddeus Pepera winning the race with a time of 11 minutes, 13.71 seconds over the two-mile course. Bulldog junior Jordan Mills joined his teammate in third place with a time of 11:44.14 and freshman Daniel Brown placed fifth after crossing the line in 12:23.74.
The Vale host team saw sophomore Trevor Stewart grab a second-place finish with a time of 11:22.21. Stewart’s time was a new record for a Viking runner in the race.
Adrian senior Chase Johnston started his year off with a fourth-place finish and a time of 11:58.2.
Photo Gallery – Splash n Dash – John Braese
The top finisher for Nyssa was senior Christian Mardock in sixth and a time of 12:26.51.
The Baker girls were the lone team to pick up a team score.
The Bulldog girls also picked up four of the top five finishes led by senior Emma Baeth and her time of 13:09.14. Baeth was followed closely by Sydney Lamb (13:22.86), freshman Sofia Kaaen (14:22.3) and sophomore Emma Timm (15:12.96).
Sandwiched in the Baker runners was Adrian sophomore Evalyn Nunez and her third-place finish with a time of 14:18.64.
Nyssa junior Ciara Duenaz was the top finisher for the other Bulldogs, placing sixth and a time of 15:21.16.
Team scores:1. Baker, 15.
Girls Individual Results: 1.Emma Baeth (Baker), 13:09.14. 2. Sydney Lamb (Baker), 13:22.86. 3. Evalyn Nunez (Adrian), 14:18.64. 4. Sofia Kaaen (Baker), 14:22.3. 5. Emma Timm (Baker), 15:12.96. 6. Ciara Duenaz (Nyssa), 15:21.16. 7. Paige Marlia (Baker), 16:28.2. 8. Harley Belnap (Vale), 17:58.2. 9. Lilly Collins (Baker), 18:05.78. 10. Katie Spaugh (Baker), 18:32.74. 11. Avery Collier (Baker), 18:38.68. 12. Jessica Dotson (Vale), 19:32.2. 13. Megan Ward (Nyssa), 20:11.78. 14. Elizabeth Fritz (Vale), 22:11.91.
Team scores: 1. Baker, 15. 2. Nyssa, 50. 3. Vale, 85.
Boys Individual Results: 1.Thaddeus Pepera (Baker), 11:13.71. 2. Trevor Stewart (Vale), 11:22.21. 3. Jordan Mills (Baker), 11:44.14. 4. Chase Johnston (Adrian), 11:58.2. 5. Daniel Brown (Baker), 12:23.74. 6. Christian Mardock (Nyssa), 12:26.91. 7. Seth Mastrude (Baker), 12:32.6. 8. Eli Belnap (Vale), 13:21.46. 9. Payton Waters (Baker), 13:25.55. 10. Martin Mendez (Nyssa), 13:32.55. 11. Garrison Page (Nyssa), 13:33.28. 12. River Clark (Baker), 13:34.84. 13. Brady Cooper (Nyssa), 13:49.79. 14. Jose Deleon (Nyssa), 14:01.77. 15. Dominic Bates (Vale), 14:16.9. 16. Tanner Lucas (Baker), 14:59.65. 17. Ducan White (Nyssa), 15:08.26. 18. Jaydin Madrid (Nyssa), 15:30.15. 19. Karsten Cikanek (Baker), 15:52.33. 20. Isaiah Fuentes (Nyssa), 16:42.8. 21. Samuel Mendieta (Vale), 18:20.55. 22. Tristan Mulkey (Baker), 20:00.51. 23. Ryan Rodgers (Vale), 27:38.79.
