Bitter conditions greet competitors

With freezing winds scouring the course Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, the girls of the Lawrence Runners cross country team wandered away from the starting-line throng for a pre-race huddle.

Normally the team would do such a ritual to draw inspiration from one another prior to a race, but on this day they might have been taking their last opportunity to stay warm.

“It was definitely a little bit of both,” Lawrence Runner and Free State Firebird Jeanie Reams said, “but mostly for inspiration. But we did have to reach down a little bit for this one.”

These local girls and all of the nearly 3,000 athletes at the 2007 National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships endured the elements. The 10-event race – which ran in snow the past two years – also brought with it some 3,500 additional visitors to Lawrence and Rim Rock Farm.

The Lawrence Runners – made up of Reams and fellow Firebirds Kyra Kilwein, Haley Harrington and Katie and Maggie Burk – braved the below-freezing temperatures to finish fifth in the young women’s five-kilometer race.

Despite the bitter conditions, the girls felt good about their efforts.

“We’ve run Rim Rock so many times,” Kilwein said. “So I don’t think this time was any different than any other races.”

While the Runners and their cross-continent counterparts made it through the weather, the event’s computers had a harder time. The timing system ran into problems because of the cold and fell behind by three races, forcing folks to seek the warmth of the Holidome to get results.

Individually, Kilwein finished the highest among local runners at eighth place in the 5K.

Other local runners navigating the often ice-covered course included Lawrence High’s Dylan Hedges, who finished the 5K young men’s event with a time of 18:48.46. Free State’s Logan Sloan – running for Emporia Track Club – finished 31st with a time just over 17 minutes in the boys intermediate 5K. Another Firebird, sophomore Amy Meyers, completed the youth girls 4K in 181â2 minutes.

For complete results of Saturday’s meet, go to www.usatf.org.

Results

Bantam girls 3K

1. Hanna Blache, 11:46.62; 2. Gwenyth Winship, 11:54.92; 3. Eliza Dekker, 11:56.69; 4. Meaghan Bare, 12:04.87; 5. Katherine Morales, 12:08.28; 6. Kaylee Scott, 12:12.10; 7. Alondra Hinojosa, 12:14.83; 8. Julia Kern, 12:16.06; 9. Eleanor Velez, 12:19.25; 10. Jaime Mitsos, 12:20.91.

Bantam boys 3K

1. Garrow, Marcus, 10:59.07; 2. Trevor Capestany, 11:03.62; 3. Justin Liedke, 11:04.58; 4. William Stanopiewicz, 11:09.90; 5. Samuel Blake, 11:11.70; 6. Eli Oftedal, 11:12.79; 7. Clark Skinner, 11:22.39; 8. Calvin Beal, 11:24.37; 9. Ryan Alexander, 11:25.63; 10. Peter Millsaps, 11:29.59.

Midget girls 3K

1. Paige Rice, 10:58.57; 2. Nicole Mello, 11:15.04; 3. Chandler Olson, 11:18.35; 4. Sabrina Seay, 11:20.43; 5. Alosha Southern, 11:21.25; 6. Eliza Rice, 11:24.72; 7. Alicia Williams, 11:28.54; 8. Kyla Aiuto, 11:29.27; 9. Emma Abrahamson, 11:30.15; 10. Brooke Wolfe, 11:30.47.

Youth girls 4K

1. Eleanor Fulton, 14:55.43; 2. Katherine Delaney, 14:55.49; 3. Samantha George, 14:58.67; 4. Abbey Leonardi, 14:59.62; 5. Corissa Storms, 15:04.93; 6. Shelby Stableford, 15:08.13; 7. Renee Wellman, 15:09.68; 8. Emily Durgin, 15:12.16; 9. Karis Frankian, 15:15.93; 10. Lindsay Benster, 15:17.41; 214. Amy Meyers, 18:29.63.

Youth boys 4K

1. Luka Verzbicas, 13:16.04; 2. Cody Curtis, 13:30.21; 3. Tate Schienbein, 13:30.66; 4. Chris Brewer, 13:30.74; 5. Nathania Cushing-Murray, 13:40.17; 6. Daniel Everett, 13:42.41; 7. Eirk Harris, 13:44.79; 8. Mueen Ghoury, 13:45.05; 9. Morgan Choate, 13:46.42; 10. Christopher Enriquez, 13:47.92.

Intermediate girls 5K

1. Elizabeth Briasco, 18:34.38; 2. Elizabeth Brandan, 18:46.35; 3. Abigail Blake, 18:46.89; 4. Shannon Porter, 19:11.70; 5. Maria Malone, 19:16.21; 6. Allison Cutting, 19:17.06; 7. Lauren Petersen, 19:19.81; 8. Maicee Neilson, 19:23.34; 9. Kelli Budd, 19:25.09;10. Alexa Aragon, 19:37.96.

Intermediate boys 5K

1. Eric Fitzpatrick, 16:26.09; 2. Dustin Fay, 16:34.41; 3. Jose Madera, 16:35.48; 4. Daniel Rosales, 16:41.43; 5. Christopher Brower, 16:44.08; 6. Caleb Hoover, 16:46.6; 7. Aaron Poore, 16:56.37; 8. Kenneth Russell, 16:56.76; 9. Billy Wilkens, 16:56.93; 10. Jeff Walker, 16:59.30; 31. Logan Sloan, 17:20.45.

Young women 5K

1. Emily Reese, 19:04.66; 2. Susannah Piersol, 19:14.60; 3. Joelle Slater; 19:25.02; 4. Crystal Esparza, 19:32.97; 5. Katherine Beams, 19:44.02; 6. Julia Rigby, 19:50.44; 7. Hillary Kigar, 19:52.11; 8. Kyra Kilwein, 19:56.11; 9. Kate Lambdin, 19:56.81; 10. Mekenzie Krause, 19:58.64; 39. Jeanie Reams, 21:16.50; 50. Haley Harrington, 21:41.52; 64. Katie Burk, 22:39.30; 65. Maggie Burk, 22:39.34.

Young men 5K

1. Patrick Casey, 15:39.73; 2. Justin Rose, 16:06.90; 3. Kyle Powers, 16:10.15; 4. Travis Fuller, 16:12.20; 5. Carlos Perez, 16:12.23; 6. Ryan Prentice, 16:13.22; 7. Rick Elliott, 16:15.20; 8. Louie Gallardo, 16:23.44; 9. Julian-Blake Cowan, 16:24.66; 10. Matthew Petrillo, 16:31.49; 145. Dylan Hedges, 18:48.46.