Three Lady Wolverines bring home medals at state meet

The Weiser cross country runners competed in the State Cross Country Championships in Lewiston, Idaho on Oct. 29. The women’s team finished 5th overall. 

 In the men’s race, Jacob Barnhart of Timberlake set a very fast pace, finishing in first place with a time of 15:47.56. He was followed by Jack McMannus of McCall (15:50.41) and Ben Browning of Kimberly (15:51.51). 

 In a very competitive race Kimberly edged out Sugar Salem for first place overall, with Fruitland coming in third as a team. 

 Weiser only had one runner qualify for the men’s race. Josh Kelley competed individually, finishing in 36th place out of 82 runners and a time of 17:42.31. 

 In the women’s race, Weiser qualified as a team having finished in second place at districts. 

 Mckenna Kozeluh of Coeur d’Alene Charter set the pace for the race, finishing in first place with a time of 17:43.8. Weiser’s very own Kylee Quinton finished in second place overall with a time of 18:35.1. Helen Oyer of CDA Charter finished off the top three with a time of 19:05.67 but Weiser’s Claire Matthews came in a very close fourth place with a time of 19:10.47 – a personal record for Matthews by almost a full minute. Kendall Rynearson finished 17th with a time of 20:00.78 – a season’s best  time. Sarah Henderson finished with a time of 22:54.27. Hayden Samson finished with a PR by more than a full minute with a time of 23:31.8. 

 The first place overall team of the day was Sugar Salem. Weiser came in fifth place overall as a team.

 “I’m really proud of what these girls were able to accomplish. Between battling nagging injuries and only having five girls on the team, we weren’t sure if we would be able to finish the season. But they were able to help each other stay healthy while still pushing to a fifth place finish at state. Not many will understand just how amazing that really is,” Coach Hale said.