Weiser cross country teams take second at SRV meet


Weiser cross country runner Alonna Freeland is trailed by a number of competitors at the SRV Conference meet held at McCain Middle School in Payette last week. The Weiser varsity teams have two more regular season meets before they go to districts. All are posting better times nearly every week.
Weiser cross county varsity runners Rhett Kunz and Abbey Shirts placed first in the varsity boys and girls races at the Snake River Conference meet last Wednesday at McCain Middle School in Payette.
 Both Kunz and Shirts crossed the finish line all alone in their respective races after taking the lead and putting large distances between the other runners.
 “Both of them were satisfied with their times, I think, but both would’ve done just a little better if there were other runners close enough to push them,” Weiser coach Scott Hale said.
 When the scores were tallied, the Weiser varsity boys team took second place out of the five SRV teams competing at the conference event. Fruitland finished first and Homedale was third. 
 The Weiser varsity girls also placed second to Fruitland. The Payette girls finished in third place. There were only three SRV varsity girls teams competing at the meet. Parma and Homedale did not enter girls varsity teams in the event.
 Weiser senior Rhett Kunz bested the field for first place with a time of 18 minutes, 9 seconds. Kunz finished a full minute ahead of runner-up Caleb Christensen of Fruitland, who posted a time of 19:21.01. Fruitland’s Atticus Andersen placed third with a time of 19:45.14. 
 Kunz ran his fastest race of the season and posted a personal best time at the Bob Firman Invitational on Sept. 22. It was his only race this season with a finish under 18 minutes at 17:22.3. Many Weiser cross country runners had their best times at that race.
 Kunz holds the distinction of running the third-fastest race this year among SRV conference schools with his sub-18 minute time at the Firman Invite. Parma’s Alex Peterson has the fastest 5,000 meter time this seaon with a 16:33.4 time. The second-fastest time this season belongs to another Parma runner, Stetson Beus, who had a time of 17:06.2, also at the Firman Invite.
 Teammate Guillermo Cobos finished in fifth place for the Wolverines at the SRV meet with a time of 19:51.73. Also finishing for Weiser were Colton Foster (20:36.39), Nate Lattin (20:50.93), Michael Despain (22:14.88), Cade Thompson (26:48.05).
 In the varsity girls 5,000 meters, Weiser senior Abbey Shirts won the race with a time of 20 minutes, 30 seconds. She finished 53 seconds ahead of second-place winner Emma Hillam, a freshman from Fruitland who crossed the finish line in a time of 21:23.52. Rounding out the top three finishers, Payette’s Makenna Keim took third with a time of 22:54.30.
 Shirts best time of the season was recorded on Sept. 22 at the Bob Firman Invitational, where she finished under 20 minutes with a time of 19:35. That time stands as the fastest time this season for any SRV Conference runner.
 Other finishers for the Weiser girls at the SRV meet included top-10 finisher Ellie Walker (24:17.97), Alonna Freeland (24:33.00), Emily Abramson (25:31.59), Ashlyn Walker (26:28.27), Madi Cobb (27:11.50), Libbie Rynearson (27:43.56).
 Weiser has two more regular season meets before the SRV 3A district championships on Oct. 18 at Mann Farms in Parma.
 On Oct. 4, the Wolverines will race in the Crosby Invitational at TVCC. They will finish out the regular season on Oct. 10 at the Winston Tilzey Invitational at Nampa.
 First-year coach Hale said he is confident that the Wolverines will be a contender when it comes to the district tourney in two weeks.
 “Our boys team has an excellent pack from second to sixth. If we can get them each 30 seconds to a minute faster, we’ll be in fight for first or second. The girls pack isn’t quite as tight as the boys, but the same goes for them,” he said.

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