Holton Cross Country @ Manhattan 2020
The Holton Wildcats cross country team traveled to Manhattan for their first meet of the season on Saturday, Sept. 5 along side a heap of 5A and 6A schools. The Holton boys finished in seventh place as a team with 205 points and the girls finished in fifth place as a team with 138 points.
Each race had three waves of four teams each. “It was a weird start, but we got used to it,” Holton head coach Travis Thayer said.
The boys varsity race had a total of 56 athletes. 43 of those athletes were 5A or 6A runners.
“Freshman Rylan Pittaway led the way for the holton boys squad finishing with a 19:39. Following closely with Rylan was Rees Robinson. Rees had a solid race finishing with a 20:21,” Holton head coach Thayer said.
“Our next 4 runners were all first time varsity runners who not only held their own, but completely blew away all expectations. Nathan Shupe finished with a 21:40 followed closely by Carson Taylor who ran a 21:54. Lee Wellman came in next with a 22:39. Lee is joining the team this year for his first XC season. Landon Kennedy completed the team by finishing with a 23:01.”
“Nolan Tomlinson and Fred Apel both had great races for the JV run. Nolan finished with a 25:07. His HS PR was 26:45 from last year. That is an amazing accomplishment for week 1. Fred Apel came across in 26:14 close to matching his PR from last year,” Thayer said.
Coach Thayer says Holton boys squad will look to use the tough competition at Manhattan to boost them when they compete at home against 3A and 2A competition.
Varsity Boys Team Scores
1. Manhattan 21 points, 2. Wamego 66 points, 3. Emporia 83 points, 4. Washburn Rural 87 points, 5. Topeka-Seaman 102 points, 6. Topeka High 158 points and 7. Holton 205 points.
Junior Varsity Boys Team Scores
1. Manhattan 21 points, 2. Washburn Rural 69 points, 3. Wamego 75 points, 4. Emporia 102 points, 5. Junction City 116 points and Topeka-Seaman 140 points.
The varsity race had 52 runners on varsity, only 42 were 5A or 6A runners. Of the other 10 runners, 7 were Holton runners. The field was stacked with 5A and 6A talent.
“The girls team consisted of a lot of first time runners on varsity. 4 of the 7 varsity girl runners had never run a high school XC race before. Let me tell you, that did not stop them from looking like experienced runners on the course,” Thayer said.
“Hannah Ent led the way for the wildcat team posting a 24:44 and placing 32nd. Following close by in second place on the team was Piper Robinson. This is Piper's first season of XC and she posted a 25:31 placing 41st,” Thayer said.
“Next up were Grace Selley and Katelyn Ingels (both of which had not run a high school race before.) They both came in at 26:24 and 26:24.9 respectively and placed 44th and 45th. Following next was Grace Utz who ran a strong 27:24 to finish as the 5th member of the team. Paige Paxton and Gracie Gallagher both ran strong races through pain to finish with 31:11 and 34:23 respectively! The team ran very well for the first meet! Alayna Clayton, Averi Shupe, and Angelica Pol all ran the 4k JV race for Holton. Alayna came in with a 20:59 time running strong the whole way. Averi completed her first ever high school race with a 28:10! She looked very strong and we cannot wait to see what this season has in store for her. Angelica finished with a 26:53 competing the entire way during the race.”
Varsity Girls Team Scores
1. Manhattan 36 points, 2. Washburn Rural 41 points, 3. Topeka-Seaman 64 points, 4. Valley Center 86 points and 5. Holton 138 points.
Junior Varsity Girls Team Scores
1. Washburn Rural 39 points, 2. Manhattan 49 points, 3. Emporia 65 points, 4. Topeka-Seaman 91 points, 5. Valley Center 121 points, 6. Junction City 138 points and 7. Salina Central 184 points.
