FAIRFIELD 

It was a tight race, but with 100 meters left before the finish, Hillcrest’s Marie Yoder managed to overtake Washington’s Iris Dahl to secure the lead in the Fairfield Invitational. 

There was now no one ahead of Yoder and she wanted it to stay that way. With the finish line in sight the sophomore kicked into high gear, sprinting towards the finish line with all her might to place first in a field of 111.   

“I felt really strong, and I just knew I had it,” Yoder said after placing first at Waterworks Park in Fairfield on Sept. 12 “I had to just push really hard at the end just to stay ahead.”  

It was an excellent race for Yoder (who is ranked No. 14 in 1A) and her first-place time of 20:21 led the Ravens who ended with a score of 65 to place second in the small school division. 

“It was great to have five to run today and obviously they did well,” Hillcrest coach Marty Gingerich said about how the Hillcrest girls competed at Fairfield. “Especially Marie. She ran a smart race, had a nice strong kick at the finish to have a convincing win. I’m really proud of them.”  

Entering the race in Fairfield, Yoder was sure of herself that she could produce a strong finish. 

“I felt really confident going into this race, and I just knew that I could get a good time if I push myself,” Yoder said. “The course was really fun.”

Another layer of difficulty the runners had to battle over the course of the race was the heat.  

“Different people handle it differently,” coach Gingerich said about the weather during the race. “I think the heat affected some people today more than others. It won’t be hot like this many, many times, but that did affect it for some people today. “

Other Ravens competing at Fairfield were Siena Stanerson, Rya Scot, Delaney Shaw, and Brynna O’Rourke. Stanerson was the next top finisher with a time of 23:06 to place 25th and Scott had a new personal best to place 29th in 23:27. 

“Rya had a PR, wasn’t expecting it at this point,” coach Gingerich said. “Sienna’s also ran really well with some allergy challenges, and Delaney was passing people in the middle, which she wanted to do. Brynna also ran well; it was good for all five of them.”  

On the boys side, Hillcrest had eight Ravens run the course and they ended with a score of 108 to place fourth in the small school division. 

With back-to-back finishes, Jesse Blossom and Micah Gerber led the Ravens by placing 39th and 40th respectively with times of 19:19, and 19:20. 

“Micah ran much better than they did at the Early Bird meet and Jessie was right there with him. They ran well, “coach Gingerich said. 

Arriving 20 spots later, Braden Hartsock was the next highest placing Raven with a time of 21:04. Not too far behind was Isaac Beachy who placed 75th in 21:17. 

Then came two Ravens who almost arrived simultaneously but it was Micah Kacmarynski (placing 125th in 23:52.007) who edged out teammate Jeremiah Danker (placing 126th in 23:52.610). 

“Brayden is a pretty strong number three and then Isaac had a little slower start, but that moved up well during the race,” coach Gingerich said. “Then we had kind of a fight for fifth, which was just kind of fun to see.” 

The Raven duo of Mateo Rodriguez-Yoder and Kyle Neuschwander rounded out the final two finishes for Hillcrest as they completed the course with times of 24:23 and 25:31 respectively. 

Lone Tree results 

The Lady Lions brought six to compete in the girls race of the Fairfield Invitational and they were led by freshman Addyson Eiben. 

Eiben secured a top 50 finish with a time of 24:18 to place 44th overall. Next up for Lone Tree was Ava Christofferson, placing 60th in 26:14. The third highest Lone Tree finish went to Jazmine Nino when she crossed the finish in 27:52 to place 77th. 

The final three to complete the Fairfield course for Lone Tree were Carlee Sexton (81st in 28:15), Abby Zaruba (88th in 29:08) and Evelyn Mueller (109th in 34:51. 

As a team they ended with a team score of 118 to place fifth in the small school division standings. 

When it came to the boys race, Lone Tree had two Lions (Brock Nebergall and Trenton McKean) compete in a field of 174.

Nebergall, a sophomore, secured the best finish with a time of 20:16 to place 59th and McKean, a freshman, finished in 23:44 to place 121st place. 

Highland results 

The Huskies had one competitor race in the girls race at the Waterworks Park in Fairfield, Olivia Edwards. Edwards reached the finish in 33:21, placing 103rd overall. 

  A trio of Huskies competed in the boys race: Jack Krotz, Chase Hickenbottom, and Brayden Zywiec. 

Bringing in the fastest finish for Highland was Zywiec, ending with a time of 23:57 to place 128th. Next was Hickenbottom who reached the finish line in 25:03 to place 142nd. Not too far behind his teammate was Krotz, placing 147th in 25:13. 

Girls Results 

1. Marie Yoder, Hillcrest, 20:21

25. Siena Stanerson, Hillcrest, 23:06

29. Rya Scott, Hillcrest, 23:27

44. Addyson Eiben, Lone Tree, 24:18

60. Ava Christofferson, Lone Tree, 26:14

64. Delaney Shaw, Hillcrest, 26:43

77. Jazmine Nino, Lone Tree, 27:52

81. Carlee Sexton, Lone Tree, 28:15

85. Brynna O’Rourke, Hillcrest, 28:45

88. Abby Zaruba, Lone Tree, 29:08

103. Olivia Edwards, Highland, 33:21

109. Evelyn Mueller, Lone Tree, 34.51

Boys results 

1. Lincoln Bainbridge, Van Buren, 16:52

39. Jesse Blossom, Hillcrest, 19:19

40. Micah Geber, Hillcrest, 19:20

59. Brock Nebergall, Lone Tree, 20:16

70. Braden Hartsock, Hillcrest, 21:04

75. Isaac Beachy, Hillcrest, 21:17

121. Trenton McKean, Lone Tree, 23:44

125.  Micah Kacmarynski, Hillcrest, 23:52

126. Jeremiah Danker, Hillcrest, 23:52

128. Brayden Zywiec, Highland, 23:57

135. Mateo Rodriguez-Yoder, Hillcrest, 24:23

142. Chase Hickenbottom, Highland, 25:02

147. Jack Krotz, Highland, 25:13 

149. Kyle Neuschwander, Hillcrest, 25:31