The course was soggy but the skies were clear. The muddy footing wasn’t ideal but the moderate temperatures were. Collectively the conditions made for a positive day for cross country results. Among those, the Mansfield junior and senior high teams excelled.
It was a good day to be a Tiger distance aficionado. The junior high Lady Tigers ran down another trophy. Seven senior high runners set personal records.
Magazine’s Rattler Run, the final regular season meet on the Tiger schedule, was held on October 16. It was there that Mansfield’s junior girls collected yet another top prize.
The young Lady Tigers posted the victory over former conference foe Lamar. It was a very tight pairing but Mansfield prevailed 34 to 36.
Freshman Faith Rainwater continued her spectacular season. She cruised the 1.5 mile course in 9:49. That earned a fifth place small school ranking and a tenth place overall finish.
Supporting Rainwater in the junior girls opener was Olivia Bouse, Hope Rainwater, McKenzie Griffin, and Harleigh Mars. The five were Mansfield’s scoring unit with Shelby Cole and Jadelynn Wood as the displacers.
In the senior races, Mansfield sent only six women and one male. All seven players did their season best with new personal records along the mud marred 5K course.
Eleventh grader Jessica George had her best race this season with a 25:09 measure. It was Mansfield’s top mark over the 5K distance for the senior high team this year.
George’s measure opened a flood gate of personal records for the MHS senior women. Sara Willadsen (26:25), Anina Reutter (26:42), Josefin Lofving (26:49), Addison Goetz (28:39), and Janna Coplin (32:33) each had their best day of long distance racing.
Despite the personal records, the Lady Tigers were short of top-ten medal status. Likewise, Artem Zirka of the men’s team also saw a top time dot his resume but it to fell short of the medal stand.
Zirka went 19:55 for the men’s 5K. It was the first time this season he ran a sub twenty minute race.
Ethan Chapman off the Mansfield junior boy’s team did make the awards station. The freshman ran the shorter 1.5 mile course. He went 8:31 for seventh place in the small school ranks and ninth place overall.
Mikeal Harrison, another Tiger freshman, turned in a respectable time as well at 8:58. It was shy of the small school award stand by two places.
Mansfield Jr. Girls at Magazine
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