It was a successful start to the season as the Council Grove Braves cross country squad opened their season at the Mission Valley Invitational on Thursday. The hot weather affected everyone’s times but it didn’t hinder the Braves effort as the boys team finished 1st in the field.
Leading the Braves was senior Jadyn Picolet, who finished 4th. Behind Picolet, was the pack of Carter Bremer, Brody Nelson, and Hayden Horton, who all placed in the top 15. Rounding out the scoring 5 was Brayden Jarvis in 22nd. The team focus led to Picolet & Bremer on the medal stand, with Nelson and Horton just outside the top ten.
“The squad did a really good job of managing the heat, and trying to bunch up and run as a tight group. They leaned into those strengths today, knowing that the conditions were not going to lead to fast times. We knew the heat would be a factor and times would reflect that so the boys focused on points and team scores, and it paid off with a 1st place plaque.”
The Braves held off fellow Flint Hills League member Lyndon and St. Mary’s Academy, who finished 2nd & 3rd in the team standings. It was the tight pack mentality and finish that captured the win for the Braves as Jarvis capped the scoring in front of SMA’s fourth and fifth runner and split Lyndon’s number 4 and 5.
The junior high runners also opened their seasons at Mission Valley. Christian Keplar led the Braves with a 5th-place finish in the 8th grade boys division crossing the line at 14:38. David Bowling followed in 7th with a time of 15:26, and Charlie Lillich placed 13th with a time of 18:12.
On the girls’ side, Lydia Klepper represented the Braves with a solid top-ten finish with a time of 20:45 to earn 10th place in the 8th grade girls division.
The Braves will be a split squad next week as the high school team travels to Hesston and the junior high squad runs at Lyndon.
Recorded times in the high school boys race show that Picolet finished in 19:10.9, followed by Bremer in 21:47.4, Nelson in 21:58.6, Horton in 22:19.1 and Jarvis in 24:16.6. Daniel Most placed 44th in 28:04.2.
In junior varsity competition, Aaron Crotts placed sixth out of 16 runners with a time of 26:05.9, while Jaidyn Gomez finished seventh in 26:11.
Among the seventh-grade boys, Gabriel Nelson placed 18th out of 24 runners in 20:31, while Memphis Burton finished 23rd in 24:10.