By Coach Kevin Gartman
TAMA – The Montezuma Cross Country team took to the South Tama Community School campus on Monday, September 14th, on a beautiful fall day, a nice change from the week prior.
The varsity Bravettes placed 3rd, trailing only a returning Class 2A state team in Dike-New Hartford and 3A competitor Marion.
The Bravettes were led by senior Elise Boulton, medaling with a 6th place finish, and sophomore Mia Boulton, medaling in 12th.
Freshman Makenna Johannes made an impact in her first varsity competition, coming away with a new personal best time.
In the JV competition, freshman Ashlee Eilander found her way to a new best time as well.
The varsity Braves placed 10th in a meet full of strong runners.
Senior Cam Johnson was a bright spot, finding his way to another best time in the 5K competition, as he continues the trend of getting faster in each meet, regardless of course difficulty.
The Braves were back fully healthy and competing as a full varsity squad which was nice to see.
The Bravettes junior team ran first, with three runners competing in this meet. 8th grade runner Catelynn Coffin led the way with an 11th- place finish while 7th grade runner Amy Longfellow finished 14th.
8th grade competitor Hayley Burnett fought through a knee injury to put up a nice time for the Bravettes.
With nine schools competing in the junior high boys competition, the Montezuma Braves turned in a proud second-place finish. Holding the spots from 8th-11th were Luke Erselius, Bryson Stockman, Jusiah Wetering, and Broox Stockman.
Rounding out the supporting cast with important roles as the fifth and sixth runners were Kohen Holland and Carson Van Der Hart.
UP NEXT – The team heads to Diamond Trail Golf Club on Thursday as Lynnville-Sully hosts their invitational, starting with the high school girls team at 4:30 p.m.
