For the second straight outing, the Houston High School boys cross country team has won a meet.
This time the Tigers prevailed at the Mountain Grove Open Tuesday at Randel-Hinkle Municipal Golf Course in Mountain Grove.
Houston had three runners finish in the top-5 and four in the top-10 in a field of 55 in the event. The first Tiger to finish was freshman Warren Hinkle, who placed third with a time of 20:13.38 on the hilly 3.1-mile course. Junior Jake Allen was right on Hinkle’s heels, coming in fourth at 20:13.90, while junior Aiden Kelly took fifth at 20:22. Rounding out Houston’s 5-man team score were freshman Jack Sawyer in ninth and sophomore Riley Talbott in 17th.
The Tigers beat five other squads, with Hillcrest placing second and Hartville third.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how these young men went out and preformed,” said HHS head coach Justin Brown. “It really shows their character and determination and hard work they’ve been putting in daily. I’m extremely excited to see what else we can do the rest of the year!”
Mansfield sophomore Braxton Bolfing won the race with time of 19:10.02 and teammate Nolyn Corder was second at 19:13.38.
The HHS girls also had another good outing, taking second in the team standings with four runners finishing in the top-20 in a field of 29.
Sophomore Kristen Ely once again led the Lady Tigers, coming in fifth with a time of 24:32. The next three Houston girls finished closely bunched, with freshman Natalie Clinton placing 13th, and sophomores Summer Bittle and Allie Benoist taking 16th and 17th. Junior Miah Bressie completed the Lady Tigers’ team score in 27th.
Mansfield topped the team standings and took the top two individual spots, with senior Logan Jones winning the race with a time of 22:21.93 and sophomore Faith Clark taking second at 22:36.39.
In middle school racing, Houston 8th-grader Dillon Shelton took second in a field of 31 boys with a time of 10:26 on the 1.5-mile course, while HMS 7th-grader Jessyn Allen finished seventh among 13 girls at 12:45.
Houston 6th-grader Lyla Huffman continued her winning ways this season, taking first in a field of 39 in the 5th/6th girls race with a time of 11:08. Houston 5th-grader Myles Copley wasn’t far behind, taking second at 11:20.
On the boys side, Houston 5th-grader Charlie Benoist placed fifth in a field of 31, while 6th-grader Liam Stickel ran sixth at 11:19.
Next week, Houston’s cross country runners will compete in the annual Licking Wildcat Invitational Thursday at Deer Lick Park in Licking.
