2012 In Review

Four local runners emerged from the district cross country meet with trips to Kearney.

Kimball’s Laura Flores and Amanda Harrison of Banner County had relatively comfortable times, completing the Pheasant Run course outside Grant in 5th and 9th places, respectively.

For Longhorns boys team leaders Ryan Muneio and Mitchell Shields, the outcome was a little more dicey.

Muneio jumped out to an early lead and held on for almost a mile. At the top end of the blistery course, Paxton’s Garrett Perlinger and rival Cody Franklin from Bridgeport slipped by. Others quickly followed.

It was all part of a risky strategy.

“The game plan was to get as far out in front as I could and then stay on that pace,” Muneio explained.

Three runners pulled out a 15 second gap as the girls race rounded the midway point. This left Flores in a battle with Maywood’s Justine Stone--both comfortably ahead of 6th place.

But her eventual top 5 finish, just 16 seconds off the leader’s pace, left the Kimball standout in a disappointed mood.

“I have to work harder,” she said afterward. “Running is a mental sport and I’m not there yet.”

At state, Flores showed equal competitive fire--although the girls round got off to a rough start.

Moments after the gun fired to send the state Class D girls onto Kearney’s twisting, winding cross country course, a Lindsay Holy Family jersey flashed in front of Harrison.

“She just tripped,” the Banner County runner reported.

The pack had advanced close to 100 meters before course marshals decided in favor of a restart and called all 116 competitors back to their starting boxes.

Once action resumed, Flores worked her way through the crowd to finish 19th overall. Harrison meanwhile ran a more settled race, ending up 47th on the board.

The boys Class D runners shot off to a fast start. Through the first two turns, Muneio--who would finish 48th--paced ahead of eventual top ten finalists Zachary Welch of Ainsworth and Brett Pacha from West Holt. But he had a problem.

“My right shoe wasn’t on really tight,” he reported. “I got close to slipping.”

Shields was forced to bide his time.

“I was trapped and couldn’t get around,” he said. “I couldn’t get my pace back up until midway through.”

Shields wound up in 75th position.

“I have one more year,” he pointed out. “I’m looking to place.”