Chantel Malson A Standout At Kimball Cross Country Meet

Kimball High hosted their annual Cross Country Invite this past Friday and attracted the largest field of runners ever, according to Kimball Activities Director Ken Smith.

The final tally was 223 runners who enjoyed a near perfect afternoon with no wind, but maybe a bit too warm for some distance runners who prefer cooler weather.

The day's highlight for Kimball was sophomore Chantel Malson placing 4th in the field of 56 runners who completed the girls' 5,000 meter course. Malson's time of 22:34 put her in the top ten medal group with only 3 runners finishing ahead of her.

Pine Bluffs went one-two individually with Piper Perez the winner in 20:59 and Emma Gonzales 2nd in 21:13. Danielle Brow of Wheatland ran 3rd in 21:25. Layne Burnett of Pine Bluffs ran 5th in 22:50 and Grace Steenbergen 11th in 23:53 to give the Hornet girls the winning team score of 23.

Cheyenne South tallied 59 for 2nd followed by Bridgeport with 70 and Bayard with 75. Also for Kimball were Raven Johnson in 40th with a time of 27:47, Brandi Councilman 51st in 32:15, and Alyci Vrbas 55th in 36:05.

Cheynne South captured the team title in the High School boys division with 33 points edging out Saratoga who finished runner-up with 43 points. Pine Bluffs had 55, Hemingford 101, Kimball 134,

and Mitchell 153.

Saratoga travelled a long way to put their talented runners on the hills of the Kimball Four Winds Golf Course and had the top 3 individual spots led by freshman twins Grant Bartlett, who took the gold medal with his time of 17:29 followed by his twin brother Grady Bartlett in 2nd with a time of 17:43.

They finished well ahead of the rest of the field with teammate Jaron Herring 3rd in 18:38. Kimball had 6 runners in the High School Boy's division with freshman Matthew Johnson finishing 24th out of the field of 66 runners who crossed the finish line, with his time a good 20:46. Connor Cluff ran 34th in 21:39, Cole Henton 45th in 23:20, Rene Raymundo 48th in 23:38, Xavier Thomas-Lewis 56h in 25:38, and Lane Wasielewski 63rd in 28:34.

Kimball ran 8 boys in the junior high division with a total of 54 runners. Wheatland took top team honors with 38 followed by Bayard with 56, Kimball 71, Pine Bluffs 74 and Hemingford 103. James Adams of Morrill was the winner with a time of 9:44 over the 2,500 meter course.

Kimball had a top 10 medal winner in 7th grader Cody Brinkman who ran 10:51 to take 8th place honors. Fernando Raymundo ran 14th in 11:22, Braylon Miller 18th in 11:36, Joseph Bremer 26th in 11:58, Trenton Hottell 41st in 13:25, Brandon Paxton 42nd in 13:32, Aaron Gillming 43rd in 13:42, and Patrick Howard 52nd in 14:59.

In the girls Junior High Division, Mitchell won the team title with 36 points, Bayard had 56, Bridgeport 73, Pine Bluffs 88, and Wheatland 96. Top individual was Jordan Griess of Pine Bluffs with her time of 10:54.

Kimball has only 3 girl runners and not enough for a team score. Shannon Marks ran 28th in the field of 41 runners with a time of 14:10, Ashlie Barker ran 38th in 16:40, and Kylie Osborn 40th in 18:35.

Coach Tiffany Johnson was overall pleased with the performance of her runners, especially with Chantel Malson who ran over a full minute better time than she had previously this season.

Coach Johnson was also happy with the large number of teams and runners who came to the Kimball Invite, and with the way everything ran according to the plan.

The Kimball team will be in action this Saturday, September 21, at Alliance with a start time of 9 a.m.