The Sabetha High School cross country teams hosted the Regional Meet on Saturday, Oct. 21. Both girls’ and boys’ teams took third in the meet, qualifying them for the State Meet.

“The kids ran well at our regional meet, and I continue to be proud of them,” said Head Coach Doug Leiker. “This is the second year that both girls’ and boys’ teams have qualified for the state meet. This  is an outstanding accomplishment, which reflects the effort and commitment by our runners.”

Girls

The girls’ team placed third out of 10 teams, with a score of 69. Rock Creek placed first with a score of 43, and Hiawatha took second with a score of 58. Other teams’ places and scores were St. Marys, fourth, 110; Perry-Lecompton, fifth, 164; Riley County, sixth, 170; Jefferson West, seventh, 188; Holton, eighth, 201; Royal Valley, ninth, 207; and Maur Hill-Mount Academy, 10th, 209.

Sophomore Hattie Lukert took first in the girls’ competition with a time of 21 minutes, 3 seconds. Freshman Jadyn Dorn finished in 10th place with a time of 21 minutes, 56 seconds. She was followed closely by senior teammate Skylar McAfee in 11th with a time of 21 minutes, 59 seconds.

Sophomore Kenzie Meyer placed 14th; senior Hunter Lowdermilk placed 41st; junior Madisen Cochran placed 49th; and sophomore Ellen Glynn placed 70th.

Boys

In the boys’ competition, the Jays also took third with a score of 101. Finishing in first was Silver Lake with a score of 65, and in second was Hiawatha with a score of 83. Other teams’ places and scores were Perry-Lecompton, fourth, 120; Rock Creek, fifth, 135; Marysville, sixth, 148; Riley County, seventh, 172; St. Marys, eighth, 207; Royal Valley, ninth, 237; Holton, 10th, 256; Maur Hill-Mount Academy, 11th, 269; Nemaha Central, 12th, 299; Jefferson West, 13th, 316; and Pleasant Ridge, 14th, 354.

Leading the Bluejays was senior Henry Glynn who finished in third with a time of 17 minutes, 36 seconds. Also placing in the top 10 was sophomore Kaden Dillon with a time of 18 minutes, 6 seconds.

Sophomore Charlie Bestwick placed 26th; sophomore Spencer Strahm placed 30th; sophomore Braden Menold placed 32nd; junior Micah Romines placed 41st; and sophomore Darrin Funk placed 53rd.

The Bluejays will compete at the State Meet on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. The 3A girls will run at 10:35 a.m., and 3A boys will run at 12:20 p.m.

“I look forward to watching them  run at the State Cross Country this next Saturday at Rim Rock,” Leiker said.