Zion completed its inaugural middle school cross country season by competing in the big Nebraska State Middle School Cross Country in Papillion on October 6, 2021.
Some final thoughts on the meet and the season from Coach Torres:
"... Thank you to the coaches who helped make this happen. Thank you to all of you parents for trusting us with your kids. To the Zion athletes who, as crazy as it seems, wanted to run the mileage and do the workouts everyday we asked them to do it. Thank you to Ansley for working with us around Volleyball practice. Thank you to Zion and Mr. Splittgerber for working with us to make meets happen and accommodating schedules when necessary. Thank you Jesus for keeping everyone healthy and strong.
I was personally frustrated with the setup of the "State Meet" but overall it was a great experience. My frustrations had to do more with how congested it was and how it was more of an open 3K turkey trot run rather than a competitive race. I think less people and better box assignments and it's a much more competitive race. Good runners on every team were trapped in spots that they physically could not get out of, that's tough when you are hoping to have your best race against the best.
Overall that's ok, because we learned a lot in every meet. From the first one that was called off due to weather, to Minden having an odd course with an additional 60-80 meters thrown in there. I hope that these challenges make us all better and that we can come back next year and improve even more.
Congrats to Claire Karjalainen of Sunrise Middle School, Girls' XC Champion with a time of 11:11.43. It's nice to see that a Kearney girl won it for the second straight year!
Congrats to our athletes: Selah at 35 place; Scarlett at 99 and a personal best time of 13:37; Hannah at 204th place. Stephen at 142 and a personal best time of 12:31; Elijah B at 182; Elijah T at 233; Cooper at 250; Colton 271; and Sterling at 288. [The] boys team placed 26 out of 35 teams."
Thank you - Coach Torres for all the time, passion, and energy you put into this. Your leadership (along with your team of coaches) made this first year a great success. The Lord has blessed Zion through. Soli Deo gloria - To God alone be the glory!