Mens Cross Country Makes History in Jamestown
The first time in program history the men qualified for nationals
Before the race Coach Thurber urged the men's team to try and go out and qualify as a team. This was a lofty expectation but the six men's runners were up to the task on a rain and snow mixed race day. As there were many things working against the Lions they over came as Kaleb Renfro, who was the top runner of last years' team has been battling injuries finally was able to compete, the weather conditions were not favorable and the team has been battling lingering illnesses.
Coach Thurber said after the meet, "Despite the obstacles, they pushed through and qualified as a team for the first time in TBC history. I am immensely proud of them. They pushed through and met the A+++ goal."
The men had to meet the 3-hour time allotment between their top five runners, which breaks off into a 36 minute average. Not just one but all six runners for the men had their best race of the season! The individual qualifying time is 34 minutes which three runners found themselves under that time as dual qualifiers. Sam Jacobs crossed at 32:18, followed closely by Kaleb Renfro just 20 seconds behind at 32:38. The last dual qualifier Sam Maruskewski came across at 33:20. The other Lions crossed in order starting with Marcus Staley at 35:38, then Josiah Liebe at 37:15 and finally Isaiah McIntosh at 44:52. Congratulations to the men's cross country team as they look to improve on their team time this upcoming week.
The Lady Lions also ran in Jamestown as all three runner looked in mid season form. The team leader Chloe Jacob was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 22:13 just eight seconds behind her best time of the season. Both Kersten Lucas and Arianna Bigart had PRs on Friday with times of 25:03 and 26:06. Coach Thurber said, "The Ladies ran a strong race. Kersten had a PR for the season. We look forward to seeing them run some faster times next week and hopefully seeing our two remaining ladies qualify with Chloe."
Both teams will be racing in Grand Forks, ND on the 13th in the UND Ron Pynn Classic.
Tanner Twigg SID
