Oskaloosa Middle School Cross Country Competes on Challenging Van Buren Course
The Oskaloosa middle school cross country team competed at the Van Buren Invitational Tuesday night after Knoxville canceled its meet because of course conditions.
The Indians traveled to Van Buren for a challenging race that featured a 2.2-mile course, making it the longest race distance the team will compete in this season. The course included multiple trail hills throughout the route, creating one of the toughest challenges of the year for the runners.
Despite the difficult conditions, Oskaloosa runners responded with strong performances and continued to show improvement.
On the girls side, Chessa San led the way with a second-place finish, completing the course in 15:42. Alaina Burgey finished ninth with a time of 17:12, followed by Lydia Neltand in 13th at 17:23.
Lauryn Koehler placed 14th with a time of 17:43, while Brielle Boender finished 15th at 18:04. Mariah Mackerl recorded a time of 19:51, and Gemma Lahner finished in 22:06.
The girls team finished with 53 points.
The boys team delivered an impressive team performance, placing runners in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh place to earn a team score of 25 points.
Kinnich Reisetter led the Indians with a third-place finish in 14:39. Douglas Lappin followed closely behind in fourth place with a time of 14:44.
Ryan Comfort finished fifth at 15:05, Tayven Wyatt placed sixth at 15:21, and Jackson McHawes finished seventh at 15:24 to complete the scoring runners.
Other Oskaloosa boys results included Silas Chilcote in 18th place at 16:35, Jenner Sisul in 19th at 16:39, Easton Holdsworth in 22nd at 17:10, Abraham Arellano in 23rd at 17:36, and Julien VanWyk in 25th at 17:20.
Kyle Young finished 31st at 17:55, Boston Henry placed 32nd at 17:57, Zaiden Clark finished 33rd at 18:53, Joseph Wilke placed 40th at 20:18, Grant Denburger finished 43rd at 21:09, Matthew Rosvold placed 45th at 21:11, Levi Barclay finished 46th at 21:18, and Nathan Good placed 47th at 22:41. Griffin Stock recorded a DNR.
Coaches praised the effort shown by the runners throughout the meet and during practices.
“The Luck’s are very proud of the effort the kids are showing both at meets and at practice,” the team shared.
The Oskaloosa middle school cross country team will return to action next Monday at Chariton. The race will be held at Northwest Park.
