Racing into the weekend with an early morning competition, the Timber Creek Cross Country team set the tone for the rest of the season with their results from their Marcus Invitational Meet on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. With several new athletes breaking personal records and beating district schools to finish seventeenth overall with 426 points, Head Coach Josh Allen highlighted some of the numerous spotlight athletes in his meet recap newsletter.

Starting with the Elite Varsity Girls, runner Gabi Barrera “led the way for the squad” during her first high school 5K, finishing with a medal-winning twenty-fourth finish out of 240 athletes. Likewise, Erika Barrett, Amore Brichetto and Amanda Gordan finalized the scoring to finish ranked 11 out of 34. Freshman Morgan Jeffares also finished off the competition with a new personal record time. Open Varsity Girls also had success in their results, with Caroline Nartz finishing with her first 5K race with a time of 22:28 in the event. Elite Junior Varsity Girls showcased their skills as well, finishing thirteenth of 26 teams, while the Open Junior Varsity Girls team starting the season off with numerous first high school 5K races, as it was for Lauren Garza and Kacey Testerman.

Meanwhile, the Elite Varsity Boys finished with senior Braden Lange medaling to finish eleventh out of 257 competitors. Students Rich Gonzalez, Micah Pearce and Davis Whittaker all finished without five seconds of each other, with Braydon Thomas finishing off the race with a time of 17:55. For the Open Varsity Boys, runner Nathan Thorpe ran a 56 second personal record, and Jaxon Preissinger finished off the meet with his first high school 5K under wraps for the Elite Junior Varsity Boys. Spencer Jennings finished fourth for the team with his first high school 5K as well, representing the Open Junior Varsity Boys.

See photos from the Timber Creek Cross Country team’s race at the Marcus Invitational Meet on Sept. 1, 2018.