Short-handed Bolts headline area boys at Tigerhawk Invitational

COLFAX — The Baxter boys cross country team has fallen in the Class 1A rankings recently.

But the reason for the drop is mostly due to injury.

The Bolts have not had the services of their top runner Max Handorf for more than a week, but Baxter continues to show why they were ranked in the first place.

The Bolts were missing two of their top five runners at the Tigerhawk Invitational on Thursday but still finished fourth in the team standings after a pair of top-five individual finishes at Kelly Fields.

The only teams who were better than Baxter were 3A Saydel and 2A Grand View Christian and 2A Woodward-Granger.

The Eagles had the top two individual finishers and won the meet with 67 points. Grand View Christian (79) edged Woodward-Granger (82) for second and Baxter scored 117 points in fourth.

Collins-Maxwell (154) completed the top five and the rest of the 13-team field included Clarke (181), BGM (194), Woodward Academy (208), Montezuma (215), Colo-NESCO (242), the Newton JV (244), host Colfax-Mingo (283) and Pleasantville (354). HLV/TC had an incomplete roster.

Saydel’s Gage Moreno won the boys’ 5K race in 16 minutes, 25.52 seconds and teammate Jacob McPherren was the runner-up in 16:29.31.

Baxter’s Brecken Fisher led the area runners in fourth and Maddux Tuhn placed fifth. Fisher posted a career-best time of 16:49.66 and Tuhn crossed the finish line in a career-best 17:20.8.

The Bolts did not have the services of Maddox Peters due to an illness, but Dakota Parker (19:02.16) was 27th, Parker Bonney (20:30.24) took 42nd and Lincoln Russell (20:38.54) ended up 44th as the final scoring runners.

Sam Wilhelm (22:56.58) and Levi Gregory (24:17.75) were non-scoring runners in 75th and 87th, respectively.

Bonney, Russell and Wilhelm posted career-best times and Gregory made his varsity debut.

Colfax-Mingo was led by Sullivan Wilkins, who placed seventh in 17:37.54.

The next best area finishers after that though came from a trio of runners on the Newton JV squad. Chase Lundberg (20:39.99), Hudson Swarts (20:46.47) and Emerson Cook (20:48.69) finished in succession in 45th, 46th and 47th, respectively. All three Cardinals posted career-best times.

Hayden Flaherty (21:47.75) and Gabe Miller (22:13.79) were the final scoring runners in 59th and 63rd, respectively.

Tyler Thompson (22:24.04) and Jaxon Klingel (23:18.9) were non-scoring runners in 23:18.9.

Flaherty, Miller, Thompson and Klingel also ran career-best times.

The Tigerhawks scored as a team for the first time this season. After Wilkins in seventh was Willie Fitzgerald (20:56.03) in 49th with a career-best time.

Benjamin Faidley (23:15.79), Ryan Moore (24:13.7) and Asher Knutson (28:14.6) were the final scoring runners in 82nd, 86th and 107th, respectively. Milo Knutson (31:58.87) made his varsity debut and placed 116th.

Notes: It was a night of career-best times for the Newton JV squad. “I love seeing when hard work pays off, and these guys have been putting in the work,” Newton head boys cross country coach Steve Weeks said. “I want to have a huge shout out to Emerson Cook, who is really starting to believe what I have been telling him about his ability. He’s really closed the gap with Chase Lundberg and Hudson Swarts. First-year runner Tyler Thompson has really benefited from some tough workouts and it’s showing, and (Miller) ran through some issues to still break his record. (Klingel) is getting the 5K figured out.”