Harriers fare well in local meets

The Dodson-Whitewater Harriers had a great weekend placing first at the Hays Invitational at Mission Canyon last Friday. It was the first meet ever hosted by Hays.

“Mission Canyon was a really nice course,” Harrier Coach Bruce Warren told the PCN. “It was an all uphill course through the canyon. They did well considering it was an uphill course.”

For the ladies, Shawnee KillEagle placed 3rd with a time of 33.45, Bella Lawless was 4th with a time of 34.50, Karly Santillan was 5th with a time of 34.54, Donna Dale was 7th with a time of 39.35, and Serena Sanguins was 8th with a time of 44.29. This garnered the ladies a first place team finish.

For the men, Tyrese Messerly took 5th with a time of 23.03, and Jasper Doney took 7th with a time of 31.12.

At the midway point of the season, Coach Warren expressed how proud he is of the young team.

“They continue to improve race to race depending on the course,” Warren said. They’re improving and are real enthusiastic about running and they are doing well.”

On September 17, the Harriers faced the ever tough “killer hill" at the Frazer Invitational.

For the ladies, KillEagle placed 40th in 29.26, Lawless placed 41st in 31.29, Santillan placed 43rd in 31.44, Dale placed 44th in 35.30, and Serena Sanguins placed 49th in 42.51. For the men, Doney placed 50th in 26.33. Doney, Lawless and Santillan have qualified for the state meet.

The team ran at the beautiful Fort Peck course during the Glasgow Invitational on September 26.

For the ladies, KillEagle finished in 44th place with a time of 28.22, Lawless was 48th with a time of 30.16, Karly was 49th with a time of 30.21, Donna was 55th with a time of 35.35, and Sanguins was 56th with a time of 43.37

For the men, Messerly finished in 40th place with a time of 20.26. Messerly has qualified for state also.

The Harriers will hold their home meet this Friday at 9 p.m.

“It’s going to be a flat course over at the fairgrounds,” Coach Warren said. “I think there will be an improvement in their times on the flatter course. It’s their home meet so they will be more familiar with it.”

It will be the first time in two years that the course will be run because of a whooping cough outbreak in the 2014 season.

Teams expected to show up at the meet include Malta, Hays-Lodgepole, Frazer, Poplar, Harlem and Circle.

Coach Warren is proud of the work his young team is putting in. Every week they face seasoned runners, and each of the girls is showing determination.