Forty-eight hours removed from their first race of the season, the Washington Demon cross country teams returned to competition. The Demon boys’ and girls’ squads traveled to Ottumwa’s Wildwood State Park last Thursday for the running of the Pekin Invitational.

The boys’ race featured three members of the Horak family finishing in the top 15 overall. Junior Brennan Horak had the best finish on the boys’ side, placing eighth with a time of 17:54. Senior Owen Horak came in four places behind Brennan, clocking a time of 18:19. Freshman Evan Horak finished one second behind Owen for 13th place. The Demons rounded out their team score with Jacob VanOsdol in 21st and Kyle Anderson in 47th. Washington ranked third in the team standings with 101 points.

Sophomore Claire Horak highlighted the Demons in the girls’ race, posting the race’s seventh best time at 20:26. Sophomore Molly Sparks came away with an 18th place finish, registering a time of 22:15.Brooke Stout took 21st, Meredith Raber was 25th and Maggie Voss finished in 29th place. Washington placed fourth out of 13 teams with a score of 100.

The Washington boys’ and girls’ cross country teams return to competition this Thursday, running in the Fairfield Invitational at Waterworks Park.