Washington’s Evan Horak tries to keep pace during the first mile of the Fairfield Invitational at Waterworks Park. Photo by KCII Sports Nate Gonner.

Mount Pleasant High School was the site of the latest race for the Washington Demon cross country squads. The Panthers hosted the 36th annual Mount Pleasant cross country meet Tuesday. The two-class race included runners from Cardinal, Central Lee, Columbus, Danville, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Holy Trinity, Keokuk, Lone Tree, Louisa-Muscatine, Mediapolis, Notre Dame, Van Buren, WACO, Wapello, Winfield-Mount Union and Wilton. Washington competed in the large class division against athletes from Fairfield, Fort Madison, Keokuk and Mount Pleasant.

Claire Horak posted a fourth place finish in the girls’ race, clocking a time of 20:40.56. Maggie Vos and Molly Sparks captured top 15 finishes. Vos had the 14th best performance, clocking a time of 23:11.5. Sparks finished 22 seconds later, finishing 15th. Ashley Telleen was 24th, Halle Leyden placed 25th and Peyton Cuddeback finished 26th.

A pair of Horaks tallied top 15 finishes in the boys’ meet. Brennan Horak topped the Demon boys’ squad, finishing 11th with a time of 18:24.09. Evan Horak crossed the finish line three seconds later to capture 12th place. Jacob Van Osdol came away with the 18th best finish, Ben Loy was 25th, Owen Horak ranked 27th, and Kyle Anderson placed 30th.

Washington placed fourth in both team standings. The girls’ team recorded 82 points, while the boys’ posted 93. The Demon cross country teams will host the Washington cross country meet next Tuesday at the Washington Golf and Country Club. The teams scheduled to run in the event include: Fairfield, Fort Madison, Highland, Keokuk, Keota and Sigourney.