Washington sophomore Claire Horak closes in on the finish line of the Fairfield Invitational Thursday at Waterworks Park. Photo by KCII Sports Nate Gonner.

Washington sophomore Claire Horak closes in on the finish line of the Fairfield Invitational Thursday at Waterworks Park. Photo by KCII Sports Nate Gonner.

The cross country season took the Washington Demons to Waterworks Park in Fairfield Thursday. The meet was split into two classes with Washington competing in the larger division against runners from Central Lee, Chariton, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Mount Pleasant, Notre Dame/West Burlington. and Ottumwa.

Sophomore Claire Horak topped the Demons’ roster with another top 10 finish in the girls’ race, placing seventh overall with a time of 20:57. Junior Brooke Stout clocked her race at 22:47, the 14th best finish. Senior Maggie Vos finished 20th, junior Meredith Raber placed 23rd, sophomore Molly Sparks was 25th, and freshman Halle Ledyen crossed the finish line in 35th place. Washington took fourth place in the team standings, scoring 89 points.

Junior Brennan Horak was the first Washington boys’ runner to cross the finish line, placing 12th with a time of 18:15. Freshman Evan Horak crossed the finish line 17 seconds later for a 14th place finish. Junior Jacob Van Osdol finished 23rd, senior Owen Horak placed 34th, senior Kyle Anderson was 41st, and sophomore Ben Loy took 45th place. Washington came away with a fifth place team finish, collecting 124 points.

The next races for the Washington cross country teams are set for Thursday at the Fort Madison Invitational at Rodeo Park.