It was a different meet, but same story for Washington cross country runner Lance Sobaski on Thursday when he won his second straight meet with a first place showing at Waterworks Park in Fairfield.
The senior crossed the finish line in 16:34 to best the second place runner by 12 ticks. Sobaski helped catapult the #19 ranked Demons to a third place showing out of 13 teams to lead the area schools. Washington had 117 points while Danville placed first with 32.
The calculated Sobaski was patient in when he would make his move. “I know this course to heart because I have ran it so much and wanted to wait to make a move. It happened with about a mile left and I kept reeling in the guy in front. When I passed I just kept building up after that and it worked out for me. It was a great race.”
Micah Rees was also a headliner for the Demons placing fifth in 17:18. Other scored runners included Drew Horak 24th (18:56), Tyler Alderton 30th (19:11), and Quinn Wubbena 60th (19:56). The #20 Demon girls flirted with a meet title by nabbing second with 76 points, just being outdone by Clear Creek Amana’s 72. Quincy Griffis cracked the top 10 in seventh with a time of 21:43. Isabella Lujan placed 16th (22:42), Lauren Horak 18th (22:46), Kendall Hinrichsen 21st (22:57), and Taylor Bartholomew 23rd (23:05). This was the first meet in school history where both Demon programs were ranked at the same time.
No other area girls’ team recorded a score, but Hillcrest Academy’s Leah Bontrager had a strong showing in 38th out of 144 runners (23:48) and teammate Delaney Shaw was 99th (27:13). Highland’s Katelyn Waters placed 80th (26:00), WACO’s Hannah Dennis 83rd (26:05), Lone Tree’s Vivian Zaruba 97th (27:07), and Winfield-Mt. Union’s Maggie Hutton was 114th (28:22).
Other area boys’ teams that finished with scores included WMU 11th (360 points), WACO 12th (528), and Hillcrest Academy 13th (633). The Wolves’ Gabe Hemsworth finished top 30 in 26th (19:01) and Kohlby Newsom was not far behind in 46th (19:38). WACO’s Wyatt Dennis was 35th out of 196 (19:21), Hillcrest Academy’s Collin Miller 84th (20:39), Lone Tree’s Taylor Alberhasky 138th (22:48), and Highland’s Jackson Schneider 159th (23:43).
Full results can be found below.