The Washington Demons were among the area teams that put together a strong effort Thursday at the Ron Hunderdosse Invitational at Waterworks Park in Fairfield.
Washington finished second in the girls’ team standings in the large-school division, just 19 points behind the winners from Fort Madison, while the Demons were also third on the boys’ side.
Washington’s successful day included junior Iris Dahl coming away with the individual girls’ win, running a time of 20 minutes 28 seconds to get her first career victory.
Quincy Griffis was ninth overall for the Demons in 21 minutes 35 seconds, while fellow seniors Lauren Horak and Alyiva Anderson were 10th and 11th, respectively, by both clocking in at just over 22 minutes.
Washington senior Kendall Hinrichsen was not far behind in 13th, with junior teammate Angeline Anderson only one spot behind her. Senior Isabella Lujan and sophomore Emma Horak also ran top-30 times for the Demons.
Junior Andrew Rees was second in the large-school division in the boys’ race to lead Washington, crossing the finish line in 17:13. Senior Tyler Alderton was only one second behind him to claim third place, while Demon freshman Parker Tschantz was 20th and sophomore Ethan Hotchkiss finished 30th.
Hillcrest Academy’s Marie Yoder not only won the small-school title at Fairfield but also had the best girls’ time across both divisions, clocking in at 20:21. Fellow sophomore Siena Stanerson took 10th and junior Rya Scott also made the top 15 to help the Ravens finish second as a team in their division.
The Hillcrest boys were able to take fourth as a team in the small-school division thanks to senior Jesse Blossom and junior Micah Gerber taking the first two spots outside the top 10 individually.
The best individual time in that boys’ division belonged to Winfield-Mount Union senior Kohlby Newsom, who was fourth in 17:11. Senior Jacob Nelson very nearly cracked the top 20 as the Wolves finished fifth as a team, while Ashlyn Bender represented WMU in the girls’ race and posted a time of just under 30 minutes.
Freshman Addyson Eben paced the Lone Tree girls by taking 18th in their division, as did sophomore Brock Nebergall for the Lion boys. Junior Brayden Zywiec’s time of just under 24 minutes was best for the Highland boys, while senior Olivia Edwards finished up in just under 33-and-a-half minutes for the Husky girls.