Bethel cross country competes in season opener
Strong perfomances by Wise and Schmidt led the way.
HUTCHINSON — The Bethel men’s and women’s cross country teams ran in the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic on Friday at the Fun Valley Sports Complex hosted by Hutchinson Community College.
On the men’s side, they placed sixth out of 13 teams with 188 points combined. Individually, Tobin Wise (22:41.2) led them with a 39th place finish followed by Luke Schmidt (22:51.1) in 43rd, Marcus Fiedler (23:05.1) in 47th, Isaish Bartel (23:13.5) in 50th, Matthew Fleck (25:17.8) in 84th, Robbie Crager (25:29.8) in 89th, Daniel Kaufman (25:41.3) in 94th, and Nick Morgan (29:45.9) in 121st.
“I was happy with how I did,” junior Tobin Wise, from Pleasant Hill, Mo. said. “I ran faster than last year at this meet and I placed better than expected. My training this summer really helped me feel confident and know I could race fast. It was a great opening meet and the team did really well and will only continue to do better as the season goes on.”
The women’s side consisted of three runners all roughly close to the same time, which meant the team did not get a score due to lack of numbers. Individually, Taryn Paulino finished 42nd (20:59.1) followed by Bethany Schrag (21:05.4) at 44th and lastly, Emma Graber (21:09.2) finishing 46th.
“It was a great way to start the season with a night run under the lights,” said freshman Emma Graber from Divide, Colo. “It made the first race fun and really helped the team bond.”
“I feel like both the men and women ran well overall,” said first-year head coach Aaron Stallsworth. “Marcus Fiedler and Bethany Schrag definitely ran strong races [with Bethany running almost a 3 and a half minute course PR]. It was nice to finally get out and compete, and I’m looking forward to building upon that.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete again on Sep. 15 at the Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo.