Cross Country finishes three in the Carol Swenson Invite men's division top 15
The Thresher women also had a handful of strong showings.
McPHERSON — Thresher Cross Country took on the Carol Swenson Invite this past Friday, taking second place as a team on the men's side and strong individual finishes on the women's side.
“Everyone pretty much had a good first mile and then the heat and course conditions got to everyone, which caused [them] to fall off pace the last two miles ... The course was hot and dusty which caused everyone to run slower than how they normally would,” sophomore Tobin Wise from Pleasant Hill, Mo. said.
Wise led the Bethel men with a time of 17:35.93, earning a ninth-place finish. Following Wise was Luke Schmidt in 10th place, Andrew Graber in 11th place, and track and field All-American Isaiah Bartel in 21st. This allowed the Threshers to take a second-place team finish, falling only to McPherson.
“It was a very poor showing for myself, in particular, but ... we didn’t really have much competition,” junior Isaiah Bartel from Wichita said, promising better results in the near future. “We thrive off of competition.”
On the women’s side, Bethany Schrag raced to finish in 33rd place with a time of 27:03.75. This finish didn’t count for a team result due to the Thresher women lacking runners.
Head Coach Kam Blanding has some positivity to take away. “The beginning of this cross country season has tested this team with some injuries and sickness,” he said. “Even with this, the team has shown their grit and determination early on. The men had three top 15 finishes, placing ninth, 10th, and 11th at the Carol Swenson Invite in some intense heat. The way this team has handled adversity early on gets me excited for the rest of this season.”
“It was a tough race with rough circumstances but we were able to pull through with the support of our great teammates,” Schrag, first-year from Valley Center said.
The Thresher Cross Country team will race next at the Muthama-Rogers Invite, hosted here at Bethel, with a start time of 10 a.m. on Saturday the 24th. They are looking forward to pushing their times to the limit and their success to the max.