Blu-Jay runner earns gold, Jayhawk team grabs trophy at Fort Scott cross country meet

***Pleasanton's Myles Alvarez sets the pace for a first-place win at Fort Scott on Thursday, Sept. 11.***

Story and photos by Billy Roudybush

Journal contributor

A Blu-Jay distance runner won the men’s varsity cross country race and the Jayhawk-Linn men’s team won the first-place trophy at Fort Scott on Thursday, Sept. 11.

With temperatures in the lower 90s, it was warm day for runners at the annual 5K cross-country invitational. Even though the middle grade athletes ran when the sun was higher, the heat played a major part in the varsity races as well. Several racers found themselves unable to complete the race. Despite the heat, Linn County did well on this race day.

In the boy’s race, Junior Myles Alvarez from Pleasanton took first place with a time of 17:48:80; he was almost half a minute ahead of his nearest competitor. Alvarez’s time was his best so far this season, shaving off 12 seconds from his time at Anderson County the week before. Blu-Jay junior Benson Meik also was in the race, finishing with a time of 23:41.

While the Blu-Jays didn't field the five runner necessary for a team score, the Jayhawks did.. The Jayhawk-Linn team scored a low 38 points, beating second place Pittsburg, 53 points; Iola, 61; and Frontenac, 105. The Prairie View boys came in sixth as a team.

The fastest Jayhawk runner, junior Louis Shillito, finished fifth with a time of 18:44:64 followed by freshman Martin Shillito in ninth place with a time of 19:16:27. Junior Kollyn Malinowski was 11th, sophomore Daniel Brake was 10th, junior Landon Higgins placed 17th, and sophomore Jayden Mayhugh was 23rd to win the team trophy.

Prairie View senior Brogan Beattie placed highest for the Buffalos in the varsity race. He came in 19^th with a time of 20:19:52. Sophomore Ethan Teagarden placed 31st, sophomore Bracken Malin was 33rd, freshman Liam Newman placed 40th, and junior Aiden Green was 46th.

For the middle grades (junior high and middle school) the Jayhawks won the mixed eighth grade team (boys and girls finishes combined) with a score of 24. Prairie View won the mixed seventh grade with a score of 26. Pleasanton placed fourth in the seventh grade mix team results. The middle grades competed on a 2 mile (3,200-meter) course.

Jayhawk Knox Rohr took first place in the 7th grade boys run with a time of 13:37. Asher Goff from Prairie View placed seventh in that race, and his teammate Ryder Rhynerson came in 16th.

In the eighth-grade run, Jayhawk Sawyer Champlin placed third with a time of 13:34. He was followed by teammates Noah Slinkard in 15th, William Brake and Kolbe Schneider in 18th and 19th respectively, and Francisco Hernandez in 23rd.

Waylon Stainbrook was the sole Prairie View entry in the eighth-grade run and came in 13th.