Blu-Jay runner looks to lead cross country team this fall

Blu-Jay junior Myles Alvarez keeps a steady pace as he runs his way to a medal at the Anderson County cross country meet on Thursday, Sept. 4. Alvarez races against runners from traditional stronger distance programs in the meet. (Billy Roudybush / Journal contributor)

By Billy Roudybush

Journal contributor

GARNETT– Pleasanton High School sent its cross-country team to the Anderson County cross country run on Thursday, Sept. 4. The running trail is on Garnett’s golf course, which is on the north end of town. It is a great course to start the year. Rolling hills with nice long slopes makes it seem they are going through a nice jog in the countryside. Except runners must make two circuits and after three miles you have to end with a 400-meter uphill climb to the finish line.

Despite the grueling length and finish, teams from all over the area came to challenge themselves and other teams. You had big teams from Fort Scott, Baldwin, Garnett and Louisburg. You also had all three schools from Linn County. Pleasanton had the smallest team from Linn County, but that did not dampen their spirits and effort.

Pleasanton’s middle school and Junior Varsity runners all ran hard and displayed they had runners with a lot of heart and that there is more to come from Pleasanton in the future. The boys’ varsity race came at the end of the night, and the teams hopes were pinned on one of their runners.

The Blu-Jay cross country team this fall includes, from left, Gavin Lawson, Myles Alvarez, Benson Meik, and Baileigh Lister. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

Pleasanton had two boys in the varsity race, Myles Alverez and Benson Meik. As the red sun slowly declined in the west, it attempted to penetrate the cloak of grey smoke that blanketed the whole area. With this small red ball in the western sky, the final race of the evening began. The varsity boys were off and running.

Alvarez went out with the leaders. Meik held back in the pack, and that was the position both runners maintained throughout the race. Alvarez refused to let the front runners get out of sight. As people monitored his progress halfway through the race, he had demonstrated they could not lose him. 

The end was tight and Alvarez, a junior, did not catch the few front runners, but he sought to maintain a strong pace so that no one could catch him from behind. There were two runners trying to catch him, but they were unsuccessful. This dogged determination earned Alvarez the right to a medaling position. 

Alvarez finished the 5,000-meter race in eighth place with a time of 18:09, and he was the only runner from Linn County to place in the top 10 in a varsity race. His time was over a minute faster than he had last year on the same course. 

The junior has continuously showed improvement and wants to be a top runner in the state. With his dedication and effort, the Blu-Jays have a top long-distance runner.

Here are how other runners fared in high school events:

• Meik, a junior, turned in a time of 24:56 in the 5K boys varsity race.

• Sophomore Bailey Lister covered the 5K course with a time of 40:01 in the girls junior varsity run.

In the races for middle grades:

• Seventh-grader Victoria Meik placed 22nd in the seventh-grade girls 3,200-meter race with a time of 18:13. Sixth-grader Sophia White was 34th with a time of 20:28

• Sixth-grader Levi Dir ran the 3,200-meter seventh-grade race in 21:49, followed by Hudson Dir, also a sixth-grader, with a time of 24:30.

• Gabe Lister ran the 3,200-meter course in the eighth-grade boys race with a time of 27:56.