Horst wins VS cross country race; boys team places first; girls second

Lily Horst finished nearly 1 minute ahead of the second-place runner in the VS CC meet.

Karley Kenney

Cassie Kenney crosses the finish line for varsity girls.

Coach Frazier speaks to the varsity girls before their race.

Maci Griffith

Derek Dinderman and Nolan Sagan led the VS varsity boys.

The varsity boys race begins.

Bristi Gerber

Lily Horst led almost all of the race by a large distance.

These tags include computer chips used to score each runner's time and finishing position.

VS freshman Cassie Kenney finished fifth.

Hannah Haisman laughs as she passes a friend in the crowd; she finished 10th overall.

Kyle Henkle drives the guide vehicle for the VS Cross Country Meet.

The varsity girls begin their race.

The VSHS boys varsity cross country team with their first place trophy from the home meet.

Winner Lily Horst, right, and the rest of the top 10 varsity girls receive their awards.

Lily Horst finished the girls cross country course at Rodgers Park in her familiar first place again on Tuesday. This time she was nearly a minute faster than everyone else.

Horst's time of 15:17 was 58 seconds ahead of the second-place runner, Lily's long-time running partner and VS teammate Bristi Gerber.

Four of the top ten finishers in the girls race were Vikettes (Horst, Gerber, Casie Kenney and Hannah Haisman). The team finished one point behind West Delaware in team standings

The VS varsity boys team, led again by Derek Dinderman, finished first by a large margin over second-place Waterloo Columbus. Four boys (Dinderman, Nolan Sagan, Jordan Evans and Max Wehage) placed in the top 10 for the Vikings.

In addition to the Varsity, JV and Middle School races, there was also a one mile run/walk for VS faculty and the community. Approximately 60 people participated in this race, with VSHS teachers Tyler Lorenzen and Heather Kalous finishing first and second.

VS Cross Country Coach John Frazier said the 1-mile race was his idea. He hopes it will inspire more people in the community to get involved in fitness and running. Also, he said, it's good for the students to see their teachers running the race.

VS athletes change practice schedule to attend meet

Kalous, the VS girls track coach, observed that the VS football and volleyball teams changed their practice times so those athletes could come and cheer on the cross country team.

"They deserve a shout-out," said Kalous. "It was a proud night to be a Viking."

In JV races, the Vikings placed first as a team while the Vikettes were second.

Coach's summary:

Frazier shared his thoughts concerning the event and his athletes:

Our Cross Country program has developed into a community of runners and supporters. The entire community came together to acknowledge that our sport is important. The athletes then responded with many season's best and many P.R's (personal records).

Our staff and supporter's mile run/walk demonstrated that healthy choices to stay fit can be fun. We show up and produce and don't just lecture about choices. Our workers all had jobs and pulled together to produce a quality meet. Everyone added to our event-the boys scouts honoring our flag, Kayla Taylor singing the anthem, releasing the homing pigeons, the Lion's Club helping with parking, the volleyball team practicing at 6:00 A.M. to attend, and the football team going back to practice until 8:30, all demonstrated how we all come together as a community. The athletes were humbled with all the support!

The races were computer chip timed so when the athletes finished, times were recorded electronically. When you run seven runners and add up the top five places to get a team our team points, every place counts dramatically. Our girls placed second by only one point. We all gave our best efforts and we came out on the short end. The boys' places showed our depth and we were the best team on the course.

Hard work does play off. Little things do add up. Thank you to everyone who helped make this meet successful!

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Sports : Horst wins VS cross country race; boys team places first; girls second

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