The season has come to an end for the Park Hill cross-country teams after competing in districts, except for Natalie Gerdes, who is the only Trojan to qualify for state.
In the Class 5 District 4 Race at Lee’s Summit North High School on Oct. 31, the Park Hill girls’ cross-country team finished the race in 10th place out of 14 teams with 291 points. The Park Hill boys’ cross-country team finished in 13th place out of 16 teams with 382 points.
Park Hill sophomore Natlie Gerdes is the only Trojan who will be competing at state after she finished the Class 5 District 4 Race in 3rd place with a time of 19:48 on Oct. 30.
Gerdes will be making her second appearance at state as the sophomore finished in third place when the Trojan crossed the finish line in 19:48. Abby Stevens was the next Park Hill runner to finish as the junior ran a time of 22:15, earning 58th place overall.
Jordan Umstattd ended in 71st place with a time of 23:04 and Ava Sullivan completed the race in 23:32. Reagan Kastner finished in 23:40, Edith Fink ended with a time of 24:45 and Anna Higgs crossed the finish line in 24:58.
For the boys’, the first four Trojans were in an 8-runner pact from 69th place to 76th place, all completing the race in less than 18:30. The first two Park Hill runners were Cade Pummill, who finished with a time of 18:14, and Ben Richenburg in 18:15.
In 73rd place was Jakob Johnston as the Trojan ended his freshman campaign with a time of 18:18. Samuel Benson was the fourth Park Hill runner to cross the finish line with the junior running a time of 18:23.
The junior duo of Lucas Urista and Caden Mills ran back-to-back in 95th and 96th place. Urista completed the 5K in 19:20, while Mills finished with a time of 19:30.