Titans record personal bests at Lennox Invite

The Tea Area Titans made the short trip to Lennox on Thursday to compete in the Oriole Invitational cross country meet, which featured several of the region’s top teams and runners.

The varsity girls opened the day with a strong performance, finishing second overall as a team. Senior Jaycie Babb led the way, clocking 18:18.11 to take sixth place—just shy of a personal best. Freshman Jayna VanLaecken finished 21st (20:21.07), followed by sophomore Grace Bialas in 23rd (20:29.73) and sophomore Logan Castle in 24th with a personal record of 20:31.16, ranking sixth all-time in school history for the 5K. Sophomore Abby Hilleson placed 45th (21:43.82), eighth grader Evelyn DeGeest was 48th (21:51.41), senior Meredith Decker finished 59th (22:39.35), and senior Brooklyn Reiners came in 68th (23:02.97).

The varsity boys also turned in an impressive showing, highlighted by three new personal records and a third-place team finish. Junior Reid Hammerquist led the Titans in 17th (personal record 17:12.77; No. 6 school rank, 5K). Junior Jonah Klemisch followed in 22nd (personal record 17:32.78; No. 10 school rank), and junior Tate VanLaecken placed 26th (personal record 17:47.53). Senior Jack Campbell finished 29th (17:57.54). Junior Kaden Christian surged late to place 36th (18:26.84), with brother Reece Christian close behind in 44th (18:43.82). Junior Noah Korver finished 66th (20:01.66), and senior Jacob DeYoung was 67th (20:08.02).

In the JV girls race, the Titans again found success, placing second as a team. Freshmen Gretchen Curtis and Lola Underberg paced the group, both earning personal bests—Curtis took sixth (17:02.83; No. 7 school rank, 4K) and Underberg seventh (17:06.9; No. 8 school rank). Freshman Grace Chapman placed 12th (17:47.06), freshman Ella Kamps 24th (18:51.79), and senior Gracie Kramer ran near her personal best for 40th (19:36.45). Freshman Natalie Hyronimus ran a season best to take 42nd (19:39.83), sophomore Daphne Decker was 47th (19:53.1), senior Kiley Pendergast placed 50th (20:08.15), and senior Morgan Sehr finished 63rd (21:27.78)—a season best on her birthday.

The JV boys continued the strong trend with six personal bests and a runner-up team finish. Freshman Grant Curtis led the way, placing fifth (personal record 14:38.86; No. 3 school rank, 4K). Eighth grader Reed Cerny followed in eighth (personal record 14:45.37; No. 4 school rank), while fellow eighth grader Caden Schuster finished 13th (personal record 15:28.66). Junior Malachi Kaiser took 21st (personal record 15:44.51), junior Riley Clark was 24th (personal record 15:49.18), and freshman Lincoln Dykstra 32nd (personal record 16:39.23). Junior Jaxon Johanneson ran a season best to take 35th (16:44.69). Sophomore Kadin Zolnowsky placed 65th (18:25.46), sophomore Zaiden Johnson 77th (19:52.14), and junior Victor Bruggeman 85th (21:43.37).

The middle school race combined both boys and girls, with the Titans recording 11 new personal bests and three top-10 finishes.

For the middle school girls, sixth grader Genevieve Decker led the team with a fifth-place finish (personal record 12:33.29). Seventh grader Angelina Dusa also cracked the top ten, taking eighth (personal record 12:49.88). Seventh grader Carly Castle placed 15th (13:23.27). Rounding out the lineup, seventh grader Callie Hawthorne was 41st (personal record 14:33.61), seventh grader Lela Kamps 43rd (14:38.77), and seventh grader Michelle Teng 51st (personal record 14:58.75). Sixth graders Madeline Olinger (55th, personal record 15:04.3), Samantha Klemisch (64th, personal record 15:24.85), and Vayda VanBeek (65th, 15:25.49) all ran well. Seventh grader Taytem Petrik finished 67th (15:45.21), followed by sixth grader Thaiann Ekthanitphong (71st, 16:01.42), sixth grader AvaLynn Ullom (80th, 17:06.01), sixth grader Olivia Brockman (83rd, personal record 18:15.59), and sixth grader Lindsey Reemtsma (85th, 18:37.54).

The middle school boys were led by sixth grader Caleb Jelen, who placed fourth (personal record 11:16.44; No. 8 school rank, 3K). Eighth grader Grant Woodis followed in 13th (personal record 11:58.61), and seventh grader Micah Hyronimus finished 30th (12:46.07). Eighth grader Noah Sayler took 47th (13:45.31), while sixth grader Zane Curry ran a personal best to place 56th (14:28.87) and sixth grader Tristan Waltner also notched a personal record to finish 63rd (15:17.3). The middle school boys finished third as a team.

The Titans will compete next at the ESD meet on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Wild Oak Golf Course in Mitchell. Varsity girls will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the varsity boys, JV girls, JV boys, and middle school divisions.