WHS cross country qualifies two teams for State

The Weiser cross country teams just pulled off something truly special. Both the girls’ team and boy’s team are now going to state after qualifying on Oct. 22 at districts.

 The Weiser cross country teams have had a good season no doubt however, they’re going to state wasn’t exactly certain. However, despite this, they brought their absolute best to districts.

 SRV 4A Districts were hosted  at McCain Middle School in Payette. The competition was fierce like any other district-wide competition.

 In total, for the boys’ race, there were five teams and  38 total boys. For the girls’ race, there were also five teams and 35 girls in the race. The competition was more fierce than anything the teams had faced before. Despite everything, however, Weiser pulled through, with both teams getting third overall, qualifying them for the state.

 For the girls’ team, there are six girls going to run at state. They are Claire Matthews, a junior this year, who got second in this race with a time of 19:34.14. Corianna Parsons, who is a sophomore, managed to place third right behind Matthews with a time of 19:45.34. 

 Kelsey Cole, who is a freshman this year, placed 18th with a time of 23:58.47. Kenzie Strasser, who is a senior this year, got 24th place with a time of 25:19.59. Kaylee Harris, who is also a senior this year, got 25th with a time of 26:09.43. Finally, there is Tori Brown, a sophomore, who managed to place 34th with a time of 31:32.76.

 The boys’ team has seven boys who will run for state. Blake Quinton, a junior, placed third overall with a time of 16:16.39. Judah Parsons, a senior, placed eighth with a time of  17:22.13. Another senior, Josh Kelley, placed 12th with a time of 17:35.94. Jorge Martinez, a sophomore, placed 20th with a time of 18:16.06. Ammon Anderson, another sophomore, finished right after Martinez, placing 21st with a time of 18:31.68, and finishing right after Anderson, was Alex Woods placing 22nd with 18:49.37. Finally, finishing after Woods, was Max Lattin placing 23rd with a time of 19:06.81.

 Needless to say, not only did both teams earn this victory, but they were ecstatic for the state championship race. The fastest team member, Quinton, was glad that the team’s hard work was finally paying off.

 “We are super excited to go to state and we’ve been working hard all season for this,” Quinton said.

 Another runner on the boys’ team was Lattin. Lattin, who only joined halfway through the season, was proud of his performance and was excited for his first-ever state competition.

 “I am super hyped. After I joined halfway through the season I did not expect I would go this far. This is my first state championship I get to participate in so I am super stoked,” Lattin said.

 Another runner, Anderson, shared his worries he had at the start of the season but he was ultimately proud of what the team managed to pull off.

 “I mean, halfway through the season I started to lose faith in us making it. However, we brought our best to districts and pulled through with it and I could not be more happy,” Anderson said.

 Now the team wouldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for their amazing coach, Scott Hale. He had his worries, but his team showed him that it was all worth it in the end.

 “I’m so proud of both teams. This is the second year in a row they’ve both qualified for state. And it wasn’t until districts that we knew we could do it. They ran hard and stuck to our plan for the meet,” Hale said.

 Hopefully, this is all worth it in the end because the state championship is going to be even tougher, but if I know one thing about the Weiser Wolverines, it is that they never back down from a challenge, and on Nov. 2, they will make Weiser proud.

 The State meet will be held at Eagle Island State Park with the 4A girls race to be held at 1 p.m and the 4A boys at 2 p.m. These times are approximate.