The future of long distance running is in good hands at Tyler Consolidated as the abilities of the cross country teams at the High and Middle School levels are each progressing very well. The teams have competed almost every weekend for the past month, lowering their times and turning in very respectable performances.

The Cross Country teams traveled to Magnolia on Sept. 22 to compete in the first Magnolia Invitational. With a starting lineup of 27 in the varsity girls race, Sophomore Jennifer Yost finished in 11th place with a time of 25:51, while Ashley Pfohl finished up in 25th place with a time of 35:29.

In the middle school girls competition with 30 participants, Emily Strickler crossed the line in the top third finishing in ninth place with her time of 16:45. Caroline Bantug was not far behind, finishing in 11th place with a time of 17:02.

The middle school boys race had 20 competitors, with Dylan Reynolds coming in second overall with his time of 13:11. Teammate Ryan Dalrymple came in seventh overall in 15:14.

The teams traveled to Grand Vue Park in Moundsville on Sept. 26 to compete in the John Marshall Invitational. With cool and wet weather conditions, the Tyler Consolidated teams had a very fine showing at the meet.

“At the beautiful Grand Vue park, they gave us a look at what is currently, and what hopefully will be the future, of Knights distance racing,” said assistant coach, Luke Reynolds.

In a field of 117 competitors, Aaron Estep recorded a time of 19:49 on the hilly course, good enough for second place, only eight seconds out of the lead. Thompson navigated the muddy trails and finished in the 108th slot with a time of 29:15.

Yost was the first Knight girl to cross the line, amongst 119 competitors, and did so in 63rd place in 28:41. Following her was Chelsea Wells and Jennifer Seckman in 80th and 82nd place respectively. The girls were pretty close with Wells posting a 31:19 and Seckman finishing in 31:53. Emily Wells was the next Knight finisher at 111th position in 36:42 and Pfohl not far behind, stopping the clock at 39:14 in 116th place. The girls finished tenth in the team competition with North Marion High School running away from the rest of the field, posting three runners in the top five.

TCMS overall had their best performances to date with boys and girls placing very well. Strickler stopped the clock in 14 minutes and 17 seconds and placed 9th overall. Close on her heels was Bantug showing 12th in 14:30.

The boys flexed a little muscle on the 1.86 mile course also, with Reynolds taking first place and setting a course record of ten minutes and forty six seconds. Dalrymple broke the tape with a respectable 13:14, 16th place performance.

The Knight cross country teams will compete at North Bend State Park on Oct. 3, in the West Virginia Insurance Invitational.