MHS Cross Country finishes successful season

Both the Girls and Boys Cross Country teams had very successful seasons. Both of the teams had one athlete qualify for states. The Boys placed 4th at regionals and Girls placed 5th. 

This season shed light on some amazing runners. Sophomore Luke Butler had an outstanding season. Butler qualified for states and placed 104th with a time of 16:40. Butler spoke about his excitement qualifying for states.

 “It was super cool that I was able to keep my streak going and to make my family and friends proud of the work I have put in. It made me feel good being able to show people I am not giving up or slowing down,” said Butler.

Viktoria Bloniarz had a showcase of a season as a freshman. She placed 69th at states with a time of 19:44.  Bloniarz explains how accomplished she felt making it to states as a freshman. 

“All of my hard work this season ended successfully and I couldn’t be happier. I’m very grateful for my team and my coach who supported me and helped me grow as the runner I became this season,” said Bloniarz.

Freshman David Kittle also had an impressive season. According to Boys Head Coach Justin Heck, David Kittle improved the most this season.

 “He improved at every meet and dropped a total of six and a half off his 5k time during the season”, said Heck.

A successful season during a pandemic was not accomplished without hard work behind the scenes. Coach Justin Heck explained the precautions he took as a coach. Heck mentioned the limit of two spectators per athlete, requiring spectators to wear masks, making the athletes social distance, and different ways of timing the races.

 “We had to manage everyone who was not actively competing wearing a mask, mostly people were really good about wearing their masks.” Heck explains.