Skyline High School hosted a cross country meet for area prep runners last Saturday on the west side of Pratt. Skyline’s own Ethan Robinson ran an exceptional race to take first place and win the individual championship title.
“There were representatives from 16 high schools at the meet. Four of those schools had full girls teams and seven schools had full boys teams,” said Skyline cross country coach Mike Neifert. “Our girls team placed second out of four teams. The boys team finished first ahead of the other six teams.”
Though cross country is much considered an individual sport, Neifert said he enjoyed watching his Skyline team members support each other during the competition.
“Three of our girls ran close together throughout most of the race,” he said. “It was fun to watch them go by one after another. They finished with only two girls from other teams getting in between them.”
Neifert said he was also proud of the accomplishment and improvement Robinson exhibited en route to securing the meet championship medal.
“Watching Ethan Robinson go out hard and win the meet against rivals who beat him last year was really fun. He worked hard this summer to get in racing shape and all those miles paid off,” Neifert said. “I also enjoyed telling each runner as they passed by me close to the finish that we were going to win the meet as a team.”
The Skyline runners now prepare for the St. John Invitational on Thursday at the Stafford County Club.
“We need more speed from all of our runners, especially from those who are a little further back in the pack. They’re doing great, but a faster performance from each of them would reduce our score (lowest score wins) and add points to the teams we’re competing against. One or two passes at the end of a race can make the difference between winning and placing second,” Neifert said. “The races at this meet will be much larger and we will see some of the one or two of the top teams in the state.”
