Mother Nature was not kind to cross-country runners at the end of August. With temperatures nearing the century mark, it put a stop on thoughts of firing the starting guns.
Last week, however, brought proper running weather.
West Liberty’s cross-country teams opened their seasons with a pair of meets in Iowa City (Sept. 5) and Cedar Rapids (Aug. 31).
In Iowa City at the Bob Brown Invitational, four Comet girls raced in this field featuring over 160 athletes.
Sophomore Addison Guerra was the best of the bunch, placing 75th overall and first on her team with a time of 24:59.92.
Next in line was sophomore Madelyn Deahr, who raced to 86th place in 25:42.20.
Rounding out the lineup was freshman Aileen Aragon (27:48.81 — 121st) and junior Angelly Gonzalez (31:44.33 — 151st).
The race in Cedar Rapids offered some runners faster times. For Aragon, she completed her race in 26:47.40. The same was said for sophomore Ximena Valenzuela who posted a 28:20.00.
Because of its small roster, the girls were ineligible for a team score.
However, the boys’ team was as it fielded a team of seven in Cedar Rapids.
Here, the Comets were led by freshman Carlos Meraz who placed 78th with a near sub-19 minute run of 19:04.80.
Sophomore Jonathan Juarez posted an overall personal record with a 19:37.20.
Freshman Damian Gonzalez (23:27.10), junior Cameron Elizondo (24:36.10) and junior Wesley Heath (25:09.30) scored for the Comets at this meet.
At the Iowa City event, which was held at the Iowa City Kickers Soccer Park, the Comets placed 13th with 359 team points.
West Liberty was led by Meraz (18:47.36 — 28th), freshman Noah Garcia (21:20.28 — 111th), junior Christofer Gomez (22:25.40 — 137th), sophomore Isaac Aragon (22:38.41 — 140th) and Gonzalez (22:40.01 — 141st).
The Comets were back in action on Tuesday in Tipton for a big 17-school meet.
Next Monday, it will be a smaller affair as seven schools meet at Little Bear Country Club for the Midland Cross-Country Meet.