Emily Mauch spent the moments following last Thursday’s GAC North race trying to get past her disappointment. But the Warrenton senior was about the only one discontent with her showing. Never one to be satisfied with her performance, Mauch was aggravated with herself for not shaving more seconds off her time from the same race a year ago. “Every other meet I’ve been improving by about 30 seconds,” said Mauch. “I’m allowing myself one bad meet that I’m going to bounce back from and keep pushing.” Sure, she had finished second, never leaving any doubt about earning a medal. Mauch had even come into the race expecting to most likely not place first, because she knew a friend she has developed over four seasons of cross country races would probably have the edge. And she was right. Duchesne’s Maggie Noble finished first with a time of 20:28. “My whole goal was to stay with her as long as possible,” said Mauch. “I held on here about a mile-and-a-half. I was hoping to make it to the two-mile mark with her and didn’t quite make it.” Mauch, who ran a 20:53 during last year’s race, had hoped to close the gap between she and her friend. She had beaten Noble by five seconds during last year’s race, but the results were reversed this fall. “I’m disappointed with my time, but I’m happy with how I did, because I pushed myself,” said Mauch. Mauch finished Thursday’s race in 20:50. “She showed really well,” added coach Mike Spoede. She found herself running alone for the second half of the race. “Last year I had a group of girls push me the entire race, and this year I didn’t have that luxury,” said Mauch. “That can hurt you, because you get into a rhythm and kind of slow down.” Junior Melora Broker placed 10th, also earning her second straight GAC medal with a time of 21:50. “I thought I did pretty good,” said Broker. “I’m glad I medaled. My goal was to finish in the Top 10. There’s always room for improvement, but it’s been a pretty good season though.” Freshman Madeline Carlson barely missed the cut for a medal, running a 22:29 to finish 16th. “She has been more motivated and is really showing a desire to move up and get close to Melora,” said Spoede.Sophomore Devyn Woolf placed 29th with a 24:27. Junior Shelby Jewell finished 35th, while classmate Sam Olsson took 36th. “We put some younger girls in there to make a team, so I was pretty happy as a coach,” said Spoede of the Warriors, who finished third. The Warrenton boys team was unable to claim any hardware, as junior Cloud Wharton couldn’t match his 11th-place finish from last season. “This meet it was mainly just dead legs,” said Wharton. “My body wasn’t feeling it all.” Wharton took 20th, running a 19:00 amidst a nagging injury. “I think he was a little disappointed, but he’s still trying to work out a foot injury.” He says his body has inexplicably not allowed him to run the impressive times such as the 17:57 he ran at last year’s GAC meet. This season has been frustrating for Wharton, who says he has put in the effort but has just not seen the results. “I trained over the summer, and tried, but my body is just not getting it done,” said Wharton. Freshman Zach Davis finished 27th on Thursday, running a 19:45, while sophomore Jacob Ruby came in on his heels. Ruby placed 28th with a 19:52. Freshman Jarred Short also competed in the varsity race for Warrenton, running a 22:20. The GAC champion in the boys race was Sheldon Keence of St. Charles West with a 17:03.