By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorThe Warrenton cross country team had a stellar showing in last Thursday’s Gateway Athletic Conference North Division Meet.The boys and girls team both placed second in the team standings, with three runners medaling in both of the varsity races and earning all-conference recognition. The meet was held at Orchard Farm.The Warrenton girls was second with 63 points, finishing behind Liberty which had 19 points.The boys team, meanwhile, had 62 points to finish behind team champ St. Charles. The Pirates had 36 points as all four scoring runners placed in the top 13.“I’m happy with their performances for both boys and girls teams,” Head Coach Jeremy Collins said. “They should be encouraged by placing second as a team. It is hard to single out a couple of runners because they all are putting in great effort.”Andrea Poole had a strong performance. She placed second in the 3.1-mile race with a season-best time of 21 minutes, 1 second. She was just nine seconds behind the top individual, Liberty’s Alexis Kayser.“This was her best race of the season,” Collins said.Meagan Sanders was the second-fastest runner for Warrenton. She finished ninth in 22:39.“Meagan continues to run extremely well as she continues to drop her times,” Collins said.Senior Mary Broker medaled in 11th in 22:50. Others running for the Warriors were Dayra Wilke (15th, 23:32), Madison Stevens (26th, 25:02) and Emma Housewright (30th, 25:42).In the boys race, Warrenton was led by the trio of Nathan Nordwald, Dylan Chandler and James Goetz. All three medaled.Nordwald was sixth in 17:40, finishing just ahead of Chandler in seventh in 17:52. Goetz followed them to the finish line in ninth in 17:58.“It is fun watching them run as a pack and help each other,” Collins said. “Each meet I always wonder who will be the top runner for us just because it could be someone different. Overall that is what we want, is for our top runners to be as close together as possible to help the team.“It is great having our top three running that close to each other within 18 seconds apart,” Collins said.Randy McRobert, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue, was the next fastest Warrenton runner in 19th in 19:01. Matthew Hackman (21st, 19:15) and Ben Hoelscher (27th, 19:50) also ran for the Warriors. Liberty’s Gabriel Rompel won the race in 16:57.In the junior varsity boys race, Warrenton’s Ryan Spoede placed 12th in 21:04 to earn a medal. In the girls race, Emily Brunson and Corizma Blair finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in 24:55 and 25:21.The Warriors will compete at the Clayton Invitational on Oct. 23. They will host the district meet Oct. 31.Nathan Nordwald, left, and Dylan Chandler run alongside each other at last Thursday’s meet. Bill Barrett photo.
Warrenton’s Andrea Poole, right, sprints to the finish at the GAC North Meet held last Thursday. Poole finished second overall. Bill Barrett photo.
