The Jefferson Blue Jays Cross Country team didn’t have to travel far for their penultimate meet of the season, partaking in the JCAA meet in Festus. The Blue Jays weren’t able to medal on Saturday, but left with many runners taking home impressive results.
One runner who wowed the Blue Jays coaching staff was sophomore Ian Ehrhardt. Ehrhardt recorded his third consecutive personal best time at the meet, posting a time of 20:10.13, nearly a minute faster than his previous best time.
Other runners who achieved personal bests were Christian Stark and Jack Hueter. Stark ran a 19:56.23, which was good for 35th place in the boys division, while Huerter timed out at 21:05.71, which placed him 44th.
The top runner for the Blue Jays on the afternoon was C.J. Johnson, who ran a 19:11.68 and placed 25th. Johnson’s teammate Jerry Chipps was not far off his time however, finishing 29th with a time of 19:25.52.
The Blue Jays had Bradley Glass and Sam Hawley compete in the boys division as well. Glass finished with a time of 20:33.17, and Hawley tallied a 21:57.69.
In the girls division, Kaelyn Nilson and Hannah Wigger recorded their personal best times of the season. Nilson finished in 22nd place, posting a time of 23:03.53, while Wigger finished not far behind with a time of 24:14.93 and placed 35th.
Personal bests were also achieved in the boys JV division by Matthew Glass and Alex Breeze. Glass completed the course with a time of 21:43.38, and Breeze finished with a total time of 21:43.89.
Assistant Coach Nicole Boyer talked about how pleased she was with the effort from the Blue Jays on Saturday.
“Our runners are starting to see their hard work pay off as their times are dropping,” Boyer said. “Both teams had a good race on Saturday and we are proud of their progress.”
The Blue Jays only have one meet remaining before the start of districts. Jefferson’s final meet of the season will come this Thursday when they head to Northwest.
