By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

The Warriors’ cross-country team struggled in their final race before HOA Championships, with three of the four high schoolers running their slowest times since the first meet of the year.

Heidi Grimmett placed the best, finishing sixth with a 23:17.4. It ended a string of races where she tallied five finishes under 23:00.

Bethany Grimmett had a 36:46.4, landing her in 50th. Prior results indicate she will reduce her time in the next meet. Of the previous occasions when Bethany came in above 35:00, she followed both races with a finish below 32:00 in the next race.

On the boys’ side, Colton Boudreaux came in at 21:20.1, and placed 24th, while Braxton Schuh was 56th with a 24:49.8. While neither result is out of character, earlier races indicate each runner can consistently finish 90 seconds faster.

The weather was warmer than Marion was used to, which contributed to the drop off in times, coach Grant Thierolf said.

The best performance of the day went to the middle schoolers, particularly Tristen Dye. He set a personal best in the two-mile race with a 13:06.8, and placed fourth among eighth-graders.

Fellow eighth-grader Christopher Berry came in 14 seconds later, securing a seventh-place finish.

Gavin Wasmuth showed he could match them, turning in a 12:50.3 in the seventh-grade race, which netted him a third place finish.

Quenton Taylor rounded out the quartet of middle schoolers, placing 32nd with a 19:03.2 finish.