On Saturday, Oct. 23, the cross country team competed at the regional meet in Great Bend. The girls team qualified for state with a third-place finish while the boys team finished their season in sixth place.

The girls scored 96 points behind Great Bend (30 points) and Maize South (69 points). Sophomore Arely Maldonado was the first to finish for Hays with a time of 20:52.00. The time difference from Hays High’s first runner to seventh runner was 84 seconds, while the second runner to sixth runner was 29 seconds.

“I felt we all did so good,” Maldonado said. “We all raced our hardest and pushed ourselves the entire race. I thought, with our numbers being so close, we would make it to state. We had the times and placements to prove it. After we had found out we made it, we were all so happy and relieved that all of our hard work paid off.”

The boys scored 144 points and was led by sophomore Leo Hernandez (18:14.00) followed closely behind by Taevian Maupin (18:18.00). The time difference from Hays High’s first runner to seventh runner was 73 seconds.

“I ran as hard as I was able to with what I had put behind me over the season,” Hernandez said. “There were a lot of battles, and I’m proud of my performance above them. Next year, I’m looking forward to state qualification and good times with the team.”

The girls team will compete at the state meet in Augusta on Saturday, Oct. 30. The team ran at Augusta earlier this season for the Allie-T Invitational.

The full results are listed below:

Girls

V – sophomore Arely Maldonado – 12th (20:52.00)

V – sophomore Brenlynn Albers – 19th (21:24.00)

V – junior Amelia Jaeger – 20th (21:31.00)

V – sophomore Julia Zadina – 22nd — 21:35.00)

V – sophomore Brynn Kinderknecht – 23rd (21:35.00)

V – junior Avery Winter – 28th (21:53.00)

V – junior Nayeli Cisneros – 31rd (22:16.00)

Boys

V – sophomore Leo Hernandez – 22nd (18:14.00)

V – freshman Taevian Maupin – 23rd (18:18.00)

V – senior Brayden Hines – 33rd (18:53.00)

V – sophomore Ty Dempsey – 34th (18:58.00)

V – senior Matthew Dempsey – 37th (19:06.00)

V – sophomore Tacoma Augustine – 39th (19:12.00)

V – sophomore Elijah McCullough – 42nd (19:27.00)