The Ellsworth cross country team ran at their own meet Oct. 8. They were ranked sixth overall in the girls’ 5K, but they did not have enough runners on the boys’ team to rank.

Leader for the girls was sophomore Molly Ehrlich who ran 5K in 21:40:89 and placed third, her sixth medal of the season.

“(I owe my success to) my coaches. They help me to train and get better, and know that I can do what I do,” Ehrlich said. “It’s a fun sport. It’s an individual thing, so you have you and yourself, and you compete the best that you can. The work that you put in is what you get out.”

Also in the same category was freshman Lakyn Beckman, who finished at 22:45:88, placing 10th, her fifth medal of the season.

Freshman Sage Gray placed 22nd, finishing in 25:19:69. Gray and Beckman were two of only four freshman girls in the top 22.

In 39th place was junior Addison Thomas, who finished in 29:04:71.

Sophomore Reese Grothusen finished in 29:58:00 for 43rd place.

Junior Kate Rathbun finished in 44th with a time of 30:06:74.

For the boys, freshman Wes Rathbun finished in 20:05:02 in 18th place. He was one of only three freshmen in the top 18.

Senior Trenton Holmes finished in 28th with a PR time of 21:20:43 in his final run on the Ellsworth course.

“It’s a PR for there. Challenge yourself, push yourself to the best you can be,” Holmes said.

Senior Tegan George came in in 39th with a time of 22:34:01.

There were only three people on the team, which was not enough to count for points in the final standings.

“It was a good one. We had a lot of kids step up,” head coach Eric Coonrod said. “Our course is probably one of the hardest ones most people will go to, and aside from the state meet, it’s the toughest one we’ll run on. The hills kind of got to some of us in mile three … but it got to everybody though, too. We had some good performances across the board.

“It’s not for everybody; not everybody is built for it and not everybody has the mentality for it too, because you have to have a mindset to make yourself go out and do that.

“A lot of my impact, most of the time, is before the meet — workouts, getting them prepared physically and mentally I suppose. On meet day, I do whatever I can to give feedback. When it comes to race time, it’s all about them. They’ve got their mindset, they’re prepared and they go out and fulfill their plan.”

Thenext competition will be at the Downs Golf Course Oct. 17 at the NCAA League Tournament.

Photos by KAREN BONAR/Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter