Runners from five area schools traveled to Lindsborg to compete in the 2020 Smoky Valley Cross Country Invitational, held at the Lindsborg Golf Course. The event hosted races for a variety of age groups from junior high and high school athletes.

The Vikings junior-senior boys were led by Senior Ryan Heline, finishing first on the day with a time of 16:38.42. Five other SV runners followed Heline across the finish line, grabbing the next four spots in the race. Viking Lukas Apel finished second with a time of 18:14.16; SV’s Justice Gardner grabbed third place at 18:29.88, while teammate Garret Huffman placed fourth with a time of 18:56.61. Vikings’ Stephen Peterson placed fifth at 19:07.66 while Jamison Sattler placed tenth, crossing the finish line at 21:22.79.

The Vikings junior-senior girls were paced by Junior Gracie Lambert, who finished second behind Erin Hammek of Ellinwood with a time of 21:05.81. Teammates and sisters Kajsa and Lydia Peterson placed sixth and seventh with times of 24:34.12 and 26:10.73 respectively.

Vikings’ Head Coach Jay Meyers said he was very pleased with the effort of his team and marked the day as a way to identify benchmarks for each of the student athletes.

Teams from Ellinwood, Hesston, Sterling, Hillboro and Lyons competed in the 2020 Smoky Valley Cross Country Invitational.

Race times provided by Timerguys.com.