The West Prairie Press

The Cross Country team is having a lot of success so far this season. At a meet in Macomb on Oct. 8, the boys placed 1st overall. West Prairie scores included: Ayden Lacey (1st), Ezra Bithos (2nd), Kasen Rogers (6th), Milo Rodeffer (9th), and Ian Fentem (14th). West Prairie ended with a total of 32 points to win the meet.

Ayden Lacey, an eighth grader, is one student who did exceptionally well at the Macomb meet. Lacey said, “I had a lot of fun at the meet. My record time is now 11:39. My goal for the next meet, sectionals, is to either get first again, or go to state. The course is mostly flat, and has little rolling hills. The end was very fun, because there were a few of us very close up in the first three. With all three of us it was an all out sprint at the end, for first, second, and third. We know we have a lot of fast runners, so we are trying to go to state as a team, which would mean our team would have to get top 3. If we don’t go to state as a team, we are trying to get as many of our runners in the top 7. You need to get top 7 runners in sectionals to go to state. There is no high school cross country team at the moment, but next year my dad is going to try to get permission from the school to be the coach.”

Tailing behind Lacey by just a second, Ezra Bithos, an eighth grader, placed 2nd. He had this to say about the event: “I had an incredible experience at the Macomb meet on October 8th. We had a meet the day before so our team was already tired, but we gave it our all and are thankful to have come out on top. Many of us set a personal record, Ayden running an 11:39, and me running an 11:40, which got us first and second place. We have our sectional meet Saturday, October 12th, and I am hoping to qualify for state. There is also a chance that our boys team can qualify for state as a team, which would be amazing.”

Kasen Rogers, an eighth grader, also had a great time at this meet. He ended in 6th place, with a PR of 12:28. When asked about how the meet went, Rogers said: “The experience was great…There was a lot of competition for sure. There was a kid at the meet that won state for track from South Fulton. Our next meet is on Saturday, October 12. Our goal is to go to state. We all just need to show up with the drive to win.”

Jennifer Percy is the current Cross Country coach. When asked to comment on how the meet went, Percy had this to say: “It’s tough to run two meets in two days, but I had no doubt these kids could do it. Each athlete has worked hard, pushed themselves to be stronger, and showed up to run their best at every meet. That determination and hard work paid off on Tuesday [October 8] in Macomb. I am so proud of all of them and I am looking forward to seeing what they can do at Sectionals on Saturday.”

Percy’s oldest son, Aiden Percy, is the assistant coach. This is the third school year that West Prairie has had a junior high cross country team, and currently, there is no high school cross country team.