Fatima’s girls cross country team won the Purple Division championship Saturday at the Camdenton Laker Invitational with 24 points, led by Brie Massman (19:50) and Lexi Massman (20:01), who finished first and second, respectively. “Our girls had a very good day with the Massman sisters taking first and second,” Coach Marc Bridges said. “Brie is always a front-runner and incredibly competitive. She was slightly faster than a week ago on a very comparable course.”

Lexi Massman lowered her previous best 5K time by 36 seconds after steadily moving through the field from the mile mark to the finish.

“Lexi had an incredible race, picking off runners from the mile to the finish,” Bridges said.

Melissa Verslues added a fifth-place finish in 21:08, improving her season-best time by 10 seconds, while Chloe Voss (14, 22:47) cut 43 seconds and Karly Bock (15, 23:03) improved by 58.

Zoey Wilbers (32, 25:56) rounded out the squad.

“Our girls have definitely taken steps in the right direction the last couple of weeks,” Bridges said. “I am excited to see where we can be in a month.”

Fatima’s boys also won the Purple Division championship, finishing with 45 points.

Michael Gabelsberger led the Comets with a third-place finish in 17:22 despite battling illness.

“Michael was our front-runner and did an amazing job,” Bridges said. “Hopefully, Michael starts feeling a little better this week and is able to race to his standards in the next few meets.”

Wyatt Dake made his season debut with a 10th-place finish in 18:01 after working his way back into racing form throughout the season. “This was a huge step in that direction,” Bridges said.

Zack Eisterhold and freshman Evan Kampeter crossed the line with identical times of 18:07.52, with video results giving Eisterhold 12th place and Kampeter 13th.

“Evan and Austin have been amazing all season,” Bridges said. “They have quietly gotten faster each week and are making a huge impact on our varsity.”

Freshman Austin Woehr followed in 18:16 for 15th place, as Brady Horton (44, 20:38) also made his season debut while returning from injury.

“Brady gutted out the finish regardless of pain,” Bridges said. “His determination is one of the things that makes him a special competitor, and we will keep working on moving him forward.”

Fatima earned two medals in the junior varsity races, with Claire Troesser (27:22) and Wyatt Kolb (19:05) each placing 15th.

“Claire did a great job of pushing past runners throughout the race,” Bridges said. “The girls’ team crowded the course and really helped push Claire. We are thrilled for her accomplishment.”

Bridges said Kolb made a significant breakthrough by trusting himself and simply racing.

“Wyatt learned this weekend to get out of his own way and just race,” Bridges said. “It was a huge breakthrough, and the entire boys team was excited for his race.”