Fatima XC teams battle at Gans Creek

By Neal A. Johnson, UD Editor
Posted 9/30/21

In a pre-state invitational at Gans Creek on Saturday, the Fatima Lady Comets finished 19th in the Blue Division and the boys were 23rd.

“Cool weather and a great course led to some of our …

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Fatima XC teams battle at Gans Creek

Posted
In a pre-state invitational at Gans Creek on Saturday, the Fatima Lady Comets finished 19th in the Blue Division and the boys were 23rd.
“Cool weather and a great course led to some of our fastest times of the season,” said Coach Marc Bridges. 
Lauren Berhorst (28, 20:23) was Fatima’s top runner.
“Lauren has put in a lot of work since last season and it really showed Saturday,” said Bridges. “The last time Lauren was on the Gans Creek course was at state 2020 when she ran a 22:13. Fast-forward a year and she posted a 20:23, an improvement of 1:50.”  
Emma Bower (76, 21:21) also saw a marked improvement from a season ago, when she ran 22:02, dropping :41 in this year’s meet. 
Sarah Groene (119, 22:12) was Fatima’s third runner with a solid race. “Sarah is starting to hit her stride and is moving into position for a postseason run,” said Bridges. “Corinn Karst (159, 22:51), Addyson Wilburs (186, 23:32), Regan Bock (201, 24:05), and Lily Gregory (224, 25:08) had a very good race, turning in their fastest times of the season to round out our top seven.”
Breanna Rademan (243, 28:52) toughed it out as she ran with a slight injury and Cheyenne Hicks (244, 29:44) came through in Fatima’s ninth spot with her best run of the season.  
Overall, the Lady Comets averaged 22:04 on the course and looked good at this point in the season, Bridges noted.
In the varsity boys’ race, Cody Berhorst led the way with a time of 18:16 for 104th place. “Cody ran a good race despite nursing a sore calf,” said Bridges. “We need to focus on getting him healthy over the next few weeks as we prepare for districts.”
Thomas Libbert (129, 18:27), Tyler Kloeppel (134, 18:32), Scott Sankey (144, 18:39), and Cody Kampeter (161, 18:48), were great examples of how hard work pays off. “When comparing their times from last year’s meet to this one that fact becomes obvious,” said Bridges, noting that Libbert’s time dropped :43, Sankey shaved 1:17, Kampeter improved by 2:07, and Kloeppel dropped 3:07. “It’s amazing to see how much our boys have improved, but there is still room for some improvements.”
Wyatt Gabelsberger (167, 18:55) continues to impress Bridges. “At about the halfway point of the race, he had positioned himself in our third spot, showing he is prepared to push himself,” Bridges added. “Brady Hager (245, 19:59) had his best race of the season and Gavin Satterfield (254, 20:09) had a solid outing in his first race of the season. It was great to get Gavin back in a race, as he gets into shape he will strengthen the team.”
Overall the Comets averaged 18:32 and the 1-5 runners had a split of only :31.
In the JV competition, Collin Bridges (55, 21:15) and Harrison Stratman (61, 21:33) had a very good race, posting season-best times, while Jaden Broker (127, 25:42) and Ben Luebbert (138, 26:55) also posted their fastest times and gained some valuable experience, Bridges noted.