The Lady Wildcats varsity cross country team on Saturday earned a thirdplace finish at the Russellville Invitational, scoring 72 points to finish behind Blair Oaks (43) and Capital City (41).

“A third-place finish behind two Class 3 teams is a win for us,” said Coach Suann Bower. “I’m super proud of the girls and their effort out on the muddy, cold course. I’m seeing more mental toughness and confidence in them now.

Almost all of them had a PR today. I like this hilly Russellville course because we do well on hills.”

Myra Baker brought home a ninth-place medal in a time of 22:28.

“She got caught up in the middle of the pack getting out at the start but she broke away about the halfmile mark,” said Bower.

“She is making progress on her strides and form. Awesome job!”

Ellie Monnette had her best race of the season thus far, finishing in a time of 24:19 for 29th place. “She looked great on the hills and she did a nice job keeping her pace throughout the race,” Bower noted. “Her hard work at practice is paying off.”

Olivia Helmig usually likes hills so Bower thought she would have loved this course but it just wasn’t in the cards as she finished 36th in 24:40. “She’ll have to attack the hills at practice and the next few races to get ready for districts,”

Bower said. Erika Platt also had her best race of the season, posting a 44th-place time of 26:07. “Her hip is finally better and she is pushing it at practices so I suspect we will see her continue to get her times down,” said Bower. “I’m glad she has stuck it out. She is an important part of this team.”

Marissa Gehlert surprised Bower with her running in the cold. “From what I have gathered at practices she is not a fan of cold weather,” said Bower as Gehlert finished 47th in 26:46. “It’s wonderful to see her step up to the line and get her best time of the year despite the cold and hills. She just might change her mind.”

Annaliese Bowser really stepped it up this race, finishing 62nd in 30:38.

“She’s been sick and had several softball games that were postponed due to the rain so she has had a few days off, which seems to have helped her recover,” said Bower. “She’s such a great kid to work with.

Keep on reaching those goals Annaliese!”

In the JH girls race, the Lady Wildcats were represented by Reagan Klouzek and Aileen Blackburn.

“Our two harriers ran their hearts out today,” said Bower. “I’m extremely proud of Reagan and Aileen for what they have accomplished this season. I look forward to working with them during track season.”

Klouzek was tearing up the course and was up to fourth place before finishing seventh in a time of 11:20. “Unfortunately, she is a little directionally challenged and took a wrong turn,” said Bower. “The junior high girls were the last to race today and with the muddy conditions the white paint line was gone.

When she corrected, she was back in 11th. The last half of the race she worked super hard and finished seventh overall. She has been working so hard at practice that I’m very happy that she has done so well.

Excellent work Reagan!” Blackburn missed a few days last week due to illness and also missed time because of a knee injury, so she has had to deal with adversity.

“Unfortunately she had to deal with more at Russellville,” said Bower, noting that Blackburn finished 14th in 11:41. “Right out of the start, Aileen got tripped up and fell, with two other competitors toppling right over her. She sprang back up and battled to get back in the race. I wasn’t’ sure she could even finish but she steadily picked up her pace and lengthened her stride to pass up about 35 competitors to take 14th. It was amazing to see what determination and spirit she had today. Way to go Aileen!”