Fatima closed its regular cross-country season on Saturday with a pair of third-place team finishes at the Blue and Gold Invitational, where the Massman sisters led three Lady Comets into the top six, and Michael Gabelsberger paced the Comets with a third-place finish.

Coach Marc Bridges said the home meet provided an opportunity to execute individual race strategies while preparing for the postseason.

“The kids ran well at our home meet, doing what was asked of them whether that be pushing the pace early or building into the race, each runner was able to complete their individual plan very well,” said Bridges.

Brie Massman led the Lady Comets with a runner-up finish in 20:55, crossing the line just one second ahead of her sister, Lexi Massman, who placed third in 20:56. Melissa Verslues gave Fatima a third top-10 finisher, taking sixth in 21:45, followed by Karly Bock (34, 25:05), Rose Backes (47, 26:21), Claire Troesser (55, 27:53), and Journey Markway (64, 28:56).

On the boys’ side, Gabelsberger led the Comets with a third-place finish in 17:22, while Wyatt Dake joined him in the top 10 with an eighth-place effort in 18:15, followed by Austin Woehr (15, 18:40), Connor Peters (36, 20:21), and Wyatt Kolb (42, 20:32).

With the district meet scheduled for next week at Owensville, Bridges said the team took precautions to have its runners ready for the postseason.

“We sat several runners out to better prepare them for our district race,” Bridges said. “I feel we will go into the district race as healthy as we have been all season.”

Helias won both team championships, while Capital City placed second in the girls’ standings and Vienna finished second among the boys.