By Jayson Henderson

Clay Center hosted the 2024 Cross Country Invitational this morning, featuring teams from across the region. In the girls’ varsity race, Clay Center placed fifth overall. Junior Kylie Pfizenmaier led the team, finishing first with a time of 20:48.

Smoky Valley won the girls’ varsity team competition with a score of 64, followed by Wamego with 77. Clay Center’s scoring runners were Pfizenmaier, Janae Wolf (23:00), Maddie Larson (25:40), Claira Wolf (25:58), and Izzy Matheny (26:16).

In the boys’ varsity race, Clay Center took third place. Justice Holte led the Tigers, finishing sixth overall with a time of 18:10. Wamego won the boys’ team title with 42 points, and Chapman placed second with 44. Clay Center’s top scorers were Holte, Fernando Avalos (19:39), Will Cranmer (19:55), Angel Avalos (19:57), and JT Alton (20:37).

The meet was organized by Greg Ferguson.