This past weekend the Trintiy Rocks co-hosted with Sacred Heart Academy their annual cross-country meet, Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. Led by head coach Scott Holzknecht, the rocks managed to sweep the competition capturing victories in the Freshman/Sophomore, Junior/Senior and seeded races. The seeded race was led by Senior Eli Oetken who placed ninth overall and was Trinity’s first finisher, finishing the 5-kilometer race in just 15 minutes and 11 seconds.
The Rocks’ top 5 finishers finished in 9th (Eli Oetken), 28th (Drew Koon), 37th (Ryan Kimery), 41st (Ayden Taylor), and 73rd (Haydon Spears) to total 155 points for the Rocks, earning them the lowest score and the victory. The Rocks practiced hard all week at Tom Sawyer in preparation for this meet.
Senior captain of the cross-country team Ben Rutherford said, “There’s an understanding on our team that the Invite is just different. The week leading up to the race we prepared as if it was the postseason. Our entire team understood the magnitude of protecting our home course, especially after winning the Invite last year and fortunately we were able to execute in all three races. To win in back-to-back years at this race speaks volumes to the talent on this team and I couldn’t be prouder of this group of guys.”
Ben Rutherford finished the Junior/ Senior boys 5k in 17 minutes and 33 seconds, setting a new personal record by 35 seconds. The Rocks dominated the Junior/Senior boys race with Whitman Goodwin taking home individual first place, Kai Warrier finishing second, Brady Dinsmore finishing 5th, Chris Fryrear finishing 8th, and Jacob Fryrear finishing 11th.
The cross-country Rocks look forward to their next meet, the Hillbilly Run, at Thomas Nelson High School on September 28th.
