HESPERIA – Though they were overshadowed by a large group of runners from Allendale, Hesperia’s boys cross country team had a strong showing on their home course Wednesday, Aug. 21.
Baker Woods is notoriously one of the most difficult courses to run. The rough terrain and mixture of hills and valleys can make for a treacherous race. Those who prevail are greeted with the same sentiment: if you can survive this race, you can survive anything.
A trio of Panthers not only survived the course they spent a large amount of time on, but came away with some impressive times as well. Sophomore Nate Ruhstorfer was the leader of the pack for Hesperia, scoring a seventh place finish and a time of 20:45.20. That was the best time for any runner that didn’t don the white and red of Allendale.
Six runners from Allendale crossed the finish line before Ruhstorfer, and three more crossed before the next Panther was able to get to the finish line. That Panther was junior Zack Temple who finished in 15th overall with a time of 22:53.30.
Senior Andrew Sherburn led the pack for the first mile of the race, but couldn’t keep pace at the front of the group. Sherburn finished behind Temple in 16th place with a time of 23:04.10.
The remainder of Hesperia’s finishers were near the end of the pack. Juniors Jacob Priese and Dain Kraus were locked in a dead sprint to the finish line with Priese (27:28.50) edging Kraus (27:29) by just 10 milliseconds. Priese finished in 32nd place while Kraus took 33rd.
Junior Kolt Milner finished soon after that pair, taking 35th with a time of 27:51.50. A pair of freshmen and a pair of juniors came next for Hesperia as Keegan Roberson (28:34) took 37th, Matice Nichols (33:55.10) took 39th, John Dagen (34:05.80) took 40th and Lance Smith (38:42.80) finished in 44th place.
The Panthers took third out of five schools on the boys side, scoring a team total of 77 points.
Hesperia only had two female competitors in the girls race. Sophomore Rokhaya Ruhstorfer was able to grab 15th place with a time of 31:01.40. Junior Elyssa Wright snagged 26th place with a time of 36:52.90.
Hesperia sophomore Rokhaya Ruhstorfer charges forward during a home cross country meet at Baker Woods in Hesperia, Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The Panthers will be back in action Saturday, Aug. 24 as they join a crowd of nearly 30 schools including Hart, Shelby and Pentwater for the annual Pete Moss Invite in Benzie.
