Red Oak Cross Country showing improvement over last year's numbers

The Tigers were excited to see how much they have improved from last season as they faced many of the top runners in the state at the Glenwood Invitational last Tuesday.

Ten teams attended the meet, including host and state powerhouse Glenwood, Thomas Jefferson, and Shenandoah among others.

As a team, the boys improved by 100 points from last season at the Glenwood meet, placing eighth with 160 points.

Senior Ian Medeiros (18:33) led the Tigers, placing 26th of the 70 runners.

“I was really excited to see how we would react to the competition,” Red Oak Head Coach Curt Adams said. “The boys ran an excellent team race, all seven under 20 minutes, and the top five runners were under 19.”

Those other four under 19 minutes were Danny Carlson (18:52), Bylan Berry (18:53), Brandon Bergren (18:58) and Jesse Wilwerding (18:59).

The girls, led by senior Michaela Griffen place ninth of 19 teams.

Griffen finished 16 with a time of 17:23 in the four-kilometer run.

Cayla Loew (19:04) and Caitlyn Soden (19:58) were the only other Tiger runners to complete the race in under 20 minutes.

Saturday, the Tigers traveled to the 11-team Abraham Lincoln Invitational in Council Bluffs where the boys placed ninth and the girls finished 11th.

On a slower track, the Tigers saw their times increase as Griffen finished 24th with a time of 18:13, almost a minute slower than at Glenwood.

Medeiros’ kick in the last 200 meters earned him a medal placing 19th with a time of 19:35.

“He’s been working hard and really improving every year he’s been out here,” Adams said. “His goal is to make it to state this year.”

Only Carlson joined Medeiros in Tigers finishing the boys’ race under 20 minutes with a time of 19:52.