Junction City High School sophomore Hope Stephens turned in the top finish for the Lady Jay cross country team with a ninth place finish in the JCHS Invitational varsity race. She turned in a time of 10:32.7 on the Milford State Park course.

“We started out really well. I thought I started out well, and I just stayed focused, started picking off people, and I had a pretty good race.” It helped for Hope to run on the Lady Jay home course. “Whenever you have home course you don’t know where everything is, but you know how everything feels and that really helps you mentally.”

Gabriela Reyna of Wichita North won the individual title in 18:44.8. For Junction City Kailey Koomen finished 26th in 22:02.3, Leah Ervin 29th in 22:20.5, Natalie Seib 45th in 23:10.1 and Jada Beck 55th in 24:37.6.

In the varsity girls team competition Manhattan had the winning low score of 35 points. Maize was second with a score of 92 followed by Wichita North 111, Clay Center 127, Hays 151 and Great Bend at 151, Junction City seventh at 152, Salina Central 157, Salina South 185, and Hutchinson did not field a full team.

In the boys competition for Junction City, Jacob Lovell led the way with a 19th place finish in 17:49.1 followed by Zack Bolen in 28th in 18:10.5, Kody Westerhaus 33rd in 18:25.4, Ryan Westfall 38th in 18:33.2, and Isaiah Galicia 40th in 18:37.8.

Kerby Depenbusch of Great Bend finished first in the individual boys varsity race of 16:21.9.

Manhattan won the boys varsity team title with the low score of 33 points followed by Great Bend with 88, Maize 116, Wichita North 124, Junction City fifth with a score of 158 points, Hutchinson 163, Salina South 166, Hays 192, Salina Central 197, Clay Center 204, St. Mary’s Academy 310 and St. John’s Military did not field a full team.