Coach Jeff Lamoureux’s Greene County cross-country teams opened their 2023 seasons on Thursday at the West Central Valley Coed Meet at the Middle School in Redfield. The races were run under sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80’s at the start.

There was an issue with team and individual boys’ results being posted, until after 7 a.m. today due to either runners competing with the wrong bib number or without a bib number, but  once results were posted, the Rams finished in third place with three top 15 place medal winners led by 2022 State Meet qualifier Noah Hinote, who was ninth for the five kilometers (3.1 miles) in 19:50. Brady Carstensen was tenth in 19:53, and Gavyn Winters  placed 13th in 20:05. The other two Rams with their finishes counting in the team score were Carter Hinote, who was 22nd in 21:28 and Kolby Angell, 25th in 21:43. Kuemper Catholic won the boys’ team title with 32 points, followed by 60 for Ankeny Christian, Greene County at 72, Interstate 35 (Truro) 94, Nodaway Valley (Greenfield) 119, Des Moines Hoover 191, Southwest Valley (Corning) 203, Saydel (Des Moines) 208, and the host Wildcats 226.

The girls results were official as soon as they were released, and Ava Minnehan was the top Greene County girl to cross the finish line. She was a medalist and finished 11th in 26:46.80. Becca Anderson was 16th in 28:01.13 with Leah McCormick 45th in 32:58.18, and Evelyn Snyder was 49th in 33:19.45. There were seven teams with enough girls for a team score and Interstate 35 (Truro) edged Kuemper Catholic (Carroll) 49-50 for the team title

The coach told Raccoon Valley Radio he was extremely proud of how the runners battled through on a warm day to start the season. ” I am extremely pleased with this team’s effort. This is a challenging meet with tough conditions.”

Next up for the Rams is the Sept. 9 Greene County Invitational on the Middle School grounds in Jefferson.