The first cross country meet of the season for the Columbus Wildcats proved to be effective. The Class 2A Wildcats  opened their season in Mount Vernon Invitational, a race made up primarily of Class 3A and 4A schools.

Senior Josh Keller posted a top 12 finish in the boys’ race, clocking a time of 18:02. Junior Adrian Santos recorded a time of 19:11, the 35th best finish in the 5000 meter run. The team finished in ninth place out of the 12 team field.

For the first time in history, the Wildcat girls’ cross country traveled 3.1 miles in a race. Senior Ashley Cany grabbed the school first 5000 meter record, documenting a time of 24:25. The run was the 42nd best finish in the race. The squad finished in eighth place out of eight teams in the race.

Overall head coach Steve Riley was content with his team’s race one results. “I’m very happy with the effort everyone gave tonight,” Riley said, “We have a lot of new runners and they got a good idea of what cross country is all about.”

The Columbus cross country teams return to race action on Sept. 3, running in the Bob Brown Invitational in Iowa City.