"Saturday was a pretty good day for California High School Cross Country," California Coach Josh Grotzinger said regarding the Helias Invitational at Cole County Park, Jefferson City.
"Our boys get their first top-three finish in a meet ever, placing third behind perennial powerhouses Fatima and Vienna."
California's Zach Merrill ran 18:46 to finish 22nd overall, and seventh in the small school division. Devon Huff finished 10th in the small school division with 19:04, followed by Nathan Thibon, Justin Mitchell and Dakota Harris in 19th, 21st and 22nd, respectively.
"Kolten Barbour had a good day, finishing 53rd," Grotzinger. "The times were not great, but a tough course and a warm day don't make for great times. All cross country courses are different, so it's hard to compare times. So we tend to focus on places, as well as the spread from first to fifth. We had the smallest gap from first to fifth of any school at the meet, big or small, which is huge, especially considering how far towards the front the boys were."
For more of this story check out the Oct. 12 issue of the California Democrat.