The California High School cross country runners competed at the Jim Marshall Invitational Saturday at Cole County Park, Jefferson City, the first meet of the 2013 season for California, where the Lady Pintos finished in third place in the small schools division, while the Pintos finished fifth.
The West Plains girls and boys finished the invitational in first place overall.
"Overall, I was pleased with our individual efforts," California Coach Kenny Goans said. "There was some great competition at this meet as 23 schools were invited, so it was an eye-opener for the freshmen to see close to 100 runners on the starting line."
Medalists for the Lady Pintos were Katie Imhoff, who finished sixth in the small schools division with 22:06, followed by Leah Korenberg who placed eighth with 22:15, and Laney Porter who finished 18th with 24:15.
Medalists for the Pintos were Adam Burkett, who placed ninth with 18:45, while Micaiah Garcia placed 20th in the JV boys' two-mile run with 13:00 to earn a medal.
"My goal for this meet at the beginning of the season was for each athlete to be running healthy without injuries, and to start strong and finish strong," Goans said. "I feel we reached these goals. Now it's time to get stronger in the middle of the race."
The CHS cross country runners will compete at the Linn Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday.