Senior Dan Kuder paced the Moundridge High School cross-country team in its season-opening appearance at the Smoky Valley Invitational in Lindsborg Sept. 3, finishing third in the junior/senior boys 5-kilometer race with a time of 17:58.83.
Kuder was one of the meet’s top performers, finishing just behind race winner Isaiah Doherty of Haven, who posted a time of 17:24.28, and runner-up Ely Robinson of Pratt-Skyline, who finished in 17:57.55.
Kuder was the only Moundridge runner in the race to break the 20-minute mark.
The Wildcats also received strong performances from junior Josh Seeger and senior Karson Ryan.
Seeger placed 12th in 20:48.97, while Ryan was 13th in 20:50.07. The two finished just 1.10 seconds apart.
Moundridge’s three runners did not constitute a full five-runner team for the junior/senior boys scoring, so the Wildcats were not assigned a team score in the results.
On the girls’ side, junior Baylee Schriner led Moundridge with a seventh-place finish in the junior/senior 5K.
Schriner crossed the finish line in 22:23.58, placing behind a strong field that included three Hesston runners among the top five.
Moundridge’s younger girls also turned in solid performances in the freshman/sophomore division.
Sophomore Abby Kuder placed fifth in 24:55.40, finishing less than 15 seconds behind third-place Ella Chaput of Smoky Valley.
Freshman Brialen Vogts was 11th in 26:08.95, while freshman Maryn Adolf finished 21st in 28:52.56.
The Wildcats also had three runners compete in the freshman/sophomore boys 5K. Freshman Trey Jantz led the group with a 15th-place finish in 22:15.46.
Sophomore Jaren Smoker was 20th in 22:49.37, and sophomore Graden Rodden placed 33rd in 25:13.85.
Moundridge’s middle-school runners added two more top-five finishes.
Seventh-grader Adler Davis finished third in the seventh-grade boys one-mile race in 6:50.57, while eighth-grader Brennan Koller placed fifth in the eighth-grade boys two-mile race in 14:04.01.
