The girls cross country team finished 22nd and the boys team placed 24th on Saturday at the 22nd Annual Red, White & Blue Classic Invitational.
There were 33 girls teams and 37 boys teams at the invitational.
“The course was very muddy, which made it tough to race at points. But I think we all handled it well and didn’t let that affect us,” junior Carter Smeal said. “Most of the team ran personal records today and all of the times were close together.”
Because of the personal records, there were some good placements for Baldwin, Smeal said.
“Junior Alex Castenada had a great race for the boys varsity team, and junior Julianne Ott had a great race for girls varsity,” Smeal said. Castenada finished 46th out of 277 competitors, and Ott finished 78th out of 247 competitors.
The team needs to keep progressing for better placements, Smeal said.
“We just need to continue to get better as a team and keep progressing to hopefully get better placements and times,” Smeal said.
At the invitational, there was a slideshow at the finish line to honor Baldwin track Coach Ed Helbig, who passed away last month. Purple wristbands with one of Helbig’s favorite sayings, “Get One Day Better,” were being sold, with the proceeds going to his family.
“He was always there when I needed help with anything, whether it had something to do with the sport or school or just my personal life,” sophomore Rebecca Gruntz said.
The next meet for the cross country teams will be the Red Flash Invitational on Saturday at Saint Francis University.
