Wolverines battle weather, large field at Tennessee cross country meet

Polk County’s cross country teams battled heat and humidity Saturday to earn a good showing in the Trailblazer Invitational meet in Gray, Tenn.

In their final preparation for Thursday’s Western Highlands Conference meet at Montreat College, the Wolverine boys placed 11th in the 23-team field. The race began with the temperature around 80 degrees and the humidity well over 80 percent.

Caleb Potter led Polk County, finishing 27th in the field with a time of 18:13. Evan Dadson followed in 18:37, with Jack Derkach posting a time of 19:25 and Connor Holtz a personal-best time of 19:59. Also competing for the Wolveriens were Emmett Zacharias (21:41), Chris Rickman (22:00), Kiyon Staley (22:16), Tyler Lawrence (22:21) and Joseph Poe (24:27). Rickman and Lawrence each posted personal-best times.

Polk County’s girls team didn’t field enough runners to place in the team competition, but were led by freshman Taytem Johnson with a personal-best time of 25:40. Also running for Polk County were Izzy Jackson (27:11) and Sadie Allen (28:25).

Thursday’s conference championships will be held at the Montreat College Sports Complex in Black Mountain.