Freshman Jayva Gomez competes at the Steve McDermott Invite in Newton. Gomez finished first among the STC girls in the J.V. race. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

NEWTON — The South Tama Cross Country team traveled to Newton on Tuesday night, Sept. 24, to compete at the annual Steve McDermott Invitational. Once again, junior Brady Jesina led the way for the Trojan varsity boys’ team. Jesina came into the meet as the 21st ranked runner in Class 3A. And the race came to an end in Newton, Jesina was able to secure yet another top-five finish.

Placing fifth overall, with a time of 17:12, Jesina reflected on the night.

“Going into the race I felt really good — very fresh. The course was challenging but I felt good about my time,” he said.

With the season halfway done, Jesina, whose personal best time is 17:07, spoke about the second half of the schedule.

“In the upcoming meets I’d like to go for a P.R. Hopefully I can break that 17-minute barrier,” he said.

Senior Barrett Jesina runs down the homestretch at the Steve McDermott Invite in Newton. Jesina finished fifth overall in the race. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

Also competing in the varsity race for South Tama boys was senior Jerome Kapayou (44th; 20:04), junior Jovanie Perez (45th; 20:07), and junior Rayden Hill (58th; 23:36).

On the girls side, South Tama entered four girls in the Junior Varsity race. They were led by freshman Jayva Gomez (25th; 26:49), senior Jenny Manzo (31st; 27:24), sophomore Livia Smith (45th; 29:15), and sophomore Sade Kapayou (48th; 29:38).

The Trojan runners will travel to Waverly on Saturday, Oct. 5 to compete at the Dan Huston/Steve Johnson Invite. They will also travel to Montezuma on Thursday, Oct. 10 to compete at the Montezuma Invite.