Barrett Jesina grimaces as he nears completion of the five kilometer race. After finishing, Jesina stayed at the finish line to congratulate fellow competitors and await the finish of his teammates. PHOTO BY JOHNATHAN MEYER

WAVERLY — On a rather hot Saturday morning, the STC cross country team came to Waverly to compete in the Steve Johnson super meet. Named after Wartburg’s former coach Steve Johnson, who played a hand in coaching STC alum Joe Hughes to multiple All-American finishes in cross country and track.

At the time of the gun in the varsity boys orange race temperatures hovered around seventy five in addition to fairly consistent winds. From the gun Barrett Jesina established himself as a leader in the race. Contending in the top five, Jesina found his way around “Max Cross Country Course” in speedy fashion. Finishing fourth with a time of 16:43, Jesina came within ten seconds of his best set at the previous meet in Williamsburg.

Following behind Jesina was fellow Junior Jovanie Perez. Having a wealth of junior varsity experience Perez navigated the course well in a fair effort, despite his varsity inexperience. With a time of 19:37, Perez was flanked shortly after by Senior Jerome Kapayou with a time of 19:58. Brady Jesina and Logan Richards rounded up the Trojans lineup with times of 20:43 and 24:37 respectfully.

Head Coach Robert Tyynismaa spoke highly of Jesina’s week of racing.

“He’s coming off a big PR at Williamsburg and coming here to run on a bit more challenging of a course. All factors considered I’m very happy with where Barrett’s at currently,” he said.

The girls team made their presence known in the junior varsity race, fielding only three runners. Finishing first for the Trojans was Jayva Gomez with a time of 27:57, barely edging out Sade Kapayou’s 27:58. Livia Smith rounded out the trio finishing in 31:39.