Casen Armstrong

Les Miner

On a cold, wet Saturday morning (Red Flannel Day), the Creative Technologies Academy Chargers Cross Country team made their way to the Portage Invitational. The invite included both a varsity race, as well as an open 5K race. The entire coaching staff, which consists of Coach Gerry Verwey, Coach Tyler Buitenwerf, and Coach Danielle Davies, competed in the open race. All three posted impressive times, with Coach Verwey leading the way with a time of 19:49. Coach Buitenwerf was not far behind with a time of 21:56, and Coach Davies also had an impressive run, with a total time of 25:52. Casen Armstrong, a 6th grade student at CTA, posted a fantastic time of 24:40 in the open race as well.

The varsity race turned out to be one of the best showings the Chargers have had all season. Freshman Les Miner, the #1 runner for the Chargers, received a medal and finished 29th overall with a time of 17:47. Several other members finished with either season personal records or lifetime personal records. Sophomore Ethan Lehman  and Senior Olivia Wortz set lifetime personal records with superb times of 18:55 and 27:59, respectively. Sophomore Logan Colter set his own season personal record with a time of 20:40, missing his lifetime PR by a mere 6 seconds.

With the season coming near a close, the Chargers have three races this week. On Tuesday, they will be competing in the Kent City Invite, followed by the Conference Championship on Wednesday at Riverside Park, and then finishing the week at the Montabella Invite on Friday. Friday’s race will be the last race for the 6th grade runners. It should be a great week for all involved.