The Milford cross country teams had a great day Oct. 14. Both finished third in the team standings to earn spots at the state meet Friday, Oct. 23.
Coach Jake Kment said the Eagles knew their races would be very competitive.
For the girls, he said, “it was the toughest district I ever remember being a part of.”
Macie Carter led the Eagles with a runner-up finish in a school record time of 18:48., breaking the previous record by 20 seconds. Abby Crabtree also earned an individual qualifier spot with her 10th-place finish in 20:05.2, the fourth-fastest time in MHS cross country history.
“Leading up to the race, we challenged the girls to not worry about time and only focus on competing. They fully embraced that mindset and trusted that if they competed to the best of their abilities, the times and results would take care of themselves,” Kment said.
At the finish, everyone ran a personal best time, he said. Elsa Schweitzer’s time puts her at seventh in school history, with Olivia Augustyn now eighth, Harlow Grothen 12th and Cayla Adams 17th.
“I think what I was most impressed with was the way they approached the race mentally. Elsa and Abby are veterans and have been in these big races every single year. They both know that their job is not only to run their best individually, but also approach the race calmly and confidently so that the freshmen and sophomore girls follow their lead,” Kment said. “It was obvious from watching the girls during the warmup and during the race itself that all of them were calm and confident.”
He remembered the two as underclassmen feeding off the upperclassmen’s energy, and he was pleased to see them taking that new role, setting the tone for the day.
The boys’ team had four qualify as individuals, as well. Easton Sample was fourth in 17:18.8, Sylus Rakow 10th, Adler Armbrust 12th and Yoan Montero 15th.
Sample’s time was a personal best and ranks him 14th in school history.
“That big PR is something Easton has wanted badly and worked incredibly hard for. He is very detail-oriented with his approach to cross country and it was fun to see his hard work pay off,” Kment said.
Rakow also ran a PR of 17:38. Kment said Rakow’s season started off slower than he wanted, with doing the right things but not seeing them translate into top finishes.
“He did a great job of staying patient and trusting the process and it finally came together for him,” Kment said.
Armbrust and Montero also ran personal best times. Armbrust “is the best example of how far simply having the willpower to succeed can take someone. Adler just attacks every race as hard as possible and out-grits his competition,” Kment said.
Montero also works hard and is a tough competitor, the coach said.
“He refuses to give up and will do whatever is asked of him, regardless of how difficult it may seem,” Kment said.
Brock Porter and Jonny Kohout rounded out the team. While Porter has been the surprise of the season, Kohout has come the farthest. In previous years, Kohout was usually in the top three on the team. This year, he’s been further back.
Kohout works hard and approaches everything with passion and purpose, Kment said. While he has had successes, he’s also had some serious setbacks.
Last November, he and some teammates went to an NXR meet in South Dakota before the wrestling season. Kohout suffered a severe ankle sprain in the race. He wrestled all season and qualified for state, but his ankle didn’t get better.
“He went to the doctor and found out that it was much worse than a sprained ankle and that it would require major surgery,” Kment said.
He underwent surgery in the spring and was in a boot until summer. It wasn’t until August that he could run any meaningful distance, the coach said.
“To be able to go through all of that and still end up on varsity with his team qualifying for state speaks to his perseverance,” Kment said. “We didn’t know if he’d be able to run at all, and even if he would run, it was hard to believe that he’d be able to get into racing form.”
Kohout took it all in stride, vowing to be the best teammate and leader he could be.
“He’s the best leader I could ask for,” Kment said. “He holds the other boys accountable, leads them, motivates them, and sets the standard for what it means to be on our team. Though his time of 19:23 was far from a PR, it was a great performance given his circumstances, and was a proud moment for me as a coach.”
Milford will run at the state meet Friday, Oct. 23, at the Kearney Country Club. The Class C girls’ race starts at 12:30 p.m., with the boys to begin at 1:30 p.m.
