KoMets push themselves in final meets of season

The cross country season becomes a grind this time of year and the Kasson-Mantorville/Triton cross country team is trying to push themselves to literally make a run in the HVL Conference and section meets with hopes that they can make a state meet appearance next month.
“Our last two meets are the focus of our year,” K-M/Triton cross country coach Jared Pittman explained. “All our training is geared toward running well and it comes down to who can get the most out of their training. This is the time of year where the most competitive people shine.”
One of the runners that’s made that push before is senior Brennan Gustafson, who has been the leader for the boys team both in the results and as a mentor for the younger runners. He continued his quest for a better time at the Kasson-Mantorville Invitational last week finishing in second place (17:28.8) behind Clay Quiring from Northfield.
As a team, K-M/Triton finished in second behind Northfield, but still had a solid effort. George Gustafson (17:58.5, fifth), Harrison Heppelmann (18:14.9, seventh) and Isaac Threinen (18:18.1, 10th) all finished in the top ten while Jace Minelli (18:25.8, 12th), Charlie Miller (18:46.7, 15th) and Matthew Determan (19:13.7, 19th) weren’t far behind.
With steady performances across the roster, Pittman believes that the boys can make a push toward the HVL conference meet championship this week in Stewartville.
“Our boys have been running well and seem to keep improving,” Pittman observed. “I am very hopeful and confident that we’ll be competitive at the HVL meet. It will really come down to how competitive we can be while running and if we can get the absolute best out of ourselves when it really matters.”
On the girls side, Courtney West (19:42.0) continued her dominance winning the K-M In