High school cross country: Gaines sparks Lady Hornets, takes third at Centralia Invite

Wolfe finishes fourth to direct Hornets

CENTRALIA - Fulton senior Kayanna Gaines came in third in 21 minutes, 20.1 seconds to guide the Lady Hornets cross country team at the Centralia Invitational on Tuesday.

Sophomore Jonna Vanzetti placed 36th in 26:40.7 for Fulton, which did not field a complete team.

In the varsity boys' division, Fulton junior Shaun Wolfe took fourth in 18:41.4 as the Hornets finished second with 68 points. Father Tolton eased to the team championship with 19 points.

Senior Isaac Avery was eighth for Fulton in 18:59.8 and junior Xander Noel followed in 11th in 19:08.3. Junior Jacob Barnes came in 21st in 20:39.7 and freshman Devon Merritt placed 26th in 21:50.8.

In the junior varsity boys' division, freshman Bryer Mullins took sixth for the Hornets in 22:42.7. Junior Dhruv Bhakta was 10th in 24:31.6.

"The weather was pretty warm, our conference championship race is this Saturday, and we had specific strategies going in, so our focus wasn't on finish times," Fulton head coach George Yates said. "We ran a little slower at this one, but with a purpose."

Fulton hosts the North Central Missouri Conference championships at 9 a.m. Saturday.