BENTONVILLE -- Joshua Kruse already had a pace in mind when he took off and grabbed the early lead at the fifth annual Tiger Pride 5K run.
Heat and humidity eventually set in and denied the Bentonville senior the opportunity to reach his goal, but he still came away as the overall winner during Saturday morning's race at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
At A Glance
Tiger Pride 5K Run
Saturday’s results
Men
1. Joshua Kruse, 18, Bentonville, 16:15.4
2 Nathan Ley, 16, Bentonville, 16:41.9.
3. Cameron Hill, 17, Bentonville, 16:56.0.
4. Brooks Hedstrom, 18, Bentonville, 17:14.1.
5. Ryan Graziani, 17, Bentonville, 17:25.8.
6. Enrique Perez, 19, Springdale, 17:28.4.
7. Brody Hill, 17, Bentonville, 17:32.1.
8. Johnathan Prince, 15, Bentonville, 17:33.7.
9. Connor Disney, 16, Bentonville, 17:41.2.
10. Chase Smith, 18, Bentonville, 18:11.5
Women
1. Katie Andrews, 15, Bentonville, 19:51.8.
2. Trinity Walker, 14, Bentonville, 19:57.4.
3. Abrena Rine, 32, Springdale, 20:04.5.
4. Tori Willis, 14, Gravette, 20:20.2.
5. Katy Kotoucek, 15, Bentonville, 20:21.0.
6. Sophie Quandt, 15, Bentonville, 20:27.2.
7. Kristen Larkan, 17, Fayetteville, 20:47.9.
8. Carmen Hedstrom, 16, Bentonville, 20:49.7.
9. Elizabeth Quinn, 17, Bentonville, 20:53.6.
10. Merrill Leak, 14, Rogers, 20:58.5.
"It was nice to race on a flat course," Kruse said. "It was a good way to open up the season. This gives you a chance to take what you have done in training and put it to a test.
"I was going for a particular time, but Nathan Ley and I went out too fast for the first mile. Even if I hadn't gone out too fast, I don't think I would have made it. We still have eight more races this season, so I'll have another chance."
Kruse, an all-state cross country performer at Mountain Home before he moved to Bentonville and ran with the boys track team in the spring, had a time of 16 minutes, 15.4 seconds over a relatively flat course that started and ended on the Tigers' track. His time was more than 25 seconds better than Ley, a sophomore who finished in 16:41.9, while fellow Bentonville runner Cameron Hill was the only other runner to eclipse the 17-minute mark, finishing in 16:56.
Katie Andrews, meanwhile, just wanted to break the 20-minute mark with her race and did that in order to become the overall ladies winner. The Bentonville sophomore turned in a time of 19:51.8, but her margin of victory was much smaller than the one Kruse enjoyed.
"It was not good running weather," Andrews said. "And practicing at 6:30 a.m. is a lot different than running at 8:30. It helps, though.
"Last year, I ran a 20:02.1 at the state meet and broke 20 here, so I was happy with that. Training the the boys the last couple of days really helped."
Trinity Walker, a Bentonville freshman, was within striking distance of Andrews and turned in a time of 19:57.4. Abrena Rine, a 32-year-old from Springdale, took third in 20:04.5.
Bentonville's cross country team use the race as a way to kick off its regular season, which actually begins Sept. 6 when they will take part in the Elkins Invitational.
Sports on 08/24/2014