Strong Dragons finishes fuel postseason hopes
Clinton High School cross country runners Lillian West, left, and Cooper Bostrom display their medals after turning in Top 10 finishes on Thursday, Oct. 8. West finished 10th in the girls race with a time of 22:53.70, while Bostrom led the Dragons with a sixth-place finish in the boys race, clocking a time of 17:26.00. (photo:Submitted )
Bostrom finished sixth with a time of 17 minutes, 26 seconds, recording his fastest time of the season.
“He had a great race, his PR (personal record) for the year by far,” Clinton Coach Tim Kumes said.
Kumes said Bostrom’s consistency has been a strength throughout the season, and the focus now is on sharpening his finishing speed as the Dragons prepare for sectional competition.
“Cooper has been very consistent, if you look at his times throughout the year,” Kumes said. “Our focus at the end of this year, getting ready for our sectionals, is getting him a little bit more speed on the back end of each race.”
Bostrom’s ability to finish strong was on full display at the invitational, where he steadily worked his way through the field after a conservative start.
“Cooper’s always a back-end racer, meaning he’s not very quick out of the start, and he doesn’t need to be because he’s in such great shape that, as the race goes on, he just picks people off one by one,” Kumes said.
The coach estimated Bostrom was somewhere between 30th and 40th place during the opening quarter-mile before moving into approximately 11th or 12th place near the 2-mile mark.
By the final stretch, Bostrom was battling for fifth place before crossing the finish line in sixth.
Clinton freshman Tylin Cook finished 38th, while fellow freshmen Joe Patton and William Campbell placed 76th and 77th, respectively.
Kumes said Cook has shown steady improvement and could become a key contributor for the Dragons in future seasons.
“Tylin Cook is another freshman this year, and he shows great promise,” Kumes said. “When you look at his run times throughout the course of the racing season, he continues to improve every time that we run. I think that he has a great future if he sticks with the cross country team.”
On the girls side, Clinton sophomore Lillian West delivered another strong performance, finishing 10th with a time of 22:53.70.
West, who qualified for the state meet as a freshman last season, is looking to make a return trip to the championship competition.
“Lily was one of the young ladies that made it as a state qualifier last year as a freshman,” Kumes said. “Lily continues to grow physically as a runner.
“And she has continued to work hard, and I think she’s peaking as well as we get ready for the end of the year,” the coach added. “Hopefully, she can get a spot again to travel out and race at the next level.”
With sectional competition approaching, Kumes is hoping the strong performances by Bostrom, West and Clinton’s younger runners will carry over into the postseason.