Ping Sisters Lead Way At USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Nationals

By Tobin Johnson

Grace and Lauren Ping of Winona earned medals  this past weekend at the USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Nationals in San Antonio to lead the Minnesota contingent. Grace placed fifth out of 308 runners in the 9-10 girls 3K race.in 11:22.93, 22 seconds out of first.  Lauren placed tenth out of 194 runners in the 7-8 girls 2K race. She improved by 15 seconds from the USATF Minnesota Championships to finish 8:16.07.

Max Johnson of Plymouth finished just outside the medals, placing 33^rd out of 205 runners in the 7-8 boys 2K. He also improved upon his PR from the state meet. Kurt TeBeest of Montevideo placed 149^th out of 444 runners in the 13-14 boys 4K race with a time of 14:26.83. Ben Levin of the Park Flyers ran the same event as Kurt and finished 443^rd. His 20:32.01 was a nearly two-minute improvement from the state meet.

One of the highlights for the kids was getting to meet US Olympic 1500m silver medalist Leo Manzano. Manzano’s London medal was the first medal earned in that event by a US male in 44 years. Full results of  the USATF  Junior Olympic Nationals are HERE.