A Marauder runner made his debut on the cross-country team by winning the first meet of the season.
Jordan Bramblett, a sophomore at Mingus Union High School, triumphed in the 145-runner race at the Payson Invite at the beginning of the month. Bramblett won the 3.2-mile race on the Payson Golf Course with a time of 17:43, just two seconds longer than last year’s winning time set by former Marauder cross-country star, Juan Wells.
And to top it all off, this was Bramblett’s first-ever high school cross-country meet.
“It felt really good,” Bramblett said about his win. “I was really nervous before the meet started, but it was really fun.”
Bramblett gained the lead in the last trend, about 400 yards from the finish line.
“I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to get first,’” Bramblett said. “It was tough competition, and I didn’t expect to win first.” Bramblett swam last year instead of running cross-country. At MUHS, the two seasons are at the same time. Bramblett ran cross-country in eighth grade, and he said that after swimming, he just wanted to run.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Sept. 19, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
