Northport Cross Country Runners Post Personal Bests at League Championships

The Northport Mustangs cross country team delivered several strong individual performances at the Northeast 1B District 6 League Championships on Oct. 16, with two runners establishing personal bests and an- other recording a season-best time. Competing on the 5,000-meter course in Reardan, Northport placed three runners among the top 30 finishers, led by junior Canyon Hoskins.

Hoskins paced the Mustangs with a 25th-place finish, completing the course in 20 minutes, 33.1 seconds. His performance led a closely grouped trio of Northport runners who crossed the finish line within 44 seconds of one another. Senior Emmit Hoffert followed in 27th place, clocking a personal-best time of 21:08.5 in one of his final league championship appearances.

Junior Skyler Quilter was right behind Hoffert, finishing 28th in 21:16.3, also establishing a new personal record. Just 7.8 seconds separated the two Mustang runners at the finish. Northport’s younger runners also contributed solid performances as they gained valuable championship experience. Freshman Thor Gardner recorded a season-best time of 22:17.7, placing 36th overall. Fellow freshman Ty Smith finished 47th with a time of 23:40.5, while sophomore Hunter Creach rounded out Northport’s contingent in 50th place, crossing the finish line in 24:04.8.