Closing in behind senior Michael Melgares’ first-place finish and sophomore Jackson Schroeder’s second-place finish at the Regional meet last Saturday, Manhattan High cross country senior Isaiah Koppes came in behind them to take fourth place at Warner Park for the second and last time this season.

“It was really surreal because I’ve always thought that this is such a tough course and even though this is our home course, I kind of dread running it,” Koppes said. “But I was still really glad that I got to run it one more time as a senior. I felt like I redeemed myself after my first race here this season.”

The last home meet of the season ended with Manhattan High’s boys team securing first with 35 points after the girls team took second with 52 points.

“I was super happy that it was over,” Melgares said. “I was just super happy it was over because it hurt a lot and it’s a really hot day. It’s always such a relief to cross the finish line.”

The team’s plan while hosting the meet was to use their knowledge of the course and how they will run it to their advantage.

“We know it’s always a tough course,” Melgares said. “We basically just want to run fast enough to advance and no faster. So we knew it’d be pretty tough. We weren’t expecting it to be such a hard effort. But it was great in the end.”

Throughout the week leading up to the home meet, the sentiment of the last home meet of the season — and last ever for seniors — followed them throughout their preparation for Regionals.

“Before [the race] I completely forgot that I was a senior,” Megan Ochoa said. “And as I was running, I heard someone yell ‘this is your last race, make it count,’ and that’s when that really clicked [that] this is my last race, you need to give it your all.”

During the race, the team focused on each part of the course and how they would run the different hills, dips and curves throughout the course. From the gradual hill after the first mile to the winding path marred by three dips that lies before the last downhill before the finish line, the runners were telling themselves to push hard and finish off the race.

“As soon as I pass that turn going up that hill, I just say to myself ‘there’s no more hills. You should let it all go,’” freshman Cristina Martinez said. “This is the end and you give it all you got because you better be exhausted at the end and if you’re not, you didn’t do good enough.”

The girls top five included Ochoa (16:01.7) taking fourth, sophomore Cara Melgares (16:11.4) and Martinez (16:11.8) taking sixth and seventh, senior Taylor Efurd (16:41.3) taking 16th and sophomore Leah Selman (17:11.6) rounding out the scoring at 19th place.

The ensuing boys race had Michael Melgares (15:56.8) and Schroeder (15:57.1) taking first and second, Koppes (16:44.1) following with a fourth place finish, freshman Cooper Schroeder (17:09.8) taking eighth and junior Alejandro Martinez (17:45.7) finishing off the team scoring at 20th place.

The finish of the race had seniors, like Efurd, reflecting on running the last home meet of their high school career.

“With Warner, it’s like a love-hate relationship,” Efurd said. “I’m going to actually miss running on it. But it feels good to have a last good race on it and be done.”

The finish of the next to last race signals how soon the seniors will no longer be racing with the rest of the team after the upcoming State meet.

“It was pretty sad. [Michael Melgares and Isaiah Koppes] are great guys to run with and just great guys in general,” Jackson said. It was a real pleasure to run with them and I’ll be excited to run this last one with them.”

The team’s plan for State won’t be much different from any other week of practice. They plan on carrying out business just as before to defend their title from last year.

“It’s definitely not going to be as easy this year as it was last year to get a victory there,” Koppes said. “We’re going to have to fight for it a lot more. But in the end, I almost feel like that can make it a sweeter win because it isn’t being handed to us on a silver platter. We’re going to have to get down and bleed for it.”