Jefferson Girls Cross Country Takes 12th in State

girls cross country team took 12th in state this past weekend of the 30 teams that qualified to compete.

Jefferson came in third at its sectional, allowing the team to send seven girls to the state competition. Only the top three teams from the sectional qualified for state. 

Eighth-grader Lexi Dimovski was Jefferson's top finisher at state, taking 16th place of 260 runners and earning a medal. Following her, Trisha Garcia took 32st, fifth-grader Becky Versaskas took 116th, Maddie Hartig took 121st and Gina Kowalewicz took 179th. 

Dimovski broke a course record at sectionals, one of two Jefferson girls to do so. Dimovski came in first at the sectional meet, running two miles in 11 minutes and 40 seconds. 

"I usually get second," Dimovski said. "Our top runner, Grace, she always gets first and always leads our team to win. She couldn't be at sectionals, so I just tried my best for her." 

Grace Maletich, at last week's Town Meeting, was out with the stomach flu, Dimovski said. 

Jefferson will finish out the season Wednesday, hosting the SDEAA Conference Cross Country meet on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. 

The team was undefeated in its regular season with a 8-0 record. 

Order of Finish at State:

Lexi Dimovski

Trisha Garcia

Becky Versaskas

Maddie Hartig

Gina Kowalewicz

Savannah Bell

Juli Beierwaltes