Reeths-Puffer runner Jersi Bilek finished in 10th place out of 156 runners on Friday at the Starlight Big School Invitational at Grand Rapids South Christian High School.
Bilek did extremely well in the unique night race, where the course was lit with lights and glow sticks, posting a time of 20:15. That was a full minute faster than her season-opening 5K race on Tuesday.
“She has started the season exactly where she left off last season,” said R-P Coach Lindsay Keefe. “She looks strong and is having fun out there chasing people down! She is starting to fine tune and pay attention to the courses to gain an additional competitive edge.”
Jersi Bilek
As a team, the Rockets finished sixth out of eight teams with 155 points. Zeeland East won with 40 points.
Adrienne Fluette had the second-best time for Reeths-Puffer, posting a 22:31 mark and finishing in 32nd place.
“She came across that first mile faster than I expected and she was determined to hang on to that pace,” Keefe said about Fluette.
Gabrielle Chevez finished in 38th place for the Rockets, Darcy Keefe took 39th and Keeley Cole was 77th.
“It was great for our young team to run in a big race,” Keefe said. “Running on a course where you have to navigate around so many athletes is a skill that needs to be learned.”
