VAN — Brook Hill’s cross country team was without three of its top runners when the Guard took part in a meet held Friday in Van.

Those who were available to run, like Justin Powell and Julia Troxell, set personal records with their finishing times.

Senior Chasca Ortega led the Varsity Boys team by finishing 35th overall in the 5K race in a time of 19 minutes and 29 seconds.

Other Varsity Boys finishers were Winslow Conneen (22:14.61) and Justin Powell (25:47.52).

The Lady Guard Varsity’s top finisher in the 2-mile race was Julia Troxell with a time of 16 minutes and 28 seconds. Other Lady Guard Varsity finishers were Natali Hall (16:53.65), Valerie Allen (17:10).67) and Li Ming Conneen (20:06.11).

Oliver Ritthaler competed in the JV boys race and finished with a time of 28 minutes and 59 seconds.

Brook Hill coach Kyle Ford said it was nice to see his runners battle despite being shorthanded.

“It was not our best meet this year, as we did not place in the top 12 schools, but it was great to see new PRs, and Chasca Ortega placed 35th out of 126 runners,” Ford said. “It’s hard not to be proud of that. We will continue to strive for new PRs and higher place finishes.”

Brook Hill will next compete at the Lindale Invitational on Thursday.