Before heading to the NSAA State Cross-Country Championships in Kearney, the Blair Bears sat down in a classroom after practice earlier in the week and crunched numbers.
Coach Carson Norine compared Class B district meet times and figured out what BHS could reasonable accomplish Friday. He let the Bears know what was out there for them to attain.
“He said we could get anywhere from seventh to even third,” senior Ted Lueders said, smiling after a 5-kilometer state run. “And, I don't know, third sounded kind of out there.”
It wasn't.
The Blair boys earned their school's finest state finish in school history at Kearney Country Club, edging Norris by one point for third in Class B. The Bears — who've claimed three combined fourth-place efforts in boys and girls competition — finished behind first-place Lexington and Omaha Skutt, but set a new goal for future BHS teams.
“I'm proud of what we did,” senior Zac Keeling said. “That's really all I can say. I'm proud.”
While Reece Ewoldt led coach Norine's girls squad to an 11th-place finish, it was Lueders who produced the boys' top time. The senior was 22nd overall, clocking in at 17:22.1.
So, while Norris' state champion — Riley Boonstra — pushed his lineup toward a possible third-place finish, a Blair team effort resulted in the accomplishment. Though no Bears medaled individually, their pack earned their standing.
Sophomore Calin O'Grady was just two spots behind Lueders. He was 24th in 17:25, while Keeling took 30th out of 89 runners in 17:34.6.
“Kind of killed myself the first 2 miles,” the senior said. “It happens.”
Another BHS 12th-grader, Dawson Fricke, was 39th. The former state medalist clocked in at 17:52.6, while Caleb Funk was 81st in 19:21.8 and Isaac Field took 85th in 19:31.1.
Tannon Bellamy joined the Bears in Kearney as an alternate, too.
On the Class B girls' side — won by Norris and Madison Seiler of Gering, respectively — Ewoldt was 28th. The junior first-year cross-country runner crossed the finish line in 21:39.3, while Allie Czapla was 33rd in 21:47.9.
BHS' Lainey Bilau, meanwhile, was 61st out of 89 runners in 23:04.1. Addie Sullivan took 65th in 23:23.3, Bella Matzen was 73rd in 23:49.7 and Nadia Davey claimed 87th in 26:04.1.
Their 11th-place team effort capped a noteworthy day in Bears cross-country history.
“I'm just happy to have my name apart of the group that did that,” Keeling said.
The third-place accomplishmet was a longtime coming for the seniors.
“Me, Zac, Dawson and even Nolan (Slominski), we've been running since freshman year,” Lueders said. “So, we're a pretty tight-knit, a tight-knit group. And, so, it just feels nice.”
The Bears all found out about their finish as it was announced on the portable loud speaker at Kearney Country Club. Coach Norine started jumping up and down as shocked faces and smiles spread through his group of state runners.
