Based on the top-15 finishes of Keelianne Green, Nolan May, Chloe Schrick, Hailey O'Daniel, Jacob Rupp, Ely Olberding, Dawson Fricke and Lance Olberding, Washington County secured its place as one of the top cross-country counties in the state Monday during the University of Nebraska-Kearney High School Invitational.
The Arlington and Blair girls, and the Fort Calhoun boys, secured third-place team finishes against statewide competition during the event. The Eagles and Pioneers completed Class C 5-kilometer runs, while the Bears ran in Class B.
First-place AHS junior Keelianne Green was the standout, dominating her fifth-straight race of the season.
Arlington girls 3rd, boys 5th
If they hadn't already, Green, O'Daniel and May firmly established themselves as top Class C medal contenders Monday.
Arlington coach Michaela Curran appreciated their performances in the unseasonal high temperatures, which reached the low 90s.
On the state meet course at Kearney Country Club, Green won her 5K race by nearly 90 seconds. The junior clocked in at 19:00.81, which would have won the day's Class B race and earned her third in Class A.
O'Daniel, meanwhile, earned seventh out of the 187 Class C runners with a time of 21:28.83. Her team — which also included Whitney Wollberg (34th), Kelise Cook-Krivohlavek (80th) and Brooke Hilgenkamp (105th) — was third behind first-place Lincoln Christian and runner-up Douglas County West.
May's boys squad was fifth. The sophomore, however, was third in just 17:09.67. Dallin Franzluebbers added a 25th-place finish, and Luke Hammang (42nd), Connor Flesner (49th), Kolby Tighe (89th) and Barrett Nielsen (93rd) followed.
Every AHS boys finished inside the top third of the 301-runner Class C field.
Schrick leads BHS girls
Four Eastern Midlands Conference schools topped Monday's Class B girls standings in Kearney.
Blair was third, beating out fourth-place Elkhorn North behind meet champion Norris and second-place Bennington.
Schrick was the Bears' top finisher, claiming sixth in 20:53.37. The junior has led coach Darren Harsin's squad in each of its meets this fall.
Kaitlynn Amandus added a 25th place finish in 22:13.83. She finished just ahead of 27th-place Allie Czapla, Hailey Amandus (32nd) and Emily Lamoureux (66th) to set the Bears' team score.
Fricke, meanwhile, led the eighth-place BHS boys in 12th. He clocked in at 17:50.07, while Zyler Wyman and Nolan Slominski finished 48th and 51st, respectively. Nick Wayman (54th), Calin O'Grady (56th) and Ted Lueders (79th) rounded out the Bears' varsity score during the 219-runner event.
Harsin said he “very pleased” with the Bears' UNK effort, particularly that of the girls.
“They all showed a lot of grit on a very hot day to run,” he added.
FCHS boys take 3rd
In the Fort Calhoun senior's return to the state course he medaled at last fall, Rupp led the Pioneer boys to a third-place finish in Class B. Coach Kyle McMahon's team was six spots behind second-place Milford on Monday and five ahead of fourth-place Lincoln Christian.
Rupp was seventh in 17:24.79, while Ely Olberding claimed eighth in 17:28.03. Lance Olberding earned a top-15 finish, too, clocking in at 17:43.03 to place 14th.
In addition, varsity runners Travis Skelton, Johnathon Schwarte and Lawson Tjardes earned 52nd, 57th and 70th, respectively.
“I like where we are,” McMahon said.
On the girls' side, Dala Drowne led 15th-place Fort Calhoun in 22:47.79. She was 26th, while Kaitlyn Thalman was 62nd, Tess Skelton was 88th and Harley Schwarte was 131st. Xinzhi Huang was 152nd, too.
