District XC Update: All 6 Washington County teams qualify for state

FCHS boys claim district title

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Washington County teams went 6-for-6 Thursday, qualifying for the NSAA State Cross-Country Championships during district competition.
Two Blair, Fort Calhoun and Arlington running squads will now compete Oct. 22 at Kearney Country Club. The Class C girls' race begins at 12:30 p.m. before the boys' at 1:30. BHS' Class B races start at 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., respectively.

Bears earn runner-up status
Both Blair teams earned runner-up finishes Thursday during the Class B2 District meet at Elkhorn Mount Michael. Coach Darren Harsin's girls finished second to Elkhorn North, while the boys were second to Mount Michael.
Dawson Fricke led the Bears with a second-place individual finish across 5-kilometers, while Chloe Schrick was fifth in her race. Blair results are below, according to the NSAA.

BHS Girls: Schrick (11th grade), 19:50.70; Hailey Amandus (11), 20:12.10; Kaitlynn Amandus (12), 20:13.30; Allie Czapla (10), 20:25.20; Cayli Penner (12), 21:53.79; Sophia Baedke (12), 21:55.40.
BHS Boys: Dawson Fricke (11), 16:38.70; Nolan Slominski (11), 17:27.00; Calin O'Grady (9), 17:29.60; Zac Keeling (11), 17:46.25; Nick Wayman (12), 17:47.15; Zyler Wyman (12), 18:09.58.
Note: Emily Lamoureux and Ted Lueders are also state-qualifying Bears.

Pioneers qualify both teams
Both Fort Calhoun cross-country teams will compete at state after the boys won their Class C1 District team title and the girls finished third at Fort Atkinson — the Pioneers home course.
Coach Kyle McMahon's boys team had four runners qualify in the top-15, including race-winner Ely Olberding. Jacob Rupp was third and Lance Olberding was fourth.
Bria Bench, meanwhile, led the FCHS girls with her fifth place finish. Her team's district times are as follows, according to the NSAA.

FCHS Boys: Ely Olberding (11th grade), 16:46.80; Jacob Rupp (12), 17:01.20; Lance Olberding (11), 17:14.20; Johnathon Schwarte (10), 18:09.30; Gage Nixon (10), 18:47.50; Lawson Tjardes (10), 19:33.40.
FCHS Girls: Bench (10), 20:43.50; Dala Drowne (11), 21:15.90; TessSkelton (12), 23:03.40; Kaitlyn Thalman (11), 23:21.20; Harley Schwarte (9), 23:42.00; Xinzhi Huang (12), 25:59.00.
Note: Travis Skelton is also member of the state-qualifying boys team.

Eagles take 2 2nds
Both Arlington cross-country teams finished second at the C1 District meet, securing their spots on the state stage. It's the first time coach Michaela Curran has had full teams qualify during her tenure, which began in 2018.
The Eagles' boys team finished second to Fort Calhoun, while the girls were second to Douglas County West. AHS' Keelianne Green and Hailey O'Daniel finished first and third in the girls' race, while Nolan May and Kevin Flesner were second and sixth in the boys' 5K, respectively. Team member times are as follows, according to the NSAA.

AHS Boys: May (10th grade), 16:52.20; Flesner (10), 17:35.70; Luke Hammang (11), 18:23.10; Dallin Franzluebbers (9), 18:25.60; Kolby Tighe (9), 18:25.80; Barrett Nielsen (12), 18:42.60.
AHS Girls: Green (11), 18:28.20; O'Daniel (9), 20:04.70; Whitney Wollberg (9), 22:14.50; Brynn Eckhart (10), 22:40.10; Kelise Cook-Krivohlavek (9), 22:58.90; Brooke Hilgenkamp (10), 25:30.30.

Fort the full story on district cross-country and additional photos, check out next Tuesday's edition of the Washington County Pilot-Tribune. Coverage will also become available online that same day.

High School Cross-Country