Members of the Arlington cross-country team will tell you that Michaela Curran's voice carries.
But it wasn't just the coach's encouragement that pushed the Eagles to two team qualifications for the state meet Thursday during the Class C1 District event at Fort Atkinson.
“The kids are great about finding a teammate to work with or to try and catch,” Curran said. “Working together has helped these kids to be successful, and it's what led us to be district runner-ups on both sides today.”
The Eagles finished second to Fort Calhoun in the boys' standings and second to Douglas County West in the girls' ranks. Those results mean AHS will send both teams to the NSAA State Championships for the first time since 2009 when coach Scott Parson led the program.
The Arlington boys last qualified as a unit on their own in 2017 under Sara Horner, while the girls' last team qualification came during that dual trip 12 years ago.
“I am on cloud nine,” said Curran, who took over the Eagles' program in 2018. “This is my first experience as a coach getting a team to state, let alone two. The journey has been a huge blessing.”
Junior Keelianne Green led the coach's team with a district title over 5 kilometers. She clocked in at 18:29.2, besting the next closest runner by more than 90 seconds and extending her season sweep by another race.
Behind Green, Arlington freshman Hailey O'Daniel was third in 20:04.7 and Whitney Wollberg was 17th in 22:14.5. Brynn Eckhart, Kelise Cook-Krivohlavek and Brooke Hilgenkamp, meanwhile, took 23rd, 27th and 51st in 22:40.1, 22:58.9 and 25:30.3, respectively.
On the boys' side, the Eagles' Nolan May earned silver in 16:52.2. He was 6 seconds behind district champion Ely Olberding of Fort Calhoun, but also 9 seconds ahead of third-place Jacob Rupp.
Kevin Flesner, meanwhile, earned sixth in 17:35.7 and Luke Hammang was 19th in 18:23.1. Dallin Franzluebbers added a 21st-place result in 18:25.6, while Kolby Tighe was 22nd and senior Barrett Nielsen claimed 28th. The latter two runners clocked in at 18:27.7 and 18:42.6, respectively.
“We are a family and each member is important and vital to the success of the family,” Curran said.
The efforts put forth earned trips to this Friday's state meet at Kearney Country Club. The first Class C race begins at 12:30 p.m.
“These kids work so hard and are dedicated to this Arlo cross-country family,” Curran added last Thursday. “But the journey isn't over yet and we're so excited for next week.”
