Washington County runners earned two top-eight team finishes and two individual medals Friday during the NSAA State Cross-Country Championships at Kearney Country Club.
Neva Bauer and Chris Post-Whiteowl were the medalists.
Coach Kyle McMahon’s Fort Calhoun squad, however, qualified the most runners and earned the most success. Post-Whiteowl placed 13th overall in Class C, leading his team to a third-place finish behind Lincoln Christian and second-place Holdrege.
Post-Whiteowl finished the 5-kilometer race in 16:47.83 — a career best — while Will Dennis was 16th, Seth Waters took 19th and Merritt Olberding finished 29th. Sean Waters and Maddox Nelson were 43rd and 56th in the boys’ race, too, respectively.
The FCHS girls, meanwhile, earned eighth in Kearney. Anna McMahon led the Pioneers in 28th, while Lauren Lammers was 45th and Raeann Massey took 53rd. Emily Arens added a 64th-place effort, while Bella McLaughlin was 80th and Emma Ochoa-Gomez was 93rd.
Bauer, an Arlington freshman, competed alongside teammate Corinne May in Class C and secured a 12th-place medal. She finished the 5K course in 19:56.6, while May was 27th.
On the boys’ side, AHS’ Ashton Vollmer was 38th.
In Class B, Declan McCabe and Emma Himes represented Blair in Kearney. McCabe, a senior, was 34th in 17:19, while Himes was 55th in 21:13.1.
For the full story on the state meet, come back to enterprisepub.com/sports early next week. Coverage will appear in the Oct. 28th Washington County Enterprise edition as well.
