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PENDER — For the third consecutive year, the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge boys cross country quintet is heading to Kearney Oct. 20 for the Nebraska Cross Country Championships at Kearney Country Club.
The Bears placed third Oct. 11 in the D-2 District Meet at Twin Creeks Golf Course in Pender to earn a slot at State, but it was not without a few anxious moments.
The Bears edged Lyons-Decatur Northeast by a single point, 52-53 to grab the final team spot from the District, but they were also just two points away from runner-up Homer.
Norfolk Catholic literally ran away with the meet with 11 team points.
“I was so nervous until I got the final word; we knew it was going to be very close for the final two spots,” Laurel-Concord-Coleridge coach Brandi Settje said. “I am so proud of the way these guys performed today; they really left it all out there on the course. I couldn’t be happier or more proud.”
The top three runners from each team figure into the team scores and the Bears had two runners race for automatic qualifying spots by placing in the top 15 individuals.
Tyler Olson led the way with a sixth-place finish, with a time of 17 minutes, 48.18 seconds.
“It will be my third time down there,” Olson said. “I really felt like I had to make it for my last year; I just ran as fast as I could for as long as I could. It feels great.”
Teammate Preston Rose will also be making his third appearance in Kearney, but it is his first time qualifying with an individual ticket. His time was 18:30.46, which put him in 15th place.
Sophomore Shane Langford was the third Laurel-Concord-Coleridge runner to cross the mat with a time of 20:13.53.
Carter Korth was under two seconds behind Langford at 20:15.53, while Taner Stanley was next with a time of 23:33.67.
“I’m sure they’ll all be excited to get down there and run,” Settje said. “It’s a great setting and a great experience — an experience of a lifetime.”
The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Lady Bears ended up sixth in the District meet in the girls’ race and were paced by Faith Galvin, who grabbed the final qualifying spot to make her way to Kearney in her freshman season.
“I’m really excited to get to go run in Kearney,” she said. “I just kept working towards this all season.”
Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed by her coach. “She has worked so hard to get to this point,” Settje said. “Our girls as a team have come so far this season and we have a lot to build on.”
Crofton slipped past Pender for the team title on the girls’ side 14 to 16. Wisner-Pilger entered the third slot with 41; Homer was just a point behind at 42. Tri County Northeast was fifth with 47 and the Lady Bears were next, compiling a 52. Jordyn Arens of Crofton was the individual champion with a time of 19:37.36 to set the standard for the Lady Warriors, nearly a minute in front of the runner-up. Arens will be running for her fourth consecutive individual title in Kearney. Lady Bears Kate Tasler, Abbie Brummels and Addy Hoeppner joined Galvin in Pender, but finished out of the top 15 and ended their seasons. The Class D girls are set to run at 2:30 p.m. at Kearney Country Club on Oct. 20; the Class D boys are scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
District D-2 Cross Country Results Boys Team Results: 1. Norfolk Catholic 11; 2. Homer 50; 3. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 52; 4. Lyons-Decatur Northeast 53; 5. Stanton 58; 6. Ponca 66; 7. Crofton 74; 8. Humphrey St. Francis 91; 9. Oakland-Craig 92; 10. Pender 97; 11. Guardian Angels Central Catholic 111; 12. Walthill 114; 13. Randolph 128; 14. Humphrey/ Lindsay Holy Family 129; 15. Wisner-Pilger 131. Boys Individual Results: 1. Dawson Meyer (O-C) 17:05.12; 2. Dominic Liess (NC) 17:18.79; 3. Brody Taylor (PON) 17:30.23; 4. Alec Foecking (NC) 17:36.80; 5. Yair Santiago (NC) 17:41.88; 6. Tyler Olson (LCC) 17:48.18; 7. Gannon Walsh (PEN) 18:00.98; 8. Nathan Kalous (NC) 18:10.51; 9. Chance Mock (LDNE) 18:11.25; 10. Charles Steffen (CRO) 18:13.69; 11. Jessup Snowball (HOM) 18:13.83; 12. William Bryant (STA)18:15.07;13.SonnyReyes-Salazar(STA) 18:16.94; 14. Broderick Hogan (PON) 18:24.68; 15. Preston Rose (LCC) 18:30.46. Girls Team Results: 1. Crofton 14; 2. Pender 16; 3. Wisner-Pilger 41; 4. Homer 42; 5. Tri County Northeast 47; 6. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge 52; 7. Oakland-Craig 60; 8. Stanton 97; 9. Norfolk Catholic 110; 10. Ponca 121; 11. Lyons-Decatur Northeast 123; 12. Winside 129. Girls Individual Results: 1. Jordyn Arens (CRO) 19:37.36; 2. Sophia Wortmann (CRO) 20:23.28; 3. Kyla Krusemark (PEN)20:27.42;4.AleaRasmussen(W-P)20:38.19;5.Lilly Harris (HOM) 20:40.91; 6. Hadley Walsh (PEN) 20:53.32; 7. Megan Breitbarth (PEN) 20:56.41; 8. Jala Krusemark (PEN) 21:13.64; 9. Breanna Millard (TCNE) 21:21.56; 10. Carolyn Magnusson (O-C) 21:29.34; 11. Elizabeth Wortmann (CRO)21:33.56;12.MadisonMcKie(STA)21:35.69; 13. Rylie Arens (CRO) 21:48.32; 14. Alejandra Hermosillo (TCNE) 21:51.49; 15. Faith Galvin (LCC) 21:56.22.
