HURON – Brookings’ Sam Conrad placed second in the boys race, and Tessa Nelson finished seventh in the girls race, as the Bobcat cross country teams on Thursday ran in the Roger Loecker Cross Country Invitational at Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron.
The Bobcats final competition of the year is Saturday, Oct. 23 as Brookings and the rest of the state converge on Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls for the state AA, A, and B cross country meets.
Boys
Aberdeen Central’s Josh Martin ran the 5k course in 16 minutes, 55.25 seconds to win the boys portion of the meet.
Conrad finished just over two seconds off the lead, posting a time of 16:57.26 for second.
Pierre’s Hayden Shaffer finished third at just over 17 minutes, while Yankton’s Zach Fedee and the Governors’ Jared Lutmer claimed fourth and fifth place.
Brookings’ Torry Harding came in eighth place at 17:27.45, and teammate Ernest Ting placed 12th, crossing the finish line in 17:47.90.
Three additional Bobcats finished inside the top 20, as Jonathan Kahler (14th), Jacob York (16th), and Nick Diersen (19th) all ran strong races.
Aberdeen Central won the team title with 34 points, followed by Brookings in second with 52.
Pierre finished third with 60 points.
Girls
Thea Chance of Yankton ran the course in 20 minutes, 26.71 seconds to claim top honors in the girls race, edging out Watertown’s Kate McElroy for the title by less than a second.
Aberdeen Central’s Kaylie Peldo finished third in 20:43.61, followed by Huron’s Josie Vlieger in fourth and the Gazelles’ Sophia Petheram in fifth.
Brookings’ Nelson finished seventh in 21:01.10 as the Bobcats’ top finisher.
Three other Brookings runners finished inside the top 20, as Addie Smetana (21:49.05), Lily Murray (21:54.11), and Sophia Schmit (22:00.05) claimed 16th through 18th place.
The Golden Eagle girls won the team competition with 44 points, followed by Yankton with 55.
Brookings placed third, scoring 78 points.
