The Ord High School cross country teams had a solid day at their own invitational last Friday at the Ord Golf Course. In all the Chanticleers won 7 medals on the day in the high school and junior high races. “I thought we had a pretty good day”, Coach Derry Trampe said. “I thought our kids competed really hard in the meet and I felt like we got our best efforts for the most part. I was a little surprised when I compared our times to last year to see that we were a little slower but the warmer temperatures may have had a little to do with that. I am just glad to see that we are running competitive races with our kids.” In the varsity race the girls were only able to run three runners again this week so they did not figure in the team scoring. Ravenna won a tight team race with Ainsworth. The Bluejays scored 32 points to just edge the Bulldogs (33). Battle Creek came in third with 58 points. Rounding out the team scoring were: West Holt (60), Gibbon (61), Arcadia-Loup City (83), and Burwell (86).
In the boys’ team race the Chants finished 9th out of 10 scoring teams. The team scored 149 points in the meet. “Even though our boys finished 9th I thought we had a pretty good day”, Trampe said. “We are missing a couple of our normal top 4 runners and that has really had an impact on our scores. I am still pleased with how some of the other runners have stepped up to fill those positions.” In another tight team race West Holt was able to take the team title with 50 points. Gibbon and Ainsworth finished right behind them with 51 and 53 points respectively. Rounding out the team scoring were: Plainview (70), Ravenna (74), Arcadia-Loup City (77), Centura (81), Wood River (136), Ord (149), and Burwell (152). Treaven Schideler led the way for the boys as he finished in 21st place in a time of 20:12 to just miss out on the medals. “Treaven ran a great race and it was just difficult to see him just miss the medals”, Trampe stated. “He put himself in a great position and just got passed up at the end of the race. I was really hoping he could claim a medal because he has worked so hard these last 4 years and deserves to win one.” Also scoring for the boys were Gage Sintek, Braden Bruha, and Caiden Hill. Sintek finished in 47th place in a time of 22:15 while Bruha was 51st in 22:37 and Hill finished in 71st place in a time of 27:22. “I thought Gage ran a really good race for us in this meet” Trampe noted. “He got out strong and held a solid pace throughout the race. Braden had a much better race this week and I am really proud of him. He is working through some pain in his knee and really ran a gutty race. He is going to be a strong competitor for us in the future. I was also happy to see Caiden figure in the scoring. This is his first year of running and he has really made a lot of progress since the start of the season. I am really glad he decided to be a part of this team.” Pushers for the team were Samson Campise and Crew Nelson. Campise finished 73rd in 29:14 and Nelson was 74th in 29:20. “Samson is really battling shin splints so I was surprised he finished the race”, Trampe said. “We had talked about him running the first mile or so and then dropping out but he stuck it out and ran the entire race. I am proud of him for working through the pain. Crew had a tough day and did not run one of his best races. He struggles with allergies and I think they got the best of him in this race. I am hoping it clears up for him in the next couple of races.”
All three members of the girls’ team won medals in the meet on Friday. Delaney Cargill led the team with a 10th place finish in a time of 22:08. “Delaney really ran a good race”, Trampe said. “She just kept getting stronger and stronger as the race went on and had a great finish down the stretch. I am happy that she is feeling better and hope we can keep her healthy for the rest of the season.” Kloe Severance finished 10th in a time of 22:22 and Macy Warner was 13th in a time of 22:57 to earn medals as well. This was the first time all season that all three girls were within a minute of each other. “Kloe seems to be fighting allergies as well right now as she was plugged up most of the week and had trouble breathing during practice and the meet”, Trampe commented. “Hopefully that will clear up as we get into the last few meets this year. She is a tough kid and I am really proud that she was able to work through her situation and still finish in the top 10. Macy just keeps getting stronger every week. She really looks good during the last mile of the race and just seems to get stronger as she gets to the end of the race. She has had a great year for us so far and I hope it continues for her.”
In the junior high girls’ race Izzy Jeffres was able to win another medal for the year. Jeffres completed the 2,000-meter course in a time of 8:51 to bring home the 6th place medal. Azia Giron just missed placing in the top 10 and picking up a medal when she finished 14th in a time of 9:42. Elisabeth Bengston ran one of her best races of the season and finished 29th in a time of 12:40. With only 3 runners the girls could not score as a team. West Holt won the meet with 10 points.
Four members of the junior high boys’ team won medals in the meet this week. Gage Kolar led the way again this week by finishing 3rd in a time of 7:51. Garret Severance also earned a medal by finishing 6th in a time of 7:52 while Elijah Pollard earned a medal with a 9th place finish in a time of 7:55. Grady Moudry earned his first medal of the season with a 10th place finish in a time of 7:55. Maddox Bennett (11th in 7:57) and Brody Blair (12th in 8:00) just missed out on the medals. This was a very good showing in a tight race where the difference between 2nd and 12th was 10 seconds. Also competing for the team were Jericho Smith, Skylar Probst, and Jeter Sanders. Smith finished 35th in 9:42, Probst was 39th in 10:00, and Sanders was 50th in a time of 12:37. In the team race the Ord boys won easily with 17 points while Riverside was a distant second with 54 points. Rounding out the scoring were: Battle Creek (54), Centura (58), Twin Loup (75), and Ainsworth (80).